"Year in Review" - May

Picking my favorite moment in May was really easy ... Awake! It was an amazing night of worship. If you would like to re-live the night or weren’t able to be there, purchase a copy of the Awake CD this weekend. They make great stocking stuffers! My favorite entry came from May 1st...

You

All week, we have been talking about relationships. Today, we will actually find the key to extraordinary relationships in the final six boundaries God laid out in establishing a relationship with the nation of Israel. You are closer to the answer than you think.

Exodus 20

12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You must not murder.

14 “You must not commit adultery.

15 “You must not steal.

16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

You. Here’s a challenge ... think of the best relationship(s) you have ever experienced. Now, think of how you would describe the person(s) you had that relationship with. I would be willing to bet your description would include words like ... caring, honest, genuine, concerned, generous and considerate. It may seem ironic; but each of those is really an antidote for the actions God wanted us to avoid in our relationships. Ordinarily, people are selfish when it comes to relationships. Extraordinary relationships are possible when we live extraordinarily ... when you and I are caring, honest, genuine, concerned, generous and considerate. What changes do you need to make so that your relationships can be less ordinary (self-centered) and more extraordinary (others-centered)?

"Year in Review" - April

Picking a favorite moment in April was really difficult because the “Not-So-Extreme Church Makeover” was a beautiful day in more ways than one and the Easter service(s) was awesome (remember “Come Alive”); but for me, nothing could top the Baptism Celebration ... fifty people publicly expressing their faith in Jesus. My favorite entry came from April 6th...

My

This week, we will conclude our look at Luke’s account of the story of Jesus. It will include some important reminders as we prepare for the most important moment in history.

Luke 22

14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” 19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” 20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people - an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”

My. I love how “my” (my body, my blood) is followed so quickly in Jesus’ teaching by “you” (given for you, a sacrifice for you). My oldest daughter is at the stage in her young life where she is becoming very possessive ... my blanket, my plate, my doll. My wife and I are trying to replace that word in her vocabulary with the word share. This passage, and this week leading up to Easter, are great reminders that we should be constantly evaluating our lives ... looking for opportunities where “my” can be replaced with “you” ... in our relationships, at our work, with our resource, everywhere.

"Year in Review" - March

My favorite part of March was Thursday nights when we would have 80 to 90 people participate in the RESET Group on campus. My favorite entry came from March 10th...

HOW

We are currently revisiting the story of Jesus as written by Luke. Our goal is to complete Luke’s account with the RESET series. In order to do that, we will periodically skip over a passage. Today, we receive a reminder about prayer.

Luke 11

1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.

3 Give us each day the food we need,

4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,

6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’

7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’

8 But I tell you this - though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

How. I love verse 10; but too often I forget verses 2-4. I love hearing that I will receive what I ask for. I forget that I am supposed to ask for is what I need to survive physically (food) and spiritually (forgiveness). I love hearing that I will find what I am seeking. I forget that I am supposed to seek God’s honor in my life and in this world. I love hearing that the doors (opportunities) I am knocking on will be opened. I forget that the doors I should be knocking on lead to opportunities to forgive and escape temptation.

"Year in Review" - February

My favorite part of February was kicking off the RESET series with so many churches throughout Cincinnati. I especially liked launching so many RESET Groups. My favorite entry came from February 17th...

Servant

We are currently revisiting the story of Jesus as written by Luke. Today, we witness a great example.

Luke 1

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,

27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.

28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!

31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month.

37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Servant. Can you imagine how fast Mary’s mind must have been spinning? I love the honesty of the phrase “confused and disturbed” and the sincerity of the question ... “How?” More than anything, I appreciate her response, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” That is the level of discipleship I want to achieve ... that mindset, “I am Your servant” ... that willingness to truly follow no matter what and no matter where.

"Year in Review" - January

Over the next couple of weeks, I would like to spend some time reviewing our journey through 2009 ... one month at a time ... sharing a favorite moment and a favorite entry from each month. I pray God will use this review to refresh the memory of your journey while renewing your passion for continuing it.

My favorite moment(s) came from the “Why?” message series. I love when we use God’s Story to help us address some of the difficult questions we face. My favorite entry came from January 15th...

HELP

We are making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, Paul moves on to a new topic.

1 Corinthians 12

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.

6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.

9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.

10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have

Help. There are some days when I read God’s Word and it seems a little ambiguous or irrelevant. There are other days (like today) when a thought jumps right off the page and applies directly to my life. For me, the thought that stood out was actually an entire verse ... seven. “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” When we accept God’s grace and believe in Jesus, God (in the form of the Holy Spirit) moves in ... into our heart, into our mind, into our life. According to Paul, He brings along a “house” warming gift ... a spiritual gift. Which raises two important questions ... Have you identified your gift? Are you using it to help others? I didn’t say the application would be easy ... just obvious and relevant.