- Had a really good day.
- Today was the 3 year anniversary since I first spoke at United.
- A bunch of the United crowd threw me a surprise party last night which was really cool!
- Hard to believe its been 3 years already.
- That very first weekend we had 85 in attendance…now here we are 3 years later and not only do hundreds of people attend each week, but hundreds of people have come into a relationship with Jesus!
- This morning I came in early and couldn’t get the network or 3 screens to work…I panicked…oh no what are we going to do.
- Ummm…reach over and turn the power button on might be a start. :)
- At the beginning of the band’s warm-up, our drummer was running late so I sat down to at least provide a beat…everyone laughed at me…so I saw Aaron had come in to observe practice so I asked him to drum.
- He did the entire first song and wasn’t half bad…although when he was done I thought we might have to call the paramedics…he was wore out.
- It’s amazing how much energy our drummers expend and they just keep going and going and going. Many thanks to our drummers over the years, you guys rock (literally).
- Since Andrea was leading a bunch of songs today we also gave her the chance to do a lot of the speaking roles as well.
- I thought she did a great job…I think God has big plans for her…it’ll be interesting to see what they are.
- For the first time in a long while both myself and the team seemed to bring as much energy to the later Experience as we did the early one.
- In fact, we posted the 2nd message online.
- I’ve really enjoyed this series…hope you are as well!
- As I mentioned in the message, I’m going to be offering a class again on how to study the bible on October 10th from 9am-12pm. If you’re interested, please let me know. gilbert@unitedworshipexperience.org
- In the meantime, make sure you are in God’s Word everyday looking for principles, not promises.
- Had out of town friends visiting in the early Experience and some family members in the 2nd. Always great to have the support of family and friends.
- I dropped the hammer at 11:15 on the whole evangelism purpose…seriously God wants you inviting every week. People’s eternal destinies are at stake…what are you doing about it?
- Time for a nap and then dinner with friends…have a great week…see you and your guests next week!
Archives for September 2009
You Were Born For This
I just finished reading Bruce Wilkinson’s latest book, You Were Born for This. Bruce is the author of the Prayer of Jabez which was a NYT #1 bestseller a few years back.
In You Were Born For This Bruce explains 7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles. To be honest when they sent this book to me for review, I was a bit skeptical. Was this going to be some weird, flaky thing that Christians get laughed and ridiculed for doing? Was Bruce going to go down the name it and claim it path and declare health, wealth and prosperity for all of us?
Thankfully the answer was NO! In the book Bruce just simply lays out a step by step approach of how to connect with God in little ways everyday that will touch and bless people in miraculous ways. All of us have probably already experienced a time where we did something for someone or they did something for us where it was obvious God’s hand was in it. It was a mini-miracle so to speak. What Bruce does in the book is explains everything that went into the miracle occurring. Once you know the steps, it’s easier to partner with God to do it consistently.
Now I know I’m sounding like the crazy one, but that’s why you need to read the book for yourself. You could be 221 pages away from the miracle mission that God has called you to! Highly recommended!
What Happens to People Who Never Hear About Jesus?
I talked with and then received an e-mail over the weekend from an attender of United who was wondering, “If only people who pray and ask Jesus for forgiveness make it to heaven, then what happens to people who have never heard about Him?” I e-mailed him back with my response and thought it might be helpful for others of you as well. So here’s what I wrote…
As we spoke about Jesus is the only way to heaven. The question then becomes…”Well then what about people who have never heard of Jesus”? That question can be answered in Romans chapters 1-3. In chapter 1 we read about how God reveals Himself to us through His creation. It’s hard not to look at nature, space, the changing of the seasons, the complexities of the human body, etc and not come to the conclusion that something greater than us created it all. We call this “The Light of Creation”.
In chapter 2 we read about how our own conscience convicts us of right and wrong. As I shared with you, “Even thieves in the deepest, darkest, jungles of Africa still steal under the cover of darkness”. Why? Because they know deep down, even if there are no commands or laws against it in their society that it is wrong. This we call “The Light of Conscience”.
In Romans 3 then we read about the good news that Jesus is that “higher power” and that He can and wants to forgive us of all the wrong our conscience has convicted us about. This we call “The Light of Christ”. Now everybody during every time has had the “Light of Creation” and the “Light of Conscience”.
Many throughout time have been able to hear of Jesus and His offer of forgiveness. For people like that (which includes you and I) we will be judged on “What decision did you make about Jesus in regards to how to handle your sin?” If you’ve truly prayed and asked for His forgiveness and leadership in your life, then you will be forgiven and are given the assurance of eternal life with Him in heaven. If however you decide that you are going to try to make it into heaven based on your own good works and deeds then you’ll spend all of eternity in hell because heaven is a perfect place and only perfect people are allowed to enter in.
Some though never get the chance to hear about Jesus. So does this mean that they will have to suffer in hell forever just simply because they never heard about Him? The answer is no. Does this mean then that people who never hear about Jesus automatically get a free pass to heaven then? The answer again would be no. While they may be ignorant about the claims of Christ, they are not innocent of sin by any stretch of the imagination. So then what happens to these people? Simple…they will be judged based on the amount of light in which they have received. Again we all have an innate sense that there is something out there greater than us (whether we know to call Him God/Jesus or not) and we all feel conviction about the wrongs which we’ve done (even if we don’t know the theological term, “sin”). So the question is, do they acknowledge that sin in their life and recognize that only that “higher power” has the power to forgive them and change them? So all people need forgiveness of sin, we just happen to know that Jesus was God in the flesh who made that possible for us. So you and I will be judged on all 3 “lights”, some will only be judged based on the first 2 “lights” because that’s all they had.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Great day today.
- School’s back in and vacations are over!
- So nice to have the energy of a big crowd again at 9:45.
- Now we need to do a great job of inviting more to the 11:15 so we can get the momentum going there.
- Funny to think that last year at this time it was exactly opposite…huge crowds late and sparse crowds early.
- In any case, things ran pretty smoothly today with the exception of one funky light that didn’t want to stay the proper color.
- We also had an unexpected absent by a key person on the tech team and another key person missing so we were scrambling there.
- I ended up running some of it and Josh Schlotterbeck stepped up to “learn on the fly”. Thanks Josh.
- If you are interested in helping with tech, let me know.
- Also don’t forget we need some more volunteers in the set-up and tear down crews. Again let me know and I’ll get your name to the proper people.
- It was great to have Aaron back for a week…love his energy.
- Speaking of energy, I think Andrea had an energy drink this morning…she was pumped up and I love hearing her sing “Unveil”.
- Had a few people tell me how much they appreciate that we cover hit songs. Aaron and the team did a great job with Kings of Leon’s, Use Somebody.
- We do this so that hopefully when it comes on the radio, a new association has been made in your mind between the song and the message.
- I had a ton of fun with the message at 9:45. Not so much at 11:15…just couldn’t get into a good rhythm.
- Guess which one got posted online? :)
- Met some great people today at the guest receptions…we’re so fortunate to be attracting so many people that are hungry to have God speak into their lives.
- All in all, a good day…I’m already looking forward to next week!
- Tonight we’ll be hanging with some of our small group peeps.
- Also excited about the Redskins game today!
Welcome Home
Last night I was travelling to church and saw a couple of people out in their yard very excitedly putting up a rather large sign. At first I thought it was a political sign, but then when I got up close I noticed that it was a welcome home sign for a solider. The joy on their face, even though I only saw it briefly was so apparent.
That got me to thinking. One day if we’ve been a follower of Christ, heaven will throw a part for us when we die saying “Welcome Home”! Like a solider, we will have been in a temporary battle, in a land not our own, but now we’ll be safely home. Notice that soliders realize that they are only going to be living in the land for a short while so they don’t get too comfortable there. Yes, they set up temporary shelter, but they realize this is not their real home…every day they yearn to return to home to a place of safety. Everyday they look out for thier fellow soliders because the goal is that none would die, but that all would return safely home to their mother’s and father’s.
So how about you. Are you too comfortable in this foreign land (earth) which you live? Are you setting upwhat you think is a permanent residence here not realzing that you could be shipped out any day? Are you doing all you can to help your fellow soliders make it home safely? Lots to think about…let’s hear what you’re thinking…comment below.