Thursday, August 30, 2007

Looking ahead...

1. I'm pumped about this weekend's services. I'm spending this morning putting the finishing touches on the message about Greed. Also, Sunday Night, we are having a church Labor Day Fellowship. It's going to be awesome. We'll be having burgers and hot dogs. I love being with the Cornerstone Family!

2. Tonight, College Football kicks off the new season. I love this time of year. :) I can't wait. We are going to cook some ribs tonight. :)

3. We have some great things for kids in September. Beginning September 5th, we kick off our new Wednesday Night Program, High Point! Starting September 9th, Kid's Church begins at 10:45 a.m. instead of after worship. Also, we will be going to Kid's Convention in Irving on September 28-29. It's going to be a blast. :)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Why do bad things happen to good people?

That is a question that I have heard more in the last 10 months than I have heard in my entire life. Last Sunday Night, I spoke on this topic. I don't claim to have all the answers to this question, but this is a good start. I want to give you the highlights from Sunday Night's message.

Why do bad things happen to good people?
1. God never promised us that life would be easy and worry free.
  • John 16:33 (NLT) “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
    Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because
    I have overcome the world.”
2. God uses tough times to develop our character.

  • James 1:2-3 (NLT) “2Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. 3For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

3. God allows tough times to happen to show off our character.

Job 1:6-12 (NLT) “6One day the angels came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan the Accuser came with them. 7“Where have you come from?” the
LORD asked Satan. And Satan answered the LORD, “I have been going back and
forth across the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” 8Then the LORD
asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the
earth—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with
evil.” 9Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, Job fears God, but not without good
reason! 10You have always protected him and his home and his property from
harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is!
11But take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” 12“All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’S presence.”

What should our response be as believers?
1. Don’t worry

  • Matthew 6:25 (NLT) “25“So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?”

2. Be Joyful

  • James 1:2 (NLT) ““2Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.”
  • Nehemiah 8:10 (NLT) “10And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of choice foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our LORD. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”

3. Use the time to draw closer to God

Psalm 23:1-6 (NLT) “1The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
2He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to
his name. 4Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not
be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect
and comfort me. 5You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my
enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My
cup overflows with blessings. 6Surely your goodness and unfailing love will
pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.”


4. Maintain Your Integrity

  • Job 2:3 (NLT) “3Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you persuaded me to harm him without cause.”

Monday, August 27, 2007

Happy Monday!

1. We had a great weekend! The weekend before school starts and we had 30-35 people who are there most every week that were out. We still had 75 in attendance. We had several new families in at Cornerstone. God is doing some great things. The Best Is Yet To Come!!!!

2. Update on Brandon. If you read my blog on don't attend Cornerstone. Brandon is the 9 year old who was in the automobile accident last Saturday, August 18. Since then, he has had 5 surgeries. I talked to him tonight on the phone. He's still in Little Rock, but is doing excellent. They didn't have to do any skin grafts on his leg. They only had to do one small one on his arm!

3. Tonight was a cool night. It was the first time in a couple of weeks that we have all been at home on the same night. I love spending time with my family. Between Sasha getting ready for school and the nursery project at the church, we haven't all been together for a whole night in a couple of weeks. We grilled out (Brats, Hot Dogs, and Corn). Sasha made Mac and Cheese. It was a great meal. We all had a good laugh at Kenzie. She crawls so fast. She kept making quick tracks to Mady's Bathroom. That's her favorite place to go. The only bad thing is that she can climb up now. Tonight, we didn't make it in time and we heard Mady say "Kenzie just stuck her hand in the potty." We've decided that since she likes the potty so much that maybe she'll potty train early. :) Mady and I finished the night playing a game of Princess Monopoly. She won.....fair and square. :)

4. One of the things that we were hoping that Atlanta would have is a soccer league for 4 year olds. Guess What? They do. Mady is so excited to be playing Soccer again. She'll have her first game at the end of September.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Responsibility

I read a great chapter on Responsibility in John Maxwell's Talent is Never Enough. We must take responsibility for the world we live in. We cannot wait for others to change the world. We need to change the world by changing ourselves.

There's a sign in my office that says "If it is to be, then it is up to me." If our world is going to change, then we need to change it. We cannot wait for a politician, athlete or entertainer to be the catalyst for changing our culture. We, as believers, must infilitrate the culture and change it.

We could point fingers to blame previous generations, but will we leave the world a better place? Will there be positive change on our watch? Or are we going to let it continually decline?

If the world is going to change......if the world is going to be reached, then it is up to me. Responsibility.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Weekend Update and Today's Journey

1. Praise God!!!! This was our 4th week in a row above 80! We had a great spirit in the Sunday Morning Service! I love our church family at Cornerstone! You guys are awesome!

2. On Saturday, we had 20+ people join us for some much needed maintanence and clean up at the church! Thank you to everyone who came and gave up their Saturday to work at Cornerstone!

3. The girls started back to school today. Sasha took Mady and Kenzie to the daycare this morning and then headed off to school. I am proud of my wife. She is a great teacher! She works so hard.

4. Today, I went to Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a one day trip. On Saturday Night, Brandon, Blake and Brent, three young men in our church, were in an automobile accident. They rolled the truck that they were in. Blake and Brent, both teens, made it out with a few aches, pains, scraps, bruises and cuts. They were treated and released at the Atlanta Hospital. Their younger brother, Brandon, age 9, was taken by helicopter to Texarkana. When I got into the ambulance at the accident scene, the paramedic told me that he had a compound fracture and that the bone was exposed. We prayed. When he got to St. Michael's, they x-rayed his leg! Guess What? Not a broken bone in his body. Praise the Lord!!!!! God is a god of miracles! Brandon has significant damage to his right arm and leg. It was cut pretty bad and the tissue, muscles and some bone were exposed. He was taken by ambulance to children's hospital in Little Rock. He had his second surgery this morning, but is doing fine. There was a lot of dirt, grass, gravel, etc. in his wounds and the doctors are cleaning them out. All three of the boys were wearing their seat belts. Brandon will have at least one more surgery on Wednesday. Please pray for him and the whole family.

5. While in Little Rock, I got to see my good friend, Brian Dollar. Brian is a Kid's Pastor at First A/G in North Little Rock. He and I are childhood friends.....both of us were each other's "best man" in our weddings. We hadn't seen each other since the fall of '05 when we met in Tulsa to see Stryper in concert. I got to see his wife and kids too. I cannot believe how big Ashton and Jordan are. It was a quick visit. Hopefully, we will see each other more often since we are just a couple of hours away.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Random Friday Thoughts

1. This Sunday, we are continuing our series entitled "Seven." It is a look at what the Bible says about the Seven Deadly Sins. This week's topic is anger.

2. The floor guys are at the church. The new nursery will be operational by Sunday. The tack strips are down, but the carpet will have to go down tomorrow because they had to glue some of the tack strips. The tile has been set, but they are waiting for it to dry to grout the tile. It is going to be really nice.

3. I have been thinking a lot lately about not wanting to take for granted what God does. We have had many people give their lives to Christ since June. I never want to take for granted what God is doing. We should always expect God to move. We should equally be grateful when he does move. We want salvations to be common in our church, but we should never treat them like they are common. Heaven rejoices over every salvation and we should too. :)

4. Sasha and the girls start back to school Monday. This will be Mackenzie's first time in daycare. I enjoyed spending time with the girls last night. Mady made us a play meal. She set the table and even had play candles on the table. I love my girls.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Giving Honor

Today, I want to honor someone who has been influential in my life. From time to time, I will use this blog to thank those who have impacted my life and made me the person that I am today.

The person that I'm honoring today is Brent Williams. Brent was my youth pastor at Victorious Life Church in Waco, TX. He came to our church the summer before my freshman year in high school. Brent was a fantastic youth pastor. I knew that he geniunely cared about me. It was not just a job to him. He really loved us. He encouraged us to live on the Frontline for God!

If it were not for Brent, I do not think that I would be where I am today. He stayed after me and believed in me. Thank you Brent for taking me to camp! Thank you for taking me to convention! Thank you for introducing me to Speed The Light! Thank you for encouraging me to live for Christ! Thank you for being there for me during the tough times in my life!

I will never forget the day that I graduated SAGU! Brent was there. He walked up to me with tears in his eyes and encouraged me to "love the teens that I would be pastoring." I tried to do that as a Youth Pastor. Now as a Lead Pastor, I am trying with God's help to be a loving and caring Pastor.

Thanks, Brent! I love you!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Great Quote...

I am currently reading John Maxwell's book "Talent is never enough." I enjoy Maxwell's content and his writing styles. I wanted to share with you a quote that I read today in his chapter on courage.

Maxwell stated "Our situation doesn't make us; we make our situation. Our circumstances don't have to define us; we can redefine our circumstances by our actions. At any given time, we must be willing to give up all we have in order to become all we can be."

God has an incredible plan for your life. Remember next time you are faced with having to give something up that you may need to give up in order to go up.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Weekend Update

1. We had great services this weekend. On Sunday Morning, we had two people commit their lives to Christ. This is what it is all about! Thank you, Jesus!

2. Sunday Morning marked the third week in a row that we were over 80 in our attendance.

3. Sunday Night, we baptized 7 people in water. It is exciting to see people make a declaration of their faith! :)

4. We had several guests with us this weekend! Thank you Cornerstone for inviting your family and friends!

The Best Is Yet To Come!!!!!!

Friday, August 10, 2007

A few things I'm excited about...

1. I'm excited about Sunday's services. This week, we are continuing our series entitled "Seven." This week, we are looking at what the Bible says about Envy.

2. I'm excited about our nursery remodel. Things are progressing along well. We are hoping to be able to reopen the nursery and toddler room on August 19th! The new flooring should be going in next week!

3. I'm excited that football season is here. I didn't get to watch the Cowboys game last night, but have it on DVR. I'm interested to see what the boys did against the World Champs! I'm also excited about being back in Texas for Friday Night Football. There's nothing like being at a high school game under the Friday Night Lights in Texas.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

9 Years

At about this time 9 years ago, I married the love of my life. It is hard to believe that it has been 9 years. Today, at lunch, I was sitting across the table from my wife. As we ate, I began to think about all the changes in the last 9 years. The first, I don't weigh the same that I used to when I was 25. :) The second is our kids. Sasha and I have been blessed with two great kids. Mady makes us laugh everyday. She is very funny. Mackenzie is growing so fast. She'll be 9 months old soon.

Sasha is a good wife. She is very thoughtful of others. She is generally concerned about helping people. Sasha is also very good at putting up with me. She's a great cook! Probably, too good of a cook for me. She takes care of our family. She is a fantastic mother to our girls. She works real hard at keeping the house clean, which is hard with two kids and a husband. :)

Since, our anniversary fell on a Wednesday. We celebrated last night. We went to eat at our new favorite restaurant in Texarkana, the Ironwood Grill. After that, we went shopping. My aunt, uncle and cousin watched the girls for us. I kept thinking through out the night how that we need to do that more often.

Sasha, I want you to know that I love you with all my heart! You really are the best thing that has happened to me! To quote the song that I sang to you on our wedding day! "Though the storms of life my toss us, our love will be the anchor that holds. Though trials may come and bind us, this one thing I know.... I will love you forever and always. I will love you 'til the end of my days! God gave a special gift when He gave you to me! I will love you forever and always!"

Sunday, August 5, 2007

What will I use this for?

Thanks for reading my blog. So, what's the purpose of this blog? It will be an outlet for me to talk about anything that's on my mind. It may be about my wife, my girls, the church I pastor, friends, hobbies or sports. You never know what you are going to see.

Today was a great day at Cornerstone, the church I pastor. We've been here since the first of June and God is doing amazing things. I am completely humbled by the souls that are coming to know Jesus. We had two people raise their hands to commit to Christ this morning. :)