My Mind Was Blown

Friday night the leaders of Palm Valley Church gathered for a special Seize The Moment commitment event. It was an incredible time together, and the Spirit of God was present in the house!

At the end of the night our leaders made commitments (150 of them) to give $6,034,076 to fulfill the vision of STM.

You read that right, our leaders came up BIG and acted by faith! Now it’s time for the rest of the body at Palm Valley Church to follow. On Sunday May 13th our whole church will come together to make commitments, I can’t wait!

Making Space

As I mentioned yeseterday, we’re rockin’ 4 servies each week. This is allowing us to create more space so more people can meet Jesus. What a privilege!

A couple ways you can help…

1) Attend any service but the Sunday 10:00 am. This service is packed, please choose one of the other three.

2) Serve. If you’re not currently volunteering in a ministry, do so ASAP. This will help us minister to every person God sends our way.

Thanks in advance for your help. I love locking arms with the people of Palm Valley Church, you’re the best!

How To Hear From God

As we’re in this Seize The Moment campaign, I’m getting a ton of questions from people who are praying about their commitment. Questions like “how do I determine my commitment”, “what does it mean for me to sacrifice”, etc…

In order to every person at Palm Valley really grow through this process, I’m doing a special message this week called “How To Hear From God”. Make sure you don’t miss, I believe this is going to challenge us all.

Pressure

Man, tonight the pressure was put on me in a big way! Bottom of the last inning, my 7 year old’s team was down 11-10. As the pitcher I was sweating bullets. The last thing I wanted was for my lousy pitching to be the reason we lost.

So, what happened? The boys brought their sticks to the plate and did the job. Four runs scored to win the game in our last-ups. We’re so rollin’ heading into the playoffs. I’m not sure if I can handle the playoff pressure though

4 services rockin’

As I drove home Sunday I realized just how taxing 4 services is physically. I was worn-out, but it’s worth it. We’re created more space for more peopel to come meet Jesus. Sunday 10:00 was jam-packed, so if you can move to the earlier or later service it would help free us some seats.

I really sense God working in our church in a big way right now.

There have been times in Palm Valley’s history where I’ve felt like God is getting ready to bust things loose; I feel like that right now. Why? Lives are being changed, people are coming to Jesus every service, our staff is working their tails off, leaders in our church are stepping up all over the place, prayer is a greater priority, and we’re getting ready to make some huge sacrificial financial commitments to build our campus.

On the flip side, we’re seeing the evil one attack like mad; people are leaving the church because we’ve changed (dumb reason, we should always be changing), health crisis are happening daily, and its’ awesome. The evil one attacks because he knows God is up to something big!

Palm Valleyer’s, let’s keep our eye on the ball and watch God do some flat out miraculous stuff!

Incredible Opportunity

Over the last month I’ve talked to over 900 people in 36 different events about the Seize The Moment campaign to build our campus. It’s been awesome to sense the excitement of the body at Palm Valley for what God’s calling us to do.

After 6 years of being portable, it’s incredible to believe that next year we could be stepping onto our own campus. I believe God’s going to send a wave of thousands who need to know Jesus, and we’ll be ready for them. I love being a part of something that is undeniably the work of God.

It’s a big task ahead of us, but I believe we’re going to see God do miracles in and through us as we fully committ to His plan. If you attend Palm Valley, but haven’t yet attended one of these events, the last one if Friday night at 6:30. Call the church office to register, you won’t want to miss out!

Another Loss

It’s been a tough couple weeks with unexpected passings in our body. Yesterday I received a call that Dean Goddard had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 65.

Dean was a good friend, and a man who loved the Lord. He had pastored churches for nearly 40 years, and spend his last 4 serving at Palm Valley. He was always an encouragement to me, and I will miss him.

I’m saddened for the family, who all serve at Palm Valley, but happy for Dean, who is now free to enjoy heaven with his Lord Jesus.

Dean’s service will be Saturday morning at 11:00 am at Desert Springs Community Church, 14440 W. Indian School Rd.

Sickness

Man, the last few days have been miserable. This weekend, in addition to our 4 normal services, I spoke at 4 “can’t miss” events (about an hour long talk each), and it just flat wore me out.

To top it off I came down with the stomach flu. Two days in bed, lost six pounds, and still feel horrible. Please pray for me, the weekend still comes every week .

Little League Is Fun

I’ve got 3 boys in little league right now, and with 2 games and a practice every week for each of them, it’s crazy! However, I’m having a blast watching my boys grow, learn, and develop their skills. They’re having fun playing, but to be honest, I’m having more fun watching them.

Yesterday I got to pitch the last 2 innings for Zach’s coach-pitch team, and we had scored a bunch of runs for a come from behind victory. I’m not saying it was the pitching, but

At Jake’s first game he got the game winning hit, a double down the line to score two runs that won the game. He got the game ball. I was so proud for him I cried. This was huge for him!

Isn’t it more fun being proud for others than ourselves? When we become proud of ourselves we’re set for a fall. When we are proud for others we dream big dreams for them, we strive to encourage them, and we live beyond ourselves. As a pastor, I always want to be proud for God, and proud for the people of Palm Valley Church. I want to encourage them, dream big for them, and celebrate when God does incredible things in and through their lives. Sometimes I even cry.

Jesus Wins Again

A couple months ago there was a big furor over the film coming out the “proved” Jesus was buried with his wife and children. The people who created the film had firm “evidence” that this was the case. Non-believers jumped all over this and shouted out that Christians around the world were misguided in our commitment to Jesus Christ.

Then today this begins to come out…www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite . Once again the Bible stands true, the tomb is still empty, and Jesus still wins. By the way, why isn’t the press jumping all over this like they did the original story? Oh well, I’ll continue to follow Jesus, He rules!