God's Golden Gang Picnic @ Gordon's 2009-06-27

Thanks to Ray & Dottie for opening their home!

Reflections on Sunday 6/28/2009

• Opportunity to be reminded of God's involvement in our lives as Creator and King through music.
• Studied Joshua 24:1-33 as Joshua called for a decision to be made as to who or what we serve with our lives. We are serving something or someone. Joshua also challenges us to consider the cost of the decision. Jesus challenges individuals to count the cost as well when making a decision for Him. Jesus made it clear that He was not interested in people being his fans, He was only looking for followers. The resulting question to be answered is "Am I a fan or follower of Christ?" The decisions that I make will indicate which of these I am.
• Individual indicated that she wanted to become a follower of Christ!
  

Resources for Fathers, Grandfathers, and...

At 110 years of age, Joshua was able to declare that he and his family had made the choice to follow God (Joshua 24:14-15). It was quite an audacious statement, yet it was true. There were two key components, I believe, that led him to be able to make this bold declaration. He started with himself -- he had determined to walk with God on a consistent basis "as for me." Joshua did not compartmentalize his life, he was the same person in private what he was in public. Secondly, he had determined to influence the heart of his children, not merely their external actions. He took Deuteronomy 6:4-8 to heart and looked for teachable moments in daily activities.

Here are a few resources that might be helpful to you Dads as you raise your children so that you might have a successful home:

The Marks of Manhood: What are the indicators that a boy has become a man? What is the target that we are shooting for when raising sons to become husbands and fathers? Al Mohler lists 13 indicators of manhood. Men, these are also good for us to reflect upon in our own lives. Also for you Dads with daughters, these indicators would make for a good Father-Daughter date once a month to discuss the implications of their quest for a godly husband.

Achieving True Success: How to Build Character As a Family: this is a book with 49 different character traits that can be used for discussion in helping to develop children. This would make for a good discussion at the dinner table, or perhaps even a devotional time. I would encourage you to take the time to look up the biblical principle from Scripture and read the passage as demonstration of God's desire for character. It is my understanding that this is not necessarily a "Christian" book, but that the truths of character are backed up in Scripture. Note: I have given you the link to the Amazon site just for your convenience. I do not receive any remuneration for this promoting this book. I have it on order and it should be arriving either this week or the next.

"She Calls Me Daddy" by Robert Wolgemuth: this is an excellent audio book for those of you who are fathers to girls. It has some insightful tips for raising daughters at all age levels -- from one who has been there. If you would like to borrow this in a CD format, stop by the church office. I haven't found anything quite as helpful for boys, though that hasn't been my main focus. If you have a recommendation, you can leave it in the comments below.

Pastor Dad: Free ebook for Dads which points out the responsibility of being the pastor of your home. You can read it online or download it as a PDF file. It is written by Mark Driscoll. I'm working my way through it as well at this time.

Hope those resources are a helpful starting point. If you have found other resources that you would like to share, you can leave them in the comments section below so that others might profit from your knowledge.

May God grant you His wisdom, grace and joy as you guide your children as a father!

Reflections on Father's Day

(Yep, this is our house in the Philippines, my Dad, Mother, myself and my brother Tim - held by my mother).

As I reflect on Father's Day, I am grateful for three men that God placed in my life as a father to impact me. The first was my biological father (seen above) whom I had the privilege of being part of my life for 15 years until God called him home. God placed a second man in my life as father around the time I was 17 years of age. He is my step-father and I am thankful for his guidance and encouragement over the years. He turns 85 today (June 22). A third man God placed in my life was my father-in-law whose consistent walk with the Lord was evident. He would have turned 80 this Saturday, but God called him home approximately three years ago.

I am grateful for the privilege to be Dad to two daughters and their husbands. Pam and I got to hang out a bit yesterday afternoon and evening with Jamie and her husband Dennis. Jill called from Myrtle Beach and it was good to talk with her again.

Dads, I trust you had an enjoyable day. Time races on -- take the opportunities that you have with your children now. For those estranged from Dads and children, do your best to reconcile and move forward. Those opportunities will come to an end too soon.

VBS Clip #2

Another good evening of VBS, even with the rain!

Vacation Bible School Video Clip

Thanks for all those who have invest of their time and effort in Vacation Bible School this year. This video clip doesn't catch all of you, but God knows who you are and your efforts for His kingdom will not go unnoticed. Thanks to all for your prayers and financial support for this ministry!

Father/Son Picnic

Just wanted to say THANKS to the ladies who worked to make this time possible. Great food, fellowship and weather. It was a gorgeous day and a great opportunity to hang out with some other men and boys. (Click on the picture to enlarge it)

Operation Barnabas Update

We received word today of the group assignments for the three young people from our church. You can follow the different teams by clicking on their blog site.

Team Central: Mandy Jenkins - blog site for Team Central here.

Keystone: Wade Weaver - blog site for Keystone here.

Tri-State: Spencer Draper - blog site for Tri-State here.

(Orientation Blog here - which is soon over)

Thank you for your prayer & financial support!

Skeletons in the Pulpit and Cadavers in the Pew

I loved the title of this article by Joe McKeever. The author points out that it is important for those involved in preaching God's truth to take Biblical truth and make present day application. It is not enough to come up with a clever outline (the skeleton) and preach an outline. The result of preaching an outline is a cadaver in the pew -- "undernourished saints who have nothing to chew on but outlines." Of course it is important for the preacher to have an outline so that he knows where he is headed versus just wandering around, but the main goal is not merely to remember a clever outline.

McKeever admonishes those preaching to make relevant application of God's truth to the listener's life. He also encourages those listening, not to be so concerned with getting the outline of the message down correctly, but instead, to write down whatever the Spirit says to you, perhaps something you want to remember or look up or do after the sermon's over.

A good word! If you want to read the full article, you can go here.

Monday's Reflections on Sunday...

• Thanks to the Praise Team (live background) - great job! We were reminded of the care of our Great God!
• Looked at "Facing Discouragement" -- what causes it and the means God uses to bring encouragement.
• Great time with other men & boys at Father/Son Picnic at Devil's Backbone. Gorgeous weather (thank you Lord) good food and fellowship! Thank you ladies for arranging this!
• Good start to VBS on Sunday evening - Crocodile Dock - invite a boy or girl to come! Thanks to all who have helped to prepare and who are involved. Your prayers appreciated for this ministry.
  

Jess Semler has launched on Missions Trip

Jess Semler left this week on her mission trip to Uganda. Please keep her in your prayers for safety and for an effective ministry. Thanks for your prayer and financial support for Jess. She will be returning June 24. She will be involved in outreach, through drama, VBS, sports, construction, etc. If you want to read more about what she will be doing, you can go here.

We're Ready to Rock @ Crocodile Dock!

Thanks to those who helped with set up for our VBS which starts this Sunday evening from 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Here is what we still need to do to make Vacation Bible School successful:

1. Please Pray! Pray for teachers, leaders, helpers, participants and families who attend. Pray that hearts might be open and that we might reach some boys and girls, Moms and Dads for Christ. We need God's blessing on this endeavor.

2. Invite! Please invite children to come and participate in VBS. We have a great staff and theme, but the goal is to reach children. So, if you know of anyone who does not have a home church, invite them to attend -- in fact, bring them along.

3. Stop by some evening to see what is taking place.

Thanks again, for your participation through providing needed items, serving, praying, and inviting. It is a team effort for Christ!

Monday Thoughts ... Reflecting on Sunday

Reflecting on Sunday's events at Valley Grace

• Services seemed to go well
  
• Live praise band introduced a new song "I Will Rise." We will sing this song this coming week. Great words. I had never heard it before
  
• Great fellowship time for the mid-40s to 50ish in the afternoon. Approximately 30 people in attendance. Gorgeous weather and great fellowship.
  
• Sobering, just heard of a younger pastor who has had to leave ministry because of self-inflicted lethal wound. Please pray for him, his wife and family and also the church he served.

Thanks to all who helped to exalt Christ. We trust it was a profitable time for you.