Reflections

As 2007 comes to close, here are a few passages or thoughts that God allowed me to "chew on" this past year:

It's all about His glory.
Romans 11:33-36

My thinking must be different than the rest of the world.
Romans 12:2

Obedience is everything.
1 Samuel 15:22

Who am I to try to explain God? The more I know the less I understand.

God may ask you to do things that others will say "that's not right."
Isaiah 20:1-3

Majority doesn't rule, God does.

Would you really want to know God's will for your life? Really?

Few people get it.
Matthew 7:14 , Isaiah 6:9-10

The next reformation I believe will be led by the ordinary. Exodus 3:11 , Jeremiah 1:7

Others will try to steal your joy.
2 Samuel 6:20-23

As you get closer to God others become jealous.
Numbers 12:1-16 , 1 Kings 22:24

When you love things, you use people. We are called to love people and use things. God gave us the antidote for the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life: Integrity, Humility, and Generosity.
1 John 2:15-16

We must care about the "least of these".
Matthew 25:39-46

The world will come to Christ when we have unity.
John 17:23

We must play offense, not defense!
Hebrews 10:38-39

Conquer evil by doing good.
Romans 12:21

Could I be as obedient as Elijah and say one 17 word sermon and then go sit out by a brook and with a widow woman for 3 years before my next sermon? Would people call me lazy?

Could I hang in there like Isaiah and Ezekiel and preach for decades without anyone turning toward God? Would I be called a failure?

God made me so He could show the world how much He could love someone.

My passion for Him must NEVER become lukewarm.
Revelation 3:15-16

I must seek righteousness, love mercy, and walk humbly. Micah 6:8 , Ephesians 4:17-24 , Ephesians 2:15 , Philippians 2:3

Need an answer? Fear of the Lord brings wisdom and understanding.
Psalm 111:10

God spoke to Moses plainly because he was faithful, obedient & humble.
Numbers 12:6-8

No more small thinking.
Ephesians 3:20-21 , Isaiah 49:4-6

Faith is believing God is who He says He is and will do what He has said He will do. span>Romans 4:17-18

Rescued, redeemed, washed…speechless!
Ezekiel 16:59

Worship is not about me, it is something we do, regardless of how we feel about it. Worship is the act of obedience to the revelation of who God is.
Isaiah 6:1-3

I am a container for the Almighty God!
2 Corinthians 4:7-12

I will go!
Isaiah 6:6-8

I will live a life that makes no sense unless there is a Heaven!

I will live a life that makes hell shake!

I will settle for nothing
less than the Kingdom of God!

Serving my King!

Can't wait to see how God uses you in 2008!

Marbles

Anybody lost their marble?

You remember, the reminder you were supposed to carry around in your pocket all week…oh, that thing.

Well, I'm staring at my "replacement" marble, yes I lost mine!

I love making people feel better about themselves!

If you remember, the marble was supposed to remind you:

• That we were made not to sit still.
  


• That if we place our life in God's hands we are an unstoppable force!
  


• That we are different, but the blood on the cross makes us the same.
  


• That He placed the message in our hands.
  


• That in His hands we become warm (loving).
  


• What God has done for us – a "stone of remembrance".
  


• Marbles is a game. We should have fun together being the people of God.
  


• That as we hold it up against the night sky, we realize how BIG He is and nothing is impossible!
  


• To pray!
  

Please share your story with us about what God is teaching you and how he is using you to reach out.

If you have not realized it yet, the teaching on Sundays will coincide with your daily devotions and your small group discussions.

This week is all about reaching out, here are some ways you can do that:

• Pray for 3 people who don't know the Lord
  


• Invite someone to church
  


• Seek opportunities to share
  


• Host a new small group
  


• Random acts of kindness
  

Reach out and bring a friend with you on Sunday!

WOW

Wow, our church family continues to grow, we had 127 people this weekend! Here's the coolest thing - for the past two weekends in the blank on the response cards that says "How did you hear about us": more people have written in the word "friend,"
than anything else. Way to go FOTH family!!!

The process is working the way Jesus modeled it, where someone meets Jesus and then they go and tell those close to them about Christ…and then they bring them to a place where they meet Jesus…and then Jesus changes them…(Please see John 1:35-51…this process actually happens in back to back stories!)

(Just a thought–MAYBE the reason that evangelism is NOT taking place in many churches across America is because "Christians" don't know any non-Christians. Many are simply in their holy huddles–discussing theology and trying to redeem culture–when Jesus had a goal of hanging out with "sinners" and trying to redeem them! Just a thought.)

So…the challenge is to invite people who need to hear the Gospel to come hang out
with us. Invite them to church and the park this Sunday, and we will do what we promised; every week we will tell your friends about what Christ has done for them, all you have to do is say "come and see". I personally think that this coming Sunday will be the best weekend that we've had in our six week history!!!

One of THE main reasons our church will continue to grow is because the people inside haven't forgotten what it was like to be outside. The people who have received God's grace are still aware of those who need God's grace. The people inside are NOT content with playing Christian games…but rather are bothered by the fact that there are people right here in this community that, if they died today, would spend eternity in hell…and that fact does not allow us to rest at night.

FOTH…as long as we have a passion for Jesus…a passion for people…and a passion to see people meet Jesus–we will continue to see God do amazing things.

Monday 9.10.07

"To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain…I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" Phil 1:21, 23

"As long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…We…would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord" 2 Cor. 5:6, 8

Poe Weatherford went home to be with the Lord this morning. If you are reading this e-mail you were touched by his life, whether you realize it or not. Poe had a "kairos" moment during the war, a moment when things would never be the same, he accepted Christ gift of salvation and surrendered his life over to serving our King. Some of you may have found that same gift through the portrayal of Poe's life in an event at Parkway Church entitled "Let Heaven and Nature Swing" and your life will never be the same. Many of us though were touched because of Poe's influence on his youngest son Scott. Poe was/is Scott's hero and had such a tremendous influence on who Scott is as a Christ follower. It was Poe who encouraged Scott, when everyone else thought he had lost his mind, to leave the music ministry and go to a small south Texas town and become the Pastor of a group of 39 people meeting in a mall, even though he had never preached before. I am one of those lives that were changed because of that encouragement, along with thousands of others. Because of Poe's legacy and influence my hometown is a better place. It was Poe who wanted to make sure that is was God's call in Scott's life to leave Parkway Church and start completely over in Tallahassee, Florida. He also wanted to make sure it was my calling as well and that I hadn't been "talked into something" by his son. After he was sure that God had called us to this journey, he became our biggest champion, as well as our first member! Some of you have found a new family because of that encouragement and legacy! But most importantly, a few of you have found a God who loves you so much He would take all of your sins and pay for them on a cross! I truly believe that thousands of lives will continued to be changed in the future because of one man's decision to accept what Christ did for him, surrender his life to him as his Lord and live a life that honored God. Poe probably had no idea that he influenced so many of us, until now. Who are you encouraging to follow "the Way"?

"Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath." Psalm 39:4-5

250,000 people every day go to Heaven or Hell.

God, please don't let me ever get comfortable with that number!

That the world may know...

Just a thought – We spend so much energy and resources on reaching the lost, when Christ said that it is our unity that will bring the message to them. What if we spent more effort on being united?

Pray that as a church we will partner with anyone who believes in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission!

“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23

No sense

I've asked this question the past two weeks and I'll pose it to you:

'What are you doing that makes absolutely no sense unless there is a heaven?'

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Romans 12:2