Historic Day

Today Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. It is a historic day, marking the first time we have an President whose heritage is African-American. I was very proud to see the progress our nation is making towards ending racism.  I’m praying for President Obama, that God will give him great wisdom in leading our nation; specifically that he will make decisions that honor the Lord and bring us back to Biblical convictions.

I was struck today to hear children of former slaves talk about the hope they now have, and the joy and healing they see in having Obama as President. I haven’t walked their walk; I’m filled with joy for them and hope this gives them a greater belief in our nation.

I was also struck by what a tough task the Obama’s have as a family. They live in the biggest spotlight in the world. I’m praying that they will have wonderful family times, and that their little girls will be allowed to grow into the young women that God desires them to be.  The Obama’s have a beautiful family; I wish them the best.

While I know the nation is divided on Obama, it’s time for us all to rally behind him, pray for him, and support him. He is our President. He’s got a tough job ahead of him, and I’m praying he succeeds beyond our wildest dreams. We will all benefit.

Weekend Reflections

Great weekend as we continued LifeCoach, dealing with a tough subject: Physical Health…

• I know people who skipped because of the topic: they missed out
• Had a lot of women (in particular) share that they had a breakthrough in the area of how they view their body. Cool God moments
• Teaching that message 5 times drained me.
• Loved Lilly singing Amazing Grace, rocked the house!
• The new video system is really kicking, love the 3 big screens. Very impactful.
• Can’t wait for the next series: teaching through the life of Jesus.
• A friend who has season tix gave me a ticket to the Cardinals game.
• Got to the Cardinals game midway through the first quarter. The buzz was amazing.
• Great seats, the band Lincoln Park was sitting right in front of us. Master P was 5 rows in front of us.
• Can’t believe the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl!!
• Home Team was very cool; Lori and I are really enjoying our new HT; they’re a blast!
• Enjoyed Monday off, but just one day less to get everything done this week

Go Cardinals

Can you believe the Cardinals are in the NFC championship game? It’s awesome to finally have a team in town worth cheering on; the buzz is electric around here! By the way, a friend at Palm Valley who has season tickets blessed me by inviting me to join him at the game tomorrow. I’m pumped!!

But the buzz should be even greater at Palm Valley this weekend, because we’ve got a much bigger reason to cheer and celebrate: Jesus!!  So come ready to worship and celebrate the One who created us and loves us. See you this weekend at PVC!

Lies vs. Truth

This weekend I talked about replacing the lies Satan tells us with Truth from God’s Word. Here’s part 1 of the list…

*God’s ways are too restrictive

• God’s ways are best. Deut. 6:24-25; Joshua 1:8

• God’s restrictions are always for my good.  James 1:19-27

• Resisting or rebelling against God’s ways brings conflict and heartache. Ps. 68:6; Prov. 15:32-33

*I’m not worth anything

• My value is not determined by what others think of me or what I think of myself.  My value is determined by hos God views me.  Ps. 139:1-18; Ipeter 2:4

• To God, my soul is worth more than the price of the whole world.  John 3:16; Rm. 5:6-8

• If I am a child of God, I am God’s cherished possession and treasure.  Rm. 8:1-2; I Peter 2:9

*I have my rights

• claiming rights will put me in bondage. Job 4:1; Ps. 37:1-11; Luke 6:46

• Yielding rights will set me free.  John 6:38; Hebrews 10:7

*I can sin and get away with it

• The choices I make today will have consequence; I will reap what I sow.

• Sin’s pleasures only last for a season

• Sin exacts a devastating toll.  There are no exceptions

• If I play with fire, I will get burned.  I will not escape the consequences of my sin.

*My sin isn’t really that bad.

• Every act of sin is an act of rebellion against God

• No sin is small

*God can’t forgive what I have done

• The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover any and every sin I have committed.

• There is no sin too great for God to forgive.

• God’s grace is greater than the greatest sin anyone could ever commit.

*I am not fully responsible for my actions and reactions.

• God does not hold me accountable for the actions of others

• I am responsible for my own choices.

*I cannot walk in consistent victory over sin

• If I am a child of God, I don’t have to sin.

• I am not a slave to sin.  Through Christ, I have been set free from sin.

• By God’s grace and through the finished work of Christ on the cross, I can experience victory over sin.

*I don’t have time to do everything I’m supposed to do.

• There is time in every day to do everything that God wants me to do.

*I can make it without consistent time in the word and prayer.

• It is impossible for me to be the person God wants me to be apart from spending consistent time cultivating a relationship with Him in the Word and prayer.

Weekend Reflections

Palm Valley kicked off 2009 in style. “LifeCoach”, my new teaching series seemed to strike a chord and really challenge people to strive for God’s best in 2009…

• I’ve never heard so many stories of life change in one weekend. It was incredible to hear so many people share how God is at work in their lives. I’m addicted to life change, there’s nothing like seeing people take steps of faith, trusting in God, and seeing Him respond in a big way!
• Loved the worship this weekend. Derrick and the team really led us closer to God through the music.
• Great buzz on campus. Must be resolutions for the new year, but people came, came early, and had a sense of expectation.
• My son Jake told me that the youth service was the best he’d ever attended. When I asked him why, he said “because they helped me discover the spiritual gifts God has given me”. That’s real, that’s practical. Thanks to the student ministries team for helping students live out their faith.
• launched our Home Team Sunday night with 22 adults and way more kids. It was crazy, but awesome to begin journeying through the Bible with others.
• Loved the video wall behind the song “God of Wonders”, very moving!
• I believe PVC is poised to make a huge impact on the community this year. I’m pumped!
• Love what happened at Revolution Church this weekend. Yeah God!
• Tons of people at Palm Valley reading through the Bible and S.O.A.P.’ing this year, it’s going to be awesome!

A New Journey Begins

Yesterday I wrote that we completed the Route66 journey, reading through the Bible in 2008. The cool part is that God’s Word is living and inexhaustable, so January 1st marks the begining of another journey. Today we begin reading through the Bible again in 2009. We will also be emphasizing journaling, using the S.O.A.P. method. This will help us record our journey, and grow closer to Jesus this year.

This is a great tool, because it doesn’t matter what your knowledge/experience is with the Bible, you simply record your thoughts each day. You can learn more about the S.O.A.P. method by watching this video: http://media.palmvalley.org/video/121308.html or reading here: http://www.pvcroute66.com/studytools.htm . I highly encourage everyone to watch the video by Wayne Cordiero, it will really help you.

My hope is that our conversations as a church will center around our reading of God’s Word, and what He’s teaching us. Tonight I had great joy as I looked around the room as all my family was reading the Bible, and then gathered to share our S.O.A.P.’s for the day. What a unifying factor in our family to read and share God’s Word together. Parents and grandparents, I pray you’ll take time each day to do this with your kids/grandkids. What a great way to invest in the young people in our lives.

I encourage you to find others to share this year’s journey with. Our Home Team is reading and S.O.A.P.’ing together, sharing our growth together. If you don’t have a group, I’d encourage you to find one or even start one. Contact Dennis Johnston, our Home Teams Pastor at djohnston@palmvalley.org for help with this.

I believe journeying through the Bible together will make 2009 the best year ever, join us on the journey!