7.5.09 :: RETRO (grace) July 6, 2009

Started a new series last night:

 

 

 

 
We think it’s good to slow down on occasion and look back at the basics to get a handle on our here and now.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the drama of today that we can loose sight of those things our faith is built upon – so in this series, we’ll stop, rewind and remember. 

Our “religion” has claimed some phenomenal ideas as foundational truth – we call that THEOLOGY (the study of the nature of God and of religious truth).  John Wesley, in particular, had some awesome and inspired ideas that are why I think the United Methodist Church is so cool.  So, it’s talking about these ideas and unpacking them that create for each of us a spiritual life that is much deeper than religion. 

This first night we spent on GRACE - the only real place to start when we’re talking about our connection with God.  We believe that our relationship with God is more than a moment in time, but a journey through a lifetime.  And his grace travels with us at every stage.  So we did some journeying with our congregation. 

We opened the night with a couple songs (”Happy Day” by Tim Hughes and “Desire” by Phil Wickham).  In an attempt to set the retro mood, I shared my retro experience – including some horrible hair pictures and documentation of my love affair with MacGyver!!  Just to give you a taste, this is one of my prize possessions – an autographed head shot, “To Tina…just for you…LOVE, Ricky Anderson”   

There are three kinds of grace and so we had three points to our journey.  At each point they heard from a different speaker who shared their understanding of the kind of grace they spoke of and their experience of it in their own life.   Each group spent about 10 minutes with each person. 

So those three graces are:
1) Prevenient Grace (the grace that comes before) – you could call this preparing grace.  This is when the Spirit is preparing us for a relationship with God.  It’s all the times God is working that we don’t see till we look back through that 20/20 hindsight that makes everything so clear.  

2) Justifying Grace (the grace that saves us) – this is our Salvation experience.  It is the Spirit accepting us as broken as we are, and allowing Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to make us new, and therefor justified.  For some this is a moment in time of saying “yes” to God, for others this Salvation happens in process and is harder to pinpoint. 

3) Sanctifying Grace (is the grace that changes us) – this is what happens after our “yes” to God – if courtship is the preparing grace, and your wedding day is the justification, then the years of growing together in a marriage relationship is the Sanctification.  It is the Spirit sustaining us on all the ups and downs of our journey with God.

We read Romans 5:1-11 which speaks to all three graces…

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.  <<That’s grace!>>

There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!  <<That’s Sanctifying grace>>

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.  <<That’s Prevenient grace>>

Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!  <<That’s Justifying grace>>

When this learning journey was over, we went into communion – one of our “Means of Grace” – or a way in which we can experience God’s grace physically and spiritually.  During communion we sang ”I Will Rise” by Chris Tomlin and then wrapped up the night with “Oh Praise Him” by David Crowder. 

My prayer for all of us as we journey with God is much like the one I shared as we opened the night…

God – thank you so much for our tradition and history.  Thank you for speaking to your people through the years, for creating a system of beliefs that will guide us down the road with you.  May we take this time to think about what we believe – to really get down to it – so that we can stand firmly on it.  A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  So open our minds, God and let’s talk.  We love you – AMEN

Here is our current prayer request list.  (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Praise - Connie & Jerry Noland had a great missions experience with the Choctaw Reservation

 :: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road. Pray for the details to come together. For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is not doing well.  Pray for her and her family as they wrestle with grief and illness.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Toni Ruppert is looking for a new job (while working a paper route!) pray God will open up the right opportunity and that she and Zach will pull through this tough time.

:: Praise – Jen’s test results all came back clean – she’s good!

6.28.09 – Nicaragua Sunday July 6, 2009

Well, I didn’t make it to this part of my To Do List last week.  And because we spent the night hearing from our Nicaraguan Mission Team, I didn’t have much to  type about.  They did a great job presenting.  The work we’re doing there in partnership with our Nica sisters and brothers is so very cool!  We work with 2 organizations:

El Ayudante – we use these guys for our food and lodging and logistics/ministry help (translators, etc.)  They do a GREAT job!!  And their site is great – go check it out!

Alcance- our newest partner is a non-profit from here in the states.  They started out of Norcross UMC in Atlanta.  They hooked us up with our Sister Church.  We’re in the process now of the first stages of a worship building for them.  We just delivered 170 water filters (thanks to the Advent Conspiracy) that will make a world of difference.  And we’re praying for their congregation of 35 or so families by name.  They gave us a roster with each member in each family listed.  So we’ve divided those names up and asked people to put their family names up somewhere (I put stickies on the back) that would daily remind them of our blessings and their needs (on their fridge, by a light switch, over the bathroom sink, etc.)   

I’m working now on uploading a slideshow of some pictures from this last trip.
Thanks to the team for being such servants and for helping our church understand how big a church we’re a part of!

06.21.09 :: River of Life Sunday / Parent Technology Seminar June 22, 2009

Well this was an exciting and crazy week at Ringgold UMC.  We hosted our 4th Annual River of Life (missions event for high school students).  We had 5 churches participate with 63 students and adults. There were about 145 different adults and college students from our church serving in some way, and lots of folks who brought in ladders, coolers and food donations! All these people’s efforts enabled God to work on 18 different work sites (including 3 roofs this year!) for people in our area who couldn’t afford to have the work done.  We put down 75 squares of roofing, 40 gallons of paint, 80 linear feet of wheel chair ramp and hauled off 8 tons of debris!  All that was done in 100 degree weather, and that was just the work side of the event.  We also fed and housed the participants at the church, and had AWESOME worship and small groups each night.  Kids lives were changed through the experience and our community felt the love of Christ in a very tangible way.  I was the Event Coordinator and Eric was the Construction Coordinator.  We had LOTS of help of course, but we’re exhausted!!  Thanks to all the people that made the hole thing possible.

So last night at The Water’s Edge, we had our speaker from ROL stick around to share some information for parents.  His name is Andre Dantzler and besides being a great speaker and technology expert, he does a couple other cool things you might want to check out, like KingdomBook and ProjectGod.  He brought with him Julie Baumgardner from First Things First and they spoke to us about to us all about the kinds of technology young people are involved in.  They gave tips for understanding and better utilizing these technologies, along with things to look out for and ways to better communicate about and through them.  The parents I spoke with were really glad they came.  Kevin Alton (RUMC Youth Minister) will be showing a video of this presentation to other youth parents some time soon!)  Many thanks to Andre and Julie for the ministry they so joyfully create and willingly share!

Here is our current prayer request list.

(Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

::  Pray for Connie & Jerry Noland = Starting Saturday they are at the Choctaw Reservation to do some mission work there with other folks from the south.

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road. Pray for the details to come together. For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is home, but not feeling good. She’s battling much more than cancer with all the effects of her treatments on her body. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons – current issues: the living situation still precarious; her car died. 

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Toni Ruppert is looking for a new job (while working a paper route!) pray God will open up the right opportunity and that she and Zach will pull through this tough time.

:: Pray for Jen – she’s awaiting some test results

6.14.9 :: Missionary Focus – Mike O’Quin June 17, 2009

This month we’re focussing on different mission areas.  We had a quest speaker last night who is a full time missionary with his family in Indonesia – Mike O’Quin.  We opened with a couple songs: “Song of Hope” Robbie Seay Band and “Desire” Phil Wickham.  Mike shared his story of God using him to give long term help to the people of Indonesia – they’ve been there for 10 years! 

They have tons of ministry happening there:  english c;lubs, worship services on a college campus, and the biggest thing is they’ve started a business there which enables people to learn skills that will allow them to rise up out of poverty in a permenant way.  I’ll have a link up soon to more info if you’d like to amazed at how awesome God is!  And he and his family are very interested in hosting people there in Indonesia – if you’d like to go on a mission trip!

Mike’s challenge for us was to consider what God might be bubbling up inside us – regardless of our experience or training – we’re all called to a mission field.  What might yours be?  We broke into small groups a couple times to discuss this idea and the reality of what fear and doubt can do to fight against God’s stirring in our hearts. 

We closed with “You Are the Light” by Steve Fee.  Said a prayer (big group laying on hands) over Jerry & Connie leaving for a mission trip soon, and then sent everyone home.  It was a good night!

Here are our other prayer requests this week: (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Nica team home safe!  Pray for River of Life.  Pray for Connie & Jerry Noland = heading for the Choctaw Reservation to do some mission work there with other folks from the south.

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road. Pray for the details to come together. For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is home, but not feeling good. She’s battling much more than cancer with all the effects of her treatments on her body. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons – current issues: the living situation still precarious; she needs a vacuum cleaner to help with the asthma issues; brakes on the car need to be replaced; starts new job today!!

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: Toni Ruppert is looking for a new job (while working a paper route!) pray God will open up the right opportunity and that she and Zach will pull through this tough time. 

6.7.9 – The Song June 9, 2009

This was “Music Sunday” at our church – so our morning service was run by the choir doing lots of music specials.  At The Water’s Edge we took it in a little different direction. 

We focused on “the song” instead of the music.  We did play some music!  Started off with “Sing to the King” (Passion) and then “Mighty to Save” (Hillsong).  Then we watched a Nooma (Rob Bell film) called “Rythym”  Here’s how the piece is described:

“What does it mean to have a relationship with God? What does it look like? For a lot of us it’s a hard thing to understand. If God is an infinite spirit with no shape or form, how can we possibly relate to that? And what about Jesus? He said he came to give everyone life in its fullest. He came to show us how to live. Maybe it’s through trusting Jesus and living the kind of life he taught us to live–a life of truth, love, justice, compassion, forgiveness, and sacrifice–that we have a relationship with God. Maybe the way we live every day, every single choice we make, determines how in tune with God we are.”

When the video finished we simply discussed it.  I asked questions, brought out some quotes from the piece, and people shared their thoughts from their seats.  Here’s some of what we discussed:

Q: When you think about God, what images do you have?  What do you think God is like?

Rob said, “for many people their concept of God is built around a God who’s outside of everything, a God who essentially is some where else, a God who made the world but then stands back and watches it from this other vantage point, and then from time to time comes here.”

Q: Where do you think god is?

Rob introduced a very cool idea – he said, “When I think of God, I hear a song”  He spoke about how it is captivating, and haunting, and seems to be in all and through all.

Q: What do you think of the idea of God being very present in every particle? 

How can we know the song?  Jesus.  Jesus’ life puts notes and lyrics to the God song.
Rob said, “in his generosity, in his compassion – that’s what God’s like.
in his telling of the truth, that’s what God’s like.
in his love and forgiveness, and sacrifice, that’s what God’s like.
That’s who God is. That’s how the song goes.”

Q: Is God compassionate, truthful, loving and forgiving?
OR IS GOD compassion, truth, love and forgiveness?
And if so – WHERE is God?

Rob said, “The song is playing all around us all the time, the song is playing everywhere, it’s written on our hearts and everybody is playing the sing. See, the question isn’t whether or not you’re playing the song, the question is, ‘Are you in tune?’

Q: What does that mean? Sound like? How do you know if you’re in tune?
Can you believe in God and be out of tune with the Song?
What is more important to Jesus – what we believe or what we do?

Jesus says in John 10:10 – “I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.”
Q: If we were to live the way Jesus taught us to live, being in tune with the song, do you think that you would have a better life? Why? 

We shared communion when the discussion was wrapped up.  I said…

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus gathered together with his disciples to celebrate, to encourage and to teach them a beautiful song.  As those men had traveled and interacted with jesus they had heard it loud and clear, but on this last night with them, he wanted to be sure that they were absolutely clear.

Using the tradition and history of their religion – he taught them truth.  He held up the cup and said, this is no longer any old drink, but the representation of my blood which will be shed for the forgiveness of all sin.  This verse of the song is all about the grace of my salvation – it comes freely with no strings attached – you can’t earn it; you can only receive & be made clean.

He picked up the bread, and broke it and helped them see, that he too would be broken for our sakes, because death is all sin deserves. Without his perfect, heavenly body receiving the punishment for us, there would be no hope.  This is that dark bridge in the song, where the tension between our intentions and our reality hangs in the balance.

But then the chorus comes – the Good News – Jesus is willing and the only one able, to be the sacrifice for our sins.  To be the answer to our problem.  To be the one through which we are all able to reach out and connect to God.

When we remember these things – when we take the bread, dip it in the juice, and eat it – then we are joining the choirs of angels singing in glory the intricate, complicated and real song that is our life in Christ, and Christ’s life in us.

Tonight we’re going to share in the “song” as we litteraly sing together.

We’ll share it from one person to the next, just like those disciples did that night with Jesus. We’re each going to take the role of song leader as we pass this precious gift to the person next to us.  You’ll first offer the person next to you the bread – saying something like: “the body of Christ broken for you” but anything close will do.  Once they’ve taken a piece of bread, you hold the cup for them to dip their bread in and say: “The blood of Christ, shed for you” – or something like that.  They then dip it in and eat both at once.  The elements will work their way down the rows, from one section to the next.

This song is open to any and all who would hear.  This isn’t United Methodist bread, the grape juice doesn’t have a list of approved partakers – God’s table is open to any and all who would receive the gift of his love.

So, fellow musicians, may you come to see that the song is written on your heart -
That it is embodied in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
As you live in tune with the song, in tune with the creator of the universe,
may you realize that you ARE in a relationship with the living God -
That you do have a part to play and that it is a beautiful thing to hear!

We sang “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)” Tomlin, “Better is One Day” (Passion) and “Came to My Rescue” (Hillsong United) as communion was being served.  It was a beautiful night.

Here are our other prayer requests this week: (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Pray for the Nicaragua Mission Team (20 folks from our church and Tunnel Hill UMC are in country from 6/6-13) 

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road. Pray for the details to come together. For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is home, but not feeling good.  She’s battling much more than cancer with all the effects of her treatments on her body.  Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Lynn Kelly – she’s doing good, but still struggling with several recovery issues. Her sister-in-law is also battling cancer – her name is Susan.

:: Pray for Tony – job is going well, pray that he begins to get his feet under him again. His wife and he are also working on reconciliation – pray God will be in the middle of that process.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons – God provided a miracle in the transportation department; then found them a place to live – but there are some issues with her son’s asthma – so pray that they can overcome them and keep living there!  She’s been offered a job, but is now wrestling with the need for a wardrobe to match it – pray God will continue to provide.

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

:: A praise that Toni Ruppert’s mom and dad survived a very scary car accident with a Semi-truck that could have been MUCH worse! 

Happily Ever After :: passionate living June 3, 2009

Don’t we all want to live Happily Ever After?
We all dream of a perfect future.
Of leaving a legacy behind.
Of finding true love .
And of knowing wealth.

These dreams are a part of our heart and soul, and through the book of Proverbs God has given us a lot of wisdom that can lead to reaching these dreams!  This was our last night in this series, and it was a very special day in the church: Pentecost – the day we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit.  So our topic for the night was the dream we all have of living passionately.  Of joy overflowing into every aspect of our lives.  Of figuring out how to live well and full and abundantly.

We opened with a couple big songs: Happy Day (Hughes) and Fields of Grace (Big Daddy Weave)

Our testimony for the night was shared by Steve Harwood.  Steve is a phenomenal human being.  In addition to a day job, he is our Facilities Manager.  He says that’s a fancy way of saying he’s the janitor.  And he has one of the best attitudes of anyone I’ve ever met.  No matter how much “trash” he’s having to  deal with, when you ask him how he’s doing he’s always, “FANTASTIC!”  He’s got one of those can do and will do mindsets that is beautiful and inspiring, and it’s because of the way that God is living in him.  So he shared his story (even though he was very nervous) and focused in on Proverbs 15:13 (The Message) A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.

When Steve finished speaking, I gave the following directions for a Prayer Exercise:

“Pentecost is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit – that part of the Trinity that is more elusive to our understanding.  It’s more about feeling than knowing;  more about inspiration than understanding.  Because there is this great mystery within our faith – that God lives within us.  And that happens through His Spirit.

We’re going to pass out some markers and pieces of streamer.  (They were red, orange & yellow). 
The invitation I give to you tonight is two fold:

1) on your streamer, first ask God to help you identify the things that hold back your passion – the things that get in the way of living in the joy of the moment, the things that hold you back from abundant life.  List out those things and offer them up to God.  If you aren’t sure what they are – write out a prayer asking God to help you identify them.

2) if you are willing, ask God to fill you with his Spirit.  if you are open to being filled with a passion that is bigger than your own ability to be joyful, then ask him.  If you are looking for a peace that passes all understanding and that leads to a life beyond the everyday, then ask him. 

Simply write out the desires of your heart – ask God to fill up those places where you’ve removed the doubt or darkness or depression.  Ask him to live within you and without you.  To bring new energy and enthusiasm to your tired bones.  To open new springs of living water within your soul.”

While they wrote out these prayers we heard “Everything” by Lifehouse – a beautiful song about God’s desire to fill us.  When they finished, they brought their streamers to the front to a volunteer who collected them and then left the room.

Next, John (our pastor) spoke about the story of Pentecost and what it meant.  What it means for us today.  While he spoke, those volunteers were busy attaching those streamer prayers to three big fans.  When he finished speaking this video began: Pentecost , and the volunteers brought the fans in and put them on the edge of the stage.  When the scipture mentioned the fire and the wind, the fans came on and our prayers began to dance like flames on the wings of the Holy Spirit!

We then sang Make a Joyful Noise (I will not be Silent) and Undignified (both Crowder style) and got people up on their feet, clapping their hands, shouting out their joy and love of God!  It was a fun night!

Here are our other prayer requests this week: (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road. Pray for the details to come together. For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is back in Mexico for more treatment and is feeling good. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Lynn Kelly – she’s doing good, but still struggling with several recovery issues. Her sister-in-law is also battling cancer – her name is Susan.

:: Pray for Tony – job is going well, pray that he begins to get his feet under him again. His wife and he are also working on reconciliation – pray God will be in the middle of that process.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons – God provided a miracle in the transportation department!! Still need a place to live. And she is waiting to hear about a great potential job

:: Pray for Lacy Thompson – she’s serving as a missionary in Ecuador until Thanksgiving.

Happily Ever After :: who wants to be a millionaire? May 28, 2009

Oops = sorry for the delay on posting!  The holiday Monday threw off my system and I forgot!

Sunday night we looked at the dream we all have of having wealth – real wealth that can’t be taken away and that rust and moth will never claim.  Who DOESN’T want to be a millionaire?  We asked God to open us up to understand His wisdom so that we can have these dreams come true in our lives.  Dreams of wealth and riches that are stored in heaven instead of in our bank accounts.  Dreams of investments not affected by the economy, of investments that have eternal rewards and un-matched returns.  We know that God wants to use us to reach this world with His wealth – so this night we were challenged to consider how we can give, and in giving find we are made rich.

We opened with a couple songs: Salvation is Here (Hillsong United) and All We Need (Charlie Hall)

Our story sharers for the night were Connie & Jerry Noland - God has walked with them through many ups and downs when it comes to  finances.  They’ve come out the other side VERY servant and giving oriented.  They shared how God taught them to give and how their biggest blessings have come through passing on those blessings to others.

It was a Discussion Night – so we broke into groups and worked through these questions:

1) Think about the best “investment” you’ve made.

2) We heard this proverb: 
Proverbs 11:24-25 (The Message) The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

How have you experienced this proverb to be true?  Why is it true?

3) Share a story of a time someone invested in you.  What did they give to you; what did they in turn receive?

4) What gets in the way of such generosity?  What reasons/excuses do we use to hold on to our “wealth”?

5) We also heard:
Proverbs 3:9-10 (The Message) Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

Try to give a specific example of something you think God is asking you to turn over to him in some way.
How do these verses encourage you to follow through?

6) Pray together – lift up the thing each person shared in the last question. Ask that God give each of us the strength to follow through with our giving so that we can be open to receive the true riches he has for us.

We wrapped up with a couple more songs: God of this City and Everything (Tomlin)

We also gathered around Lacy Thompson – a college student from our church who is leaving on the 31st to spend about 6 months in South America doing missions work – after she shared about her work, we laid hands on her and prayed for her travels and ministry.  Please keep her in your prayers also! 

Here are our other prayer requests this week: (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road. Pray for the details to come together. For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is back in Mexico for more treatment and is feeling good. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents – the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Lynn Kelly – she’s doing good, but still struggling with several recovery issues. Her sister-in-law is also battling cancer – her name is Susan.

:: Pray for Tony – job is going well, pray that he begins to get his feet under him again.  His wife and he are also working on reconciliation – pray God will be in the middle of that process.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons – God provided a miracle in the transportation department!!  Still need a place to live. And she is waiting to hear about a great potential job!

Happily Ever After :: finding “Wuv, Twue Wuv” May 18, 2009

Yep, I’m a big Princess Bride fan!  Always have been.  Some of my closest friends and I still lisp on occasion because of this movie.  And this line was the first thing I thought of when we decided the night would be about love.  The Proverb behind the theme is 18:22 - He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

So we started with an open mic of people sharing the Proverbs from that week’s reading that really stood out for them.  Pretty funny – there’s good stuff in there!  Then we sang a couple songs: Because of Your Love (Hughes) and Foreverandever, Etc (Crowder).  I introduced our testimony time by showing that clip from the Princess Bride.  And then Con and Beth Kellerhals took the stage.

Con and Beth have been married I think 35 years (correct me if I’m remembering that wrong!) and they agreed to share their love story with us.  They turned it into a Top Ten List.  “Top Ten Ways to find True Love and Have a Happy Marriage” was the title.  They worked in pictures, video and music.  It was awesome!  The video is in 3 parts on youtube…
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

For you non-video watchers, here is their Top Ten:
#10 – Marry the person God has planned for you
#9 – Surround yourselves with Christian friends and role models
#8 – Never go to sleep angry with each other
#7 – Be sure you share common values & beliefs, but allow for individual differences & interests
#6 – Be your mate’s greatest encourager and fan
#5 – Keep the romance alive
#4 – Build a relationship of trust and mutual respect
#3 – Agree on the big stuff, and don’t sweat the small stuff
#2 – Make family a priority
#1 – Keep God at the center of your marriage

Then Andrew & McKenzie did an awesome skit.  It was inspired by this one – if you want to watch it.  Pretty funny!

We used some of Eric and I’s wedding vows to say a prayer thanking God for the love in our lives – more than just the romantic love, but the friends we have and the love we share with God himself.  As we thought about those love relationships in our lives, we prayed together:

I take you as a gift to be my companion
I will serve you with tenderness and respect
I will provide Christian leadership in our relationship
I will weep with you in sorrows and rejoice with you in blessings
I will live with you a simple, just and peaceful life as Christ has called us to live
I will forgive you as we have been forgiven
I enter into this relationship
To give and to receive
To speak and to listen
To inspire and to respond

I shared that my favorite part of weddings is the line: With all that I have, and all the I am, I honor you. 
I challenged folks to approach all their relationships with that mindset.  If in every opportunity, you looked at that person you’re interacting with and thought, “right now in this situation, with all that I have and all that I am, I honor you.”  what would  our world look like?

Then we closed out singing: Beautiful One (Hughes) and Unchanging (Tomlin)

These words from our vows became our sending forth:

The grace of Christ attend to you
The love of God surround you
The holy Spirit keep you that you may grow in holy love
May there be truth and understanding in your relationships
May you enjoy length of days, fulfillment of hopes and peace of mind
May God bless you and keep you always – AMEN.

Here are our prayer requests this week: (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is still traveling a VERY rough road.  Pray for the details to come together.  For hope and healing and willingness to hang on tight!

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is back in Mexico for more treatment and is feeling good. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandparents - the grandmother’s hip replacement surgery went well, but the grandfather has some dementia issues and the situation is difficult.

:: Pray for Lynn Kelly – she’s doing good, but still struggling with several recovery issues. Her sister-in-law is also battling cancer – her name is Susan.

:: Tony got a job!! Pray that it goes well as he begins to get his feet under him again.  He’s also suffered the loss of a dear friend (like a mom to him) so pray for strength in this time of great grief.

:: Pray for Christa and her sons – they desperately need some transportation.  And a place to live.  And she needs a job.

Happily Ever After :: building a legacy that lasts May 11, 2009

This week wel talked about our dreams of leaving a legacy, of being a part of and creating families that will impact our world when we’re long gone.  Very appropriate on the day we celebrate our Mothers to take time to say thank you and to consider how we can do our part to encourage and create a legacy. 

We opened with a couple songs: Lead Me To The Cross (Hillsong United) and Everything Glorious (Crowder).

We’ve invited everyone to read a chapter a day from the Book of Proverbs (the inspiration behind the series) and so we asked anyone who was willing to come up and share anything from their reading that stood out to them.  A couple did. 

Each week of this series we have a testimony time – someone willing to share their story and how they’ve experienced the wisdom to help make their dreams come true.  This week we focussed that time in on some of the kids of our church.  Here is a video I made of what those kids had to share about who they are, about their families, and about the lessons they’re learning…

The Proverb for the night:

Proverbs 6:20-23 (New International Version)

²⁰ My child, keep your father’s commands
       and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

 ²¹ Bind them upon your heart forever;
       fasten them around your neck.

 ²² When you walk, they will guide you;
       when you sleep, they will watch over you;
       when you awake, they will speak to you.

 ²³ For these commands are a lamp,
       this teaching is a light,
       and the corrections of discipline
       are the way to life

Then John (our pastor) shared some of his story.  His father left when he was 13 and he didn’t know it, but a handful of men from his church came together and promised that they wouldn’t let John fall through the cracks.   They decided to fill some of the void his father left behind.  And it made all the difference in John’s life.  We talked about how the idea of family is much bigger than just a mother and a father.  We thought about how all of are called to love on the family of God and that it is an honor to do so. 

 That brought us to another family’s story:  We watched a video piece that will make you cry!!  BE WARNED.
If you have 7 minutes, you should watch this video now!!  It’s called 99 Balloons

So our big idea was that each of us has the chance through God to leave a legacy in this world that is much larger than ourselves.  For many of us that will happen through the blessing of family, but that is not the only way.  Our larger family of brothers and sisters in Christ is also before us and a part of us if we’ll follow God’s lead.  So we want to make the most of EVERY DAY and opportunity like the family in the video did.  We passed out slips of paper, pens and balloons.  Invited everyone to write a note of thanks to someone who has invested in them.  Might be a mom, but it could be any number of other relationships as well.  They wrote their notes, tucked them into their balloons and then brought them forward to be filled with helium.  After tying a ribbon on, they were ready to share their thanks.  Letting people know about the legacy they are creating in us.  (we only lost a couple of balloons to the ceiling, and only one exploded mid-filling right in the middle of a worship song!)  While people came forward to be filled, we first had the talented Neel family play “The Hand Song” by Nickle Creek and then we sang You Are So Good To Me (Third Day) and How Great is Our God (Tomlin).

It was a cool night. 

Here are our prayer requests this week: (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is home from another stay at a treatment facility and asks for continued prayers for her healing and wellness. There are still of lots of complicated life details to figure out as well. This will be a long, rough road.

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is back in Mexico for more treatment and is feeling good. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Pray for Katie Thompson’s grandmother (Sil) – had hip replacement surgery this morning.

:: Pray for Lynn Kelly – she’s doing good, but still struggling with several recovery issues. Her sister-in-law is also battling cancer – her name is Susan.

:: Tony got a job!! Pray that it goes well as he begins to get his feet under him again.

Happily Ever After :: Somewhere over the Rainbow May 4, 2009

We’ve started a new series!

Don’t we all want to live Happily Ever After?

No matter male or female – old or young…
We all want to ride off into the sunset of our dreams.
We all want a legacy to be remembered by.
We all want to find our true love.
We all want to be rich and generous.
We all want to live passionately.

During this series we’ll discover the wisdom to make these dreams come true. We’ll draw from the writings in the Book of Proverbs. And each week we’ll hear from people who have personally learned some of these lessons.

Proverbs begins with this:
“These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king— written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; A manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; To teach the inexperienced the ropes & give our young people a grasp on reality. There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn— Fresh wisdom to probe & penetrate the rhymes & reasons of wise men & women.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m in!

5.3.09 – The dream: somewhere over the rainbow
On this night we focussed on the idea that discovering the plans God has for you, means listening carefully and letting him make all the decisions!  The verse for the night was Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation):

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

We opened with a couple songs: Marvelous Light (Hall) & Made to Worship (Tomlin).  It was Preschool Sunday at our church that day, so we watched a bit of video about our Preschool. 

We invited everyone to take a card and a sharpie and to write down a dream they have about the plans God has for them.  A prayer for guidance in whatever area they wonder about.  A question about what’s over their rainbow.  We then collected those cards and came back to them at the end of the service.

 Britta Alton shared some of her story with us as it relates to learning lessons about following God’s lead even when they had no idea what that was going to look like exactly.  She and Kevin (our youth minister) moved to Ringgold from Cartersville and God was definitely in charge of the move.  She shared her exprience in that process and how it was hard but rewarding, scary but beautiful to see. 

Following Britta’s testimony, Andrew & McKenzie did a great skit about giving God the gift of making our decisions.  About how hard that is to actually do, and about how most of the time we end up taking that control back from him.  You can watch a version of it on Youtube.  They did a great job with this!

After that John segued us into our monthly communion.  When we’re thinking about how hard it is to follow God’s lead in making decisions about the future, can you just imagine how scared the disciples must have been in those last days with Jesus?  Gathered around the table with him that night, do you think they realized how big this movement was going to get?  Do you think they knew what was in store for them?  When they took the cup and bread from Christ they were blindly saying YES.  In faith, in trust, they were giving God the reigns and that’s what we have the opportunity to do, too.  We invited people to come up and receive the gift of salvation, the hope of a future in the body and blood of Christ.  As they came forward we sang Indescribable (Tomlin) and Blessed Be Your Name (Redman).

When communion was finished, we closed with a very special prayer.  Earlier, we entered into Media Shout all the prayers from the cards people had filled out at the beginning of the night.  So looking at our screen we prayed each of those prayers together.  Some of them were beautiful:

“God, give us the faith to trust you without knowing the answers.”

“God, make us strong and courageous that we may always serve you and do your will.”

“God, open our hearts wide to receive You.”

“God, help us live an undivided life.”

“God, may everything and anything we do be for your glory.”

“God, we pray that our past would be that.  And our future would be with your plan and YOUR prosperity.”

“God, show us why we’re where we are now, so we can better understand where we want to be.”

It was a cool night.  More to come.  Here are our prayer requests this week:  (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)

:: Jackie Anderson is home from another stay at a treatment facility and asks for continued prayers for her healing and wellness. There are still of lots of complicated life details to figure out as well. This will be a long, rough road.

:: Sonya Cooper’s Aunt – Mary – is back in Mexico for more treatment and is feeling good. Pray for healing and hope.

:: Louise & Keith Kenney’s daughter in law – Michelle Kenney – has FINISHED her treatment for breast cancer and so far all is good!!! Keep praying for her and her family (husband and two kids)!

:: Pray for Lynn Kelly – she’s doing good, but still struggling with several recovery issues. Her sister-in-law is also battling cancer – her name is Susan.

:: Tony got a job!!  Pray that it goes well as he begins to get his feet under him again.