Just Walk Across the Room

This past Sunday we were reminded that we have been invited by the King of the Universe to attend the wedding party of His Son (Matthew 22:1-14 - sermon here). After we receive the invitation, we have a responsibility to go out and share that invitation with the people that God places in our lives on a regular basis. That means just walking across the room, or soccer field, or lunch hall, or grocery store to the cashier, etc. Our responsibility is not to force an invitation, but to invite. We are to invite them, regardless of their lifestyle - whether the individual is considered evil or good. We also are reminded people don't often respond to the invitation that first time that it is given. 


It is also important to see the potential in people that Jesus did: a prostitute who became a God worshiper, a cheat who became a man who gave out of his resources (Zachaeus), etc. We are to invite people from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds. 


An excellent resource to help think through how to do this is Bill Hybels book, "Just Walk Across the Room" (you can find it here). Bill Hybels suggests living our lives in "3D" - that is, taking the following 3 steps in our day to day regular activities.


1. Develop Friendships - engage in the lives of people around us.
2. Discover Stories - discover other people's stories before sharing your own story of God's redemptive work.
3. Discern next steps - by following the Holy Spirit's direction, we can ascertain what the next steps should be that we should take.


We also need to be reminded of the three responses that Jesus presented in the story which he told.


1. Some people are indifferent. They are preoccupied with life and see no need to accept the invitation.
2. Some people will be hostile to the invitation and you will probably take the brunt of their hostility.
3. Some people will accept the invitation, and it will change their lives and destiny!


Let us be on mission to at least once a week, walk across the room (lunch room, etc.) to invite someone to the party being given for the King's Son!

VBS 2012 ~ Well Done!

Just wanted to thank all who participated in VBS this year. What an excellent ministry. Thanks to all who invested your time in the lives of these children. So many different responsibilities - van pickup, food prep, clean up, teaching, crafts, drama, music, games, assistants, organization, etc. Many of you volunteered your time after a full day of work elsewhere and did so with a smile with these energetic children. Please be in prayer for children who heard the gospel. More info on Sunday! (You may click on the picture to enlarge it)

Urban Hope 2012

Please be in prayer for 22 of our church family who has headed off to Urban Hope for the weekend of ministry in the Block Party today (4/20/2012). Please pray for safety, good weather, and great opportunity for ministry as they support our brothers and sisters who minister for Christ there. You may click on the above picture to enlarge as well as click HERE for a few more pictures.

Worship Thoughts in Preparation for the Lord's Day

I have been reading through a book entitled Transformational Church written by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. We recently discussed the chapter on Worship in our Team Huddle. Here are some thoughts that I found helpful to me and I trust that they will be to you as we prepare to come together as a church to worship our Savior. Please remember that worship is not limited to the music, but is to include the whole service.


* Worship is designed to actively embrace Jesus

* Worship is a manner of living and not a mode of church programming.

* We should arrive with the expectation of God's presence to be real and transformative in our worship experience.

* God is glorified when Christians gather together to worship Him

* Are we making consumers of religious goods and services or making disciples?

* When people attend worship, are they simply observing a show or being transformed by God? (Isaiah arrive depressed by left transformed because God is always able to change our circumstances)

* Real worship will transform the worshiper.

* Reducing worship to a focus on style removes God as the reason for gathering.

* When music (regardless of genre) is confused with worship, Satan wins.

* Worship can result in different expressions - David danced before the Lord, John in the book of Revelation fell down and lay still at the feet of Jesus. Two men in the presence of the same God, experienced two different forms of reverence.

* Reverence is an attitude of the heart, expressed and informed by the culture of the worshiper.

* God’s purpose in worship is not to make everybody happy. God’s desire is for people to discover and glorify Him through worship. Compromise is a dreadful word to use when we discuss worship.

* Worship should be what unifies the body of Christ.

Our challenge is to plan our worship service so that people are led in this time and place to worship the eternal God! 

Revealing the Artificial Standard

Our culture puts a great deal pressure on the external appearance as revealed through the media (magazines, websites, etc.). As a result there is a great deal of comparison taking place by young ladies as to what they ought to look like, and young men who often get caught up in comparisons. We need to understand that there is a tremendous amount of image "enhancement" which is being done. An artificial standard has been created which is impossible to achieve.

It is for us to be reminded that what we see is most often not the real thing. We used to hear that "pictures don't lie." Now they can. This is also a good opportunity to have a discussion with your daughter or son about artificial standards. The Scripture is right when it says that "charm is deceitful and beauty is vain" (Proverbs 31:30) but the quality of character which comes from a growing walk with Christ, is something that doesn't fade, but in fact, can become even more attractive as we mature in years.

HERE is a link to be able to click on "Before" and "After" to see the immediate affects of photo retouching.

HERE is a link to a youtube video which includes a professional photographer revealing that it is almost unheard of to release a photo that has not been retouched.

Urban Hope Work Weekend - Thanks for your prayers and support to make this possible. Great to hear again what God is doing in downtown Philadelphia. We are planning to return for the Street Carnival April 20-22 which is an opportunity to make connections for Christ. This is open for youth through adults. More information to come. A link to additional pictures from the Urban Hope Work Weekend is HERE.

The team repaired the ceiling and lighting in the youth center, worked on repairing leaks in the youth center basement, painting, patching walls and  electrical and plumbing repairs throughout the church, youth center, and housing facilities.

4 Message Sermon Series

We will take four weeks beginning on January 29, 2012 to study together "Marriage Matters." This will be a reminder of God's design for marriage. The topics and dates are listed in the above slide. We plan to return to our Galatians study "Grace-Filled Living" on March 4th.