- 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!
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.
James Chapter 1
Note: This post is part of the James challenge where I encouraged everyone to read through the book of James (chapter per day) and to summarize each chapter in their own words and then give themselves a personal application step for the day. To follow is what I put. Please feel free to comment with your own summary and application point as well.
7-6-09 James chapter 1:
1. We shouldn’t complain about trials and temptations, but rather accept them as something God is allowing in our lives so that we can grow to become more like Him. Also James says that it’s not enough just to hear the truth, we must act upon it as well…in other words, if you don’t apply God’s Word to your life, then your religion is worthless.
2. James says that we must be quick to listen and slow to speak. Today as I’m in meetings I will attempt to listen much more than I speak.
Inside Today’s Experiences
Wow…Holy Cow…You’ve Got to Come Now
Last night Lamont Monford gave an awesome sermon on temptation. The title for this post is in honor of him because like all good Baptist preachers he’s very fond of alliteration for the illustration of his communication.
Seriously if you missed it, you missed one heck of a message. Do whatever it takes to make sure you show up tonight through Wednesday at 7PM to hear him…you won’t regret it.
In the meantime, here are a few notes that I took last night…these can’t possibly give you the full effect of hearing it live though…Lamont is very funny and will make you laugh as you’re getting hit right between the eyes by God’s Spirit…again do whatever it takes to come hear him.
- Live spelled backwards is evil. When you live you’re life backwards from God’s design it is evil.
- In Matthew chapter 3 we read about the celebration, confirmation and affirmation of Jesus by God the Father.
- In Matthew 4 we are told that Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be tempted by Satan.
- This could have led to frustration because it would appear that there is collaboration between the Spirit and the devil.
- We often feel he same things in our lives but…
- The devil brings temptation to destroy us. The Spirit allows temptation to develop us. The devil bring temptation to kill you…the Spirit allows it to give you true life. The devil brings temptation to get you to look inward….the Spirit allows so you’ll look upward. The devil brings temptation to get you to quit…the Spirit allows to convince you to keep going.
- The devil tempted Jesus in 3 ways by trying to get him to…be selfish, do the spectacular and to be subversive.
- The devil doesn’t waster his bullets so he’ll shoot you in an area that he thinks will destroy you.
- Temptation requires both desirability and availability.
- We get in trouble when we try to please “them” instead of “him”.
- Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
- You don’t have to ask for what you already own.
- Don’t wait to fast and pray until you are in trouble. Build up a reserve to draw from in bad times.
- The devil constantly dangles a carrot in front of you to try to get you o ruin the real meal that God has already prepared for you.
- The devil will always try to get you to deviate from God’s design.