This past Sunday we celebrated our first birthday as a church. It's been an incredible first year. Although there are areas where I thought we'd be further along, and even though things haven't always gone as smoothly as we would have liked, we feel extremely blessed as a church.
One blessing in particular will come to fruition this month when Solomon's Porch moves into its very own permanent facilities. While we feel extremely blessed to be in this position after just one year, it's also a pretty big step of faith for us, especially financially. Here's something I've learned during this process though. Walking into the blessings of God sometimes requires taking great steps of faith. Sometimes God blesses us just because he's God and he can. Sometimes his blessings are a result of our faithfulness in doing his will. We're walking in the latter.
So, by the end of January, we should be having services in our new home. This building is just one more tool we believe God is going to use to help us reach our community. In the coming months, we're going to be introducing the church to the people living immediately around us, we'd appreciate your prayers.
Thank you for believing in our church. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. Keep 'em coming.
Miracles Part 2
It's been awhile, but I wanted to get back to sharing with you from our Miracles series. In John 6 we find one of Jesus' more famous miracles, the feeding of the 5,000.
In the story, we see that a huge crowd has gathered, and the disciples panic a little because they don't know how they're going to feed them all, and in the midst of all of this Jesus asks a question..."where are we going to buy enough food for these people to eat?" I like to think Jesus was messing with the disciples here, because my Jesus is funny like that. However, verse 6 gives us insight into why He really asked this question.
John 6:6 - He asked this only to test them, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.
1. Jesus already has your miracle in mind - Whatever it is that you're going through, the Lord hasn't been got off guard by it. He's not in a state of panic, wondering how He's going to get you through your problem. When you're walking through a difficult season in your life...when you find yourself in need of a miracle...keep this one thing in mind. The God of your last miracle, is the God of your next miracle. He wasn't caught off the guard the first time around. He's not this time around either.
John 6:9 - The disciples round up some food...5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to be exact. The disciples bring Jesus the food with one major point of clarification...they looked at Jesus and said, "it's not enough." But the truth is this.
2. Whatever you've got left to offer is enough - You may be reading this and you're emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained...you're tired of fighting, tired of praying, tired of waiting for things to change. You simply don't feel as if you have anything left to offer. Whatever you have left is enough...give it to the Lord. Worship one more time, pray one more prayer, bring what you have to Him.
We give the disciples a hard time in this story, but at least they brought the food to Jesus. Don't play God with your miracle...don't try to determine whether or not you have enough to offer. Your job is to bring what you have, His job is to multiply it.
As we approach Thanksgiving, this is a time to remember all the blessings we have in our lives, a time to remember the miracles we've received in previous years. As you are thanking God for these past blessings and miracles, let your faith be strengthened as you remember that He's always been there for you and will be again this time as well.
Feels Like Chi Alpha
Before planting Solomon's Porch, my wife and I spent eleven amazing years in the world of college ministry. I think I speak for her when I say we loved every minute of it. However, if there's a downside to ministry on a college campus, it has to be finding space on campus to meet in. This is a problem we had to deal with for the first 7-8 years, until we were able to build our own student center (thank you Life Fellowship in Weatherford, OK).
Even though our college ministries days are over, we find ourselves dealing with the same problem regarding meeting space. We've been meeting in a hotel since we started doing pre-launch services in October of '09. Over that time, we've met in pretty much every space they have available. Thankfully, Chi Alpha prepared us well for this type of inconvenience. That being said, the inconvenience reached new heights this past weekend.
On Saturday, I received an email from the hotel letting us know our time with them was over. Starting in November, we will no longer be meeting in the hotel. It's always tempting to panic or get upset when something like this happens, much to my surprise though, neither happened. Without going into a lot of details, I believe the timing of all this is God ordained. I don't know what's around the corner, but I believe God is in the middle of it.
Right now we're praying for direction and wisdom. Do we find another hotel and/or temporary meeting space? Do we go ahead and use this time to find a more permanent location? Do we go into homes? We're not quite sure which direction we'll end up going, but here's what I do know. We will not panic. God is in control!
Even though our college ministries days are over, we find ourselves dealing with the same problem regarding meeting space. We've been meeting in a hotel since we started doing pre-launch services in October of '09. Over that time, we've met in pretty much every space they have available. Thankfully, Chi Alpha prepared us well for this type of inconvenience. That being said, the inconvenience reached new heights this past weekend.
On Saturday, I received an email from the hotel letting us know our time with them was over. Starting in November, we will no longer be meeting in the hotel. It's always tempting to panic or get upset when something like this happens, much to my surprise though, neither happened. Without going into a lot of details, I believe the timing of all this is God ordained. I don't know what's around the corner, but I believe God is in the middle of it.
Right now we're praying for direction and wisdom. Do we find another hotel and/or temporary meeting space? Do we go ahead and use this time to find a more permanent location? Do we go into homes? We're not quite sure which direction we'll end up going, but here's what I do know. We will not panic. God is in control!
Miracles
Week 1-Lazarus
John 11:6 When Jesus heard Lazarus was sick he stayed where he was two more days. During that time, Lazarus went from sick to dead...however, if you know the story, you know Lazarus lived again. Lesson...A delay of the miracle doesn't mean a denial of the miracle. Keep praying...keep believing...your miracle may be delayed but it doesn't mean it has been denied.
The thing that stuck out to me the most in this miracle is found in verse 39...Jesus turned to the crowd and told them to "move the stone." Lesson...sometimes our participation is requested. Time after time in scripture we often see that action from our side is needed before we see action from God's side. Moses had to raise his staff before the sea parted. A miracle is something only God can do, but it doesn't mean we get to just sit back and wait for God to move. Many times we need to move some stones before we see our miracle. Instead of waiting for your miracle to just happen, maybe you should ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there's any action you should be taking.
Maybe the thing that brings about your financial miracle is a change in the way you handle your money...move that stone. If a passive approach to your miracle hasn't worked, maybe there's a reason for that. Take some action and walk towards your miracle.
For the entire sermon click here.
For Such a Time as This
We just finished the third week of our Game Changers series by looking at Esther. In fact, most of you knew I would be mentioning Esther from the title of this entry alone. Esther 4:14 is a much quoted passage of scripture and is a preacher's dream come true for good sermon material. As I was studying for the message, I realized something about this verse, as well as Esther's situation that I believe is important for us to understand.
"For such a time as this" is often a place we'd rather not be. We know how the story ended with Esther, we know that she saves the day, and because of that I think we sometimes lose perspective on how scary her 'such a time as this' really was. Too many times we're guilty of believing we're in God's will when life is going smoothly and not in his will when life is hard. Esther's story teaches us that sometimes God's will puts us right in the middle of a storm. Esther was in God's will...she was made queen for such a time as this, but I'm guessing she wasn't really excited about the situation she was in...it was literally life threatening.
If you're walking through a difficult time right now and you find yourself in the middle of a storm, then this next statement is for you. Just because you're in the middle of a storm, doesn't mean you're not in God's will! Keep praying...keep fighting...stay in his will. In the end, you will be victorious.
"For such a time as this" is often a place we'd rather not be. We know how the story ended with Esther, we know that she saves the day, and because of that I think we sometimes lose perspective on how scary her 'such a time as this' really was. Too many times we're guilty of believing we're in God's will when life is going smoothly and not in his will when life is hard. Esther's story teaches us that sometimes God's will puts us right in the middle of a storm. Esther was in God's will...she was made queen for such a time as this, but I'm guessing she wasn't really excited about the situation she was in...it was literally life threatening.
If you're walking through a difficult time right now and you find yourself in the middle of a storm, then this next statement is for you. Just because you're in the middle of a storm, doesn't mean you're not in God's will! Keep praying...keep fighting...stay in his will. In the end, you will be victorious.
Game Changers
We just started a new series called Game Changers. During the four weeks of the series we'll be looking at four different people in the bible to see how they changed the world around them and what lessons from their lives we can apply to our own (that was a long sentence). When I think of game changers, I think of athletes. I think of people like Michael Jordan, Albert Pujols, and Peyton Manning. However, those guys are the best at what they do or did in Jordan's case. But if we can only be game changers (for the kingdom of God) if we're the best at what we do then most of us are in trouble. What about the rest of us mortals? Can we still be game changers? There's another athlete that we might be able to relate to a little easier. His name is Robert Horry, or as he became known over the course of his career, Big Shot Rob.
Here's the great thing about Robert Horry...he was never the best player on his teams. For most of his career he came off the bench...he was a role player. A role player that hit 7 game winning shots in the playoffs and won 7 NBA championships with 3 different NBA teams. He played with guys like Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan...how does a guy playing with that kind of talent...a guy coming off the bench, become known as one of the most clutch players of all time? It's a simple answer and it's the first thing we must learn if we want to be game changers. Robert Horry had a willingness to take the shot. When the game was on the line, when the pressure was at its peak and the ball was passed to him...he didn't pass it to someone else...he didn't freeze...he took the shot.
Your ability to change the world around you isn't about talent, or finances, or even spiritual maturity. It most often boils down to one thing. Are you willing to take the shot? Are you willing to take some risks? Are you willing to ask that co-worker to church...are you willing to reach out to a neighbor you know is hurting? Robert Horry could have passed the ball to more talented players and nobody would have blamed him for it but instead time after time he stepped up and took the shot. Regardless of what you believe, you have the talent and gifts necessary to change your world. The question is are you going to step up and take the shot.
Here's the great thing about Robert Horry...he was never the best player on his teams. For most of his career he came off the bench...he was a role player. A role player that hit 7 game winning shots in the playoffs and won 7 NBA championships with 3 different NBA teams. He played with guys like Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan...how does a guy playing with that kind of talent...a guy coming off the bench, become known as one of the most clutch players of all time? It's a simple answer and it's the first thing we must learn if we want to be game changers. Robert Horry had a willingness to take the shot. When the game was on the line, when the pressure was at its peak and the ball was passed to him...he didn't pass it to someone else...he didn't freeze...he took the shot.
Your ability to change the world around you isn't about talent, or finances, or even spiritual maturity. It most often boils down to one thing. Are you willing to take the shot? Are you willing to take some risks? Are you willing to ask that co-worker to church...are you willing to reach out to a neighbor you know is hurting? Robert Horry could have passed the ball to more talented players and nobody would have blamed him for it but instead time after time he stepped up and took the shot. Regardless of what you believe, you have the talent and gifts necessary to change your world. The question is are you going to step up and take the shot.
Laugh or Go Crazy
This past week, Solomon's Porch embarked on its first mass mailing campaign. We sent jumbo sized postcards to 10,000 homes here in Richardson. Mailing campaigns like this are always a little risky...they aren't cheap (although the price per home is about 23 cents)...and obviously there's no guarantee people will show up because of a piece of mail. While I'll be disappointed if we don't see any foot traffic as a result of our efforts, I believe simply letting people know we're here and putting our name in front of them is important. So, as the postcards have hit mailboxes the last few days, I've wondered what, if any impact they were having. This morning I went to check my email and I had my answer.
I got an email from a gentleman letting me know he got our card......and then he preceded to ask me to take him off our mailing list...hahaha. So I guess my questions have been answered. People are getting the cards and they are having an impact...although it's not exactly what we were going for it's a start.
If you ever think about planting a church, I have one important piece of advice for you. If you don't have a good sense of humor, don't do it. It's a crazy ride, with lots of ups and downs...you better be able to laugh.
I got an email from a gentleman letting me know he got our card......and then he preceded to ask me to take him off our mailing list...hahaha. So I guess my questions have been answered. People are getting the cards and they are having an impact...although it's not exactly what we were going for it's a start.
If you ever think about planting a church, I have one important piece of advice for you. If you don't have a good sense of humor, don't do it. It's a crazy ride, with lots of ups and downs...you better be able to laugh.
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