Preaching
Officially Excited
So I am officially excited about our new message series that starts Sunday (Extreme Makeover). I was walking around our block today and went into the Wink to see our lobby and entire stage set-up. It is awesome!!
You’ll definitely be entering a ‘hard hat’ area Sunday!! This series will be fun and thought provoking with a few surprises thrown in here and there. Don’t miss it and bring unchurched friends!
Another reason I am excited is that starting this Sunday we will have someone praying during each worship service!! This is a goal we have had for awhile and I’ve really felt like my prayer life and the church’s prayer life needed to go up a notch. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to have each service covered with prayer … praying for our volunteers, our musicians, for me, for God’s power & glory, for people’s lives to be changed forever … OH MY!! I know this will bring more of God into our services, into me, and into our lives. He’ll receive more glory and we’ll see more lives being changed!
2007 is going to be a GREAT YEAR for God at Rock Bridge!!
John 3:30
Psalm 46:10
This weekend I got away. I mean way away. To a place where cell phones don’t work and Wal-Mart is at least 30 miles away. I basically spent time in prayer and preparation. I mapped out sermon series for 2007 and just spent time with God … time being still and knowing that He is God … thus He is in control (not me … thank goodness — there’s a lot of peace in realizing this!) AND that His plans are more than I can imagine!!
Needless to say I am pumped about 2007!! We’ll get started with a bang this Sunday as we kick-off a new series called “EXTREME MAKEOVER: LIFE EDITION”. Pray for these services, for me, for our staff, and for God’s glory to fill us up! Invite your unchurched friends and neighbors … many of whom are willing to try something new in the new year.
Also, special thanks to John McIntosh for preaching this past Sunday. John always does a great job motivating and challenging our folks with his insights.
First Time for Everything
Today was the first time in four years that I have attended Rock Bridge but not preached!! Aaron Gable, our new Associate Pastor, did an outstanding job using King Herod to talk about pride and its negative effect on our lives.
I did get to … help baptize 6 people in our services. (This was our first non-creek baptism in about 2 years … it was good for all our folks to witness those special celebrations of new life in Christ).
I did get to … actually listen to a sermon on a more personal level and not just as part of my own preparations or study.
I did get to … visit our Kidz Ministry areas … AWESOME volunteers! Thank you for what ya’ll do!!
I did get to … RELAX.
Beth and I head to Florida as soon as she gets home from Youth … we’re excited to get away!
See ya’ll Sunday!!
Great Weekend
Great weekend with the Dawgs winning big over Auburn. My Midshipmen of Navy took care of business and are headed to their 4th straight bowl!!
AND …
we finished up our Desperate Households series by talking about ‘submitting’ in relationships. On the whole, I think it was a great series for us, our people and our community.
We’re starting a new series called Deal or No Deal next week which should be pretty cool as we talk about finances. We’re hoping the Dalton version of ‘Howie Mandell’ shows up to host us during this series.
Let me encourage everyone to invite your friends!!
Church & Sex
Can you talk about sex in church? Absolutely!!
This past Sunday we talked about sex the whole message (Listen to it here). The feedback was awesome!!
One person wrote,
“I … wanted to say that I really enjoyed your sermon this past Sunday. That’s one of the reasons that I love our church so much…you’re not afraid to address real world issues and just put it all out there.”
That’s why I love our church too!! Relevant, practical, and life-changing … that’s who Jesus is, that’s what the Bible is, and that is who RBCC is striving to be!
Desperate Households
I’m excited about our new series which starts this Sunday!! This will be the first series we’ve dedicated (almost) entirely to family, marriage, dating, sex (yes, sex), & relationships. I think these are subjects that Hollywood, MTV, and ‘Reality’ TV have dominated for far too long. As I am learning, the Bible has some pretty amazing things to teach us about these subjects.
So be in church, bring a guest and be ready because it is going to fun but challenging. We’re going to go where the Scriptures take us to be encouraged, convicted, inspired, and challenged. It’s going to be awesome!!
Bible translations
Some folks have asked me what translation/version of the Bible I use on Sundays. I use the NIV (New International Version). The NIV is an accurate translation that attempts to capture the literal meaning of the Greek/Hebrew and communicate the thought & meaning of the text. It is also easier to read.
For studying I also use the NKJV or the NASB.
For Bible reading and devotional stuff, the NLT is pretty good.
A Passage for Preachers (Titus 2)
I’ve read a ton of books on preaching. Listened to a bunch of preachers. And I still struggle as a preacher with basic stuff like am I accomplishing God’s goals in communicating His truths? What are His standards for preaching? I mean there are SO MANY theories on preaching: expository, topical, with notes, without notes, one point, multiple points, etc. etc. Sometimes it’s easy for me to lose my way. So last night as I was reading, I encountered what I think is the definitive chapter in the Bible on how to preach/teach — Titus 2. Here are some of my initial thoughts (I plan on studying this chapter A LOT):
WHAT SHOULD WE PREACH/TEACH:
–sound doctrine (v. 1)
–for live change and life application (v. 2-6; 12)
–salvation (v. 11; 13-14)
–Jesus as the Center, the Hero (v. 13-14)
HOW WE SHOULD PREACH/TEACH:
–with integrity and by our example (v. 7)
–with authority (v. 15)
–with seriousness (v. 7b)
–with inspiration that motivates people to do good (v. 7; 14)
AWESOME STUFF!!
Preaching
A friend and fellow planter asked me the other day what the one thing is that I’ve learned (and try to practice) when preparing a message.
It didn’t take me long to answer but it is something that God has continually shown me. My big lesson for message preparation is to have faith in the Word/text that you are speaking from. So many times after a hectic week I’ve been tempted to drop a passage I was studying in favor of something easier or more familiar … and after getting desparate … God would then open my eyes to see something cool, practical, and awesome in the text. God’s Word is the power and it is my ‘crutch’ (so to speak) as a teacher/communicator. I can’t improve upon it and folks love it when they leave a service understanding the Bible better AND able to apply something from it to their lives … because it works Monday through Saturday.