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Category Archives: Preaching

3 Guiding Principles to Live On Mission

14 May

Catalyst_logoA couple of weeks ago, I attended the Catalyst conference in Dallas, Texas with four other members of the church staff of VALLEY Christian Church. While there, we heard some incredibly challenging, insightful and thought provoking messages. Below are some of my notes from a lab given by Matt Carter, pastor of The Austin Stone Community Church.

1. To be an effective missional leader you have to call people to be more in love with their savior than their mission.
“If you love your mission more than you love your Savior,  your Savior will say “I’m not going to be there anymore”. (See Revelation 2:1-5)

2. As a missional leader, you’re the one who moves people with the urgency of the Great Commission.

3. A missional leader is someone who leads their people to be an agent of transformation in whatever context they are in.

There are 4  kinds of churches today:

1. Against the city
2. In the city
3. With the city
4. For the city (Charles H. Spurgeon)

If your church closed its doors today, would your city grieve?

Recast the vision every year. Air war & ground war.

Give people more than a handout but a hand up!

Vision bleeds (will wear out & fade over time), if passion for Jesus is not 1st priority!

I’m still enjoying “chewing” on much of what we heard and experienced at Catalyst. Maybe I’ll post some more notes from this great conference in the days/weeks to come.

 
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Posted by on May 14, 2013 in Leadership, Preaching, Staff

 

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Monday Morning Musings 4/15/13

15 Apr

MMcoffeeSitting here, drinking a piping hot cup of coffee on this Monday morning, my heart is full of gratitude and thanksgiving as I muse about how awesome God is and the blessings He is pouring out on the VALLEY Christian Church Family!

  • It’s absolutely mind-blowing to see God working through our, “What On Earth Am I Here For” Campaign!
  • Over the last three weeks, VALLEY has averaged 744 each Sunday in attendance (Each of these Sundays setting the top 3 attendance weeks in the 38 year HISTORY of our church)!
  • What a joy to see so many new faces to VALLEY at our GroupLink last night signing-up to join a Community Group to “do life with” over the next 6 months!
  • It’s so humbling watching over 180 volunteers every Sunday serving The VALLEY Family in our three gatherings. It’s hard to think of a greater example of Christ-like character than a volunteer serving others.
  • The stories we are hearing every single week of men and women receiving Christ as their Savior who have and are walking through heart-breaking and painful experiences are inspiring and leave us in awe of God’s power and love to transform hurting hearts.

I really can’t imagine how things could get any better than they are right now, but then again, I pretty much feel that way after every Sunday. The words I used to close the message, “Called To Be Loved” yesterday, ring in my ears this morning as I am overwhelmed by God’s love and goodness:

“God smiles when we love him supremely, trust him completely, come to him boldly, and praise and thank him continually.”

 
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Posted by on April 15, 2013 in Church Growth, Leadership, Preaching

 

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The Call Is For You – Prayer

08 Apr

WOE_Website_TransYesterday at VALLEY Christian Church, we kicked-off our “What On Earth Are You Here For” Spring campaign. At the conclusion of the message I closed in a prayer that I read in each of our three services. A number of people asked me if I could make the prayer available in some format, so here it is below:

“Heavenly Father, Thank you that you created me, that I’m not an accident. Thank you that I’ve been in your care, even before I was born. Thank you that you didn’t just create me, but you have called me. You have a purpose and assignment for my life. I’m not here just to waste time. Thank you that you’ve called me to your purpose. I want your plan not mine. Thank you that that plan began at the moment of my birth, and even though I’ve made many mistakes and sinned a lot, and other people have hurt me, it hasn’t changed my call one bit. Thank you that my calling is permanent. And I realize today, that I cannot fulfill my purpose disconnected. I need to be connected to others, in you Body, in your family, with the same Spirit, with the same calling. I thank you Lord, that you’ve promised to give me the power to do what you’ve asked me to do. That you won’t ask me to do something, that you won’t empower me and strengthen me to do. Lord, I want that prize in life. I want to live for that prize the rest of my life, that one day I would share in your glory with you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.”

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2013 in Devotions, Preaching

 

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Great Expectations

05 Apr

great-expectationsThe famous missionary to India, William Carey once said, “Expect great things; attempt great things.” This weekend, at VALLEY Christian Church, we will kick-off our “What On Earth Am I Here For” campaign and we’re pulling out all the stops to reach as many people as possible with this important message. After “casting the net” on Easter, we now shift into a strong discipleship emphasis each year with our Spring campaign.

Traditionally, Easter Sunday is always the biggest attendance Sunday for churches. Last Easter was our highest attendance in the history of our church (up until that time), our kick-off to our campaign the week after Easter was attended by only 10 less people than Easter. We are praying, expecting and anticipating history to repeat itself again this year, and this past Sunday’s Easter attendance was up 34% over last year!

Tomorrow, will conclude 40 Days of Prayer in our church family that over 100+ people have been daily participating in. It was John Wesley who said, “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” We believe our prayer initiative is more important that the advertizing, utilizing social media or even encouraging those who attend VALLEY to invite friends. Everything we do for Him must be immersed in prayer.

So, as we expect great things and attempt great thing for Him, I’m asking you to join me in praying this weekend for the kick-off of this huge endeavor. Those of you who regularly attend VALLEY, I’d also like to ask you to invite an unchurched friend or family member to join us on Sunday. If you don’t have a church home, then you’re invited to be our guest this Sunday at 8:30, 10:15 or 12:00 at VALLEY Christian Church. There’s nothing in the world as exciting as serving Jesus Christ and watching Him change and transform lives! Join me in this exciting adventure!

 
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Posted by on April 5, 2013 in Church Growth, Preaching

 

The Cross and Preaching

22 Mar

Cross_of_Christ_large1This time of the year, as a pastor, I always like to focus my reading on the cross. One of my all-time favorite books about the cross is the classic, “The Cross of Christ” by John R. W. Stott. This book is filled with so many nuggets of gold that it seems like a crime to even single out a few (but here I go anyway). Stott gives five points from Galatians 3:1-3 regarding The Cross and Preaching that are especially helpful for preaching this time of year:

1. Gospel-preaching is proclaiming the cross.

2. Gospel-preaching is proclaiming the cross visually.

3. Gospel-preaching proclaims the cross visually as a present reality.

4. Gospel-preaching proclaims the cross as a visual, present and permanent reality.

5. Gospel-preaching proclaims the cross also as the object of personal faith.

(For further explanation of these biblical and practical points for preaching on the cross, I highly recommend John Stott’s book found on the link above.)

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2013 in Preaching, Uncategorized

 

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What to Preach?

18 Mar

preach1“You should preach the truth, not just your opinion; you should preach the good news, not just good advice; and you should preach to make the truth real to the heart, not just clear to the mind.” –Tim Keller

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2013 in Preaching

 

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The Single Most Significant Decision

20 Feb

ATTITUDEA friend recently shared these simple words by Charles R. Swindoll with me and I thought they were just too good to not pass along:

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26

“This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude.

It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.

Attitude . . . keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope.

When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.

Yet, we must admit that we spend more of our time concentrating and fretting over the things that can’t be changed in life than we do giving attention to the one thing that can, our choice of attitude.”

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2013 in Coaching, culture, Devotions, Family, Leadership, Marriage, Parenting, Preaching, relationships, Staff

 

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Are You Legit?

14 Jan

LegitSome portions of Scripture are not easy to read. We sometimes stay away from the ones we don’t like because they’re not our favorites and they challenge us to deeply. You won’t find them on a nice framed picture at your local Christian bookstore, but they say more about the reality of our lives and our relationship with God than we’d like to admit. Here’s one of those kind of passages:

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:7-11

So here are a few questions:

When was the last time you felt like you were smacked or disciplined by God? When was the last time you had to ask someone to forgive you because of something you said or did that the Holy Spirit got all over your case (convicted) you for? What attitude or perspective did He point out needed to change? What activity or relationship did He tell you it was time to let go of?

If you don’t have any answers to those questions maybe you’re not LEGIT. It doesn’t matter if you’re a new Christian or a veteran pastor, none of us have arrived at a point of being perfect and the Scripture makes it crystal clear God’s discipline and correction prove we legitimate children belonging to Him.

Now that’s a lot to think about on a Monday!

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2013 in Devotions, Leadership, Preaching

 

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O Holy Night!

27 Nov

This past Sunday, while giving my message “I Will Make The Most Of Jesus” at VALLEY Christian Church, I mentioned how incredible some of the lyrics are in the traditional Christmas Carols we sing this time of year. Not only are the words beautiful, but they are also filled with tremendous Biblical theology and doctrine. Take a minute and read the words to “O Holy Night” written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847, as just one great example:

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

 
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Posted by on November 27, 2012 in Devotions, Preaching

 

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A Minister’s Preaching

16 Nov

My Master God,

I am desired to preach today,

     but go weak and needy to my task;

Yet I long that people may be edified with divine truth,

     that an honest testimony might be borne for thee;

Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,

     with heart uplifted for grace and unction.

Present to my view things pertinent to my subject,

     with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,

     proper expression, fluency, fervency,

     a feeling sense of the things i preach,

     and grace to apply them to men’s consciences.

Keep me conscience all the while of my defects,

     and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.

Help me to offer a testimony for thyself,

     and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy.

Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,

      and to set before them comforting considerations.

Attend with power the truth preached,

     and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.

May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted,

     and help me to use the strongest arguments

     drawn from Christ’s incarnation and sufferings,

     that men might be made holy.

I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness

     that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,

     and be able to do something for thee;

Give me then refreshment among thy people,

     and help me not to treat excellent matter

     in a defective way,

     or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a Redeemer,

     or be harsh in treating Christ’s death,

     its design and end,

     from lack of warmth and fervency.

And keep me in tune with thee

     as I do this work.

(“The Valley of Vision”, A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, Edited by Arthur Bennett)

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2012 in Devotions, Preaching

 

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