- Had a great day…3 more people came into a relationship with Jesus!
- That never gets old…praying we continue to see God move in our midst.
- Nothing out of the ordinary with set-up, although Andy did install a wireless router for us in the building which allowed him to play around with controlling the sound board and in-ear monitors with an iPAD.
- He was like a little kid in a candy store.
- Great to have Chad’s mom and dad visiting with us from Illinois.
- Larry is a pastor also and is doing a great job as an interim turning around a more traditional church.
- Love seeing our various teams filling up the lobby early on Sunday mornings praying with and for each and for that day’s Experience.
- Definitely power in our prayers.
- Our theater seats 462 people and up until today we weren’t as aggressive keeping people from spreading out as what we should have been.
- Not that we didn’t try but people still were going around the barriers and ushers instructing them not to.
- Today I said that needed to stop.
- We also had people scoot more in towards the center.
- Wow what a difference!
- Makes it so much easier for me to preach and I could see a huge difference in Bill’s energy level leading worship and praying.
- I actually mention it in the message that I was so pumped up by Bill’s prayer I almost just said…”Mmmm why don’t you go ahead and preach”.
- By the way, we are going to have him preach this summer…from what I understand he won some awards as a kid for his preaching…cool, can’t wait.
- We started out today’s Experience with “Last Name” by Carrie Underwood. It was a great song to lead into today’s topic of temptation.
- As always Gayle did an awesome job.
- We used a click track to fill in some extra parts and we almost had a huge mistake at the beginning but our team kept their composure and didn’t miss a beat…literally.
- Great worship set today…the team rocked it out.
- Today’s message was based off of the movie “Hall Pass” and I gave 4 tips for handling temptation.
- I don’t recommend seeing the movie, but what we’re trying to do in the series is show how to take pop music, movies and TV, filter it through God’s Word, see how God is speaking and then use it as bridge to talk to those in our community that don’t yet know Jesus.
- I even showed a video of ways that I’m tempted and what I wish I could do about it…well everything but the end that is.
- Afterwards I had someone tell me that after last week’s Charlie Sheen interview and today’s video, maybe I should consider acting.
- Mmmm…not sure if that was a compliment that my acting is good or a complaint that my preaching is bad so I’d better do something else. 🙂
- Here’s the link for today’s message, Winning Over Temptation for those of you interested in listening and making that determination for yourself.
- I was so pumped up after the message, I basically preached another message after the message. It’s on the recording as well if you want to hear it.
- With all that I almost forgot to take the offering…glad Chad was doing announcements and said something.
- Mmm…let’s pretend that I did forget…here’s the link for our online giving. God wants us to sow our seed (money) into good soil (fruitful ministries).
- 71 people have begun a relationship with Jesus since we started 5 months ago…can’t think of much better soil than that so your generosity is appreciated and will be used to further the Gospel.
- Had a great afternoon…lunch at Olive Garden, sports on TV and of course my afternoon nap.
- Have a busy week ahead…hope your planning on making a difference like I am!
Road Trip Day 6
This morning we drove to Findlay, OH so I could sit in on a meeting with all the church planting directors from throughout our denomination. It was great to hear about what God is doing throughout the country and be able to give my two cents on some ideas and issues they are dealing with. We started at 1PM and wrapped up about 9:30pm. We’re on for another few hours tomorrow and then we’ll have some free time before finally heading home on Wednesday.
On an unrelated note, I had a call today that the original facility we were looking at in Harrisburg is now once again available! We are still looking at some other options but having this back again as an option is certainly going to make my sleep tonight a bit easier. Thanks to all of you who have been praying about this with us. By the way, if you haven’t yet joined our prayer team, the address to sign-up is prayerteam@ExponentialChurch.tv. Each Friday a list of prayer concerns and praise reports goes out, so if you really want to be in the loop, then this is the place to get it. Please though only sign-up if you are willing to at least 3 times per week remember to pray for these things.
Psalm 119:161-176
I challenged everyone in the Textually Active message to read through Psalm 119 this week so here are some of my thoughts on each 8 verse section and then an application point for myself for the day. Feel free to read along and share your thoughts as well.
Psalm 119:161-168: Vs. 165 is something I pray often…”God I know that your word says, ‘Great peace have they that love your law and nothing can make them stumble’ so God you know how much I love your word, so please help me in this situation”.
Psalm 11:169-176: Vs. 172 is a why I love that many of the songs that we sing are not just based off of, but contain phrases from scripture. It’s easier to memorize God’s Word when it’s put to a song!
That wraps up Psalm 119, hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have.
Psalm 119:97-128
I challenged everyone in the Textually Active message to read through Psalm 119 this week so here are some of my thoughts on each 8 verse section and then an application point for myself for the day. Feel free to read along and share your thoughts as well.
Psalm 119:97-104: Vs. 104 tells us to hate wrong paths. I once read that FBI agents never touch a counterfeit bill until many times months into their training. Instead the study and handle a real bill so much, that when they finally encounter a fake one it is obvious. In the same way, we should be so familiar with God and His Word that it’s easy to discern the counterfeit pleasures satan tries to lure us with.
Psalm 119:105-112: Vs. 105 is one of the most popular ones in the entire Bible, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Think about that for a second…when you’re on a dark path in the forest, a lamp only gives you enough light for the next few steps. God’s word is the same way…too many people want relevation for months and years down the road when God wants to give you just enough light to take the next step. I believe He does this because if He gave us more light on our future, we might get scared of some of the obstacles we see down the road and freeze in our tracks, thus not getting where God wants us to be. Also real quick, vs. 112 would make a great prayer for you to pray.
Psalm 119:113-120: Vs. 120, “My flesh trembles in fear of you, I stand in awe of your laws”. One of the great things about reading scripture over and over again is that you begin to create a mental concordance to help you understand other verses. That’s what happened as I read this verse, immediately that Holy Spirit reminded me that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”. (Proverbs 9:10)
Psalm 119:121-128: I love verse 124. As I’ve been reading this morning I have felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit about some things in my life, but this verse reminds me that God will judge me according to His love (re: Jesus dying for my sins) and not on my ability or in this case inability to keep all of the law. So the question for some might then be, “Then why do we try to obey God’s Word”? The answer is simple…You don’t do good works because you’re trying to be saved, rather out of gratitude that you are saved”.
Psalm 119:1-32
I challenged everyone in the Textually Active message to read through Psalm 119 this week so here are some of my thoughts on each 8 verse section and then an application point for myself for the day. Feel free to read along and share your thoughts as well.
Psalm 119:1-8: Verse 2 really jumps out at me, “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart“. I don’t obey Jesus because I have to, I’m to obey Jesus because I want to…I’m seeking after His will and not mine and I delight in obeying.
Psalm 119:9-16: Verse 11 is one of my favorites in the entire Bible…”I have hidden your Word in my heart that I may not sin against you“. Scripture memory is one of the most important things we can do as a follower of Christ because the Word of God is the only offensive weapon we have to defeat the devil. Think about what Jesus did everytime He was tempted…He quoted scripture. So what makes us think we are any better than Him? So are you going into the battle each day without your weapon? If so, the solution is to memorize God’s Word. Which by the way I’ll be teaching how to do in the “How to Connect with God” class on 7/25. To sign-up for it, e-mail me… gilbert@unitedworshipexperience.org.
Psalm 119:17-24: Verse 18 is a wonderful prayer to pray everytime you sit down to read God’s Word…”Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law”.
Psalm 119:25-32: The beginning of verse 30 says, “I have chosen the way of truth”. In other words, following God daily is a choice. You will not accidentally wake-up one day and be spiritually mature…that only comes through daily seeking and obeying God with all your heart.
My Application: Today as I write sermons and attend Council Meeting tonight, I will consciously remember that God’s Word is far more important than my opinion.