Well, much has changed in our lives since the last time I blogged.  Let me catch you up to speed real quick.

 

About a year ago Chrissy and I felt God was speaking to us to leave Massachusetts and move back to the west coast.  We were unsure of what that was going to entail, but we felt God leading us toward senior pastoring at a church.  I shared our feelings with the senior pastor of our church at Bethany Assembly.  He was very positive and encouraging about our plans. Interestingly enough, the first thing he said to me was “you should call your grandpa. I know he wants to retire in a few years and that would be a great place for you to learn and step into that role." I laughed it off and told him that was probably not the direction we were headed.

 

In the months to follow we sent our resume a few places looking for senior pastor positions, but nothing seemed to pan out.  Eventually we started thinking that perhaps God was wanting us to plant a church in Northern California. So, we resigned our position at Bethany with the plans of driving across the country, moving in with my parents and beginning the planning stages for a new church plant. 

 

Two weeks before we hit the road my grandfather called and asked me,"What do you think about planting a church within a church?"  He told me how his church desperately needed to start a contemporary service. He wanted someone to come alongside him for the next three years serving as senior associate pastor, overseeing the contemporary service, as well as launching several new ministries within the church that would appeal to young families.  He also said he and the board thought I was the man for the job.  I was caught a bit off guard because this was not what we had been thinking at all, yet something resounded within us when we heard, "plant a church within a church."  I told him we would pray and we began our 4000-mile trek from Agawam, Massachusetts to Sacramento, California.  Over the next two weeks that it took us to reach our destination, we prayed and discussed our feelings about the offer from my grandpa. The closer we came to Sacramento, the more we felt the peace of God towards this new position.  We arrived, met with my grandparents, met with the board, and two days later accepted the position as Senior Associate Pastor at Trinity Life Center. 

 

My grandfather plans on being here for the next three years.  We will learn, grow, and work alongside him here until his retirement.  The current plan is that we would then be the candidates for senior pastors.  We don't know what the future holds, but we know that God is in control and we are walking in His will.

 

We are so thrilled for this new opportunity and new adventure.  We know God has been in this thing from the very beginning and we are just enjoying the ride. We want to thank our many friends and ministry partners back in Massachusetts for all their prayers, encouragement and support throughout this process.  We anticipate getting to know the many people here at Trinity and we look forward to seeing God change many lives.  The best is yet to come...

 

You can check out trinity's website at www.tlcsac.org

Last week at REVOLUTION we applied a few lessons from Moses and the epic moment at the burning bush when God called Him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. This week we'll learn about David and how we should respond to the moments of sin in our life. Don't miss part two "The Sin Solution" in the sermon series "Moments." We will also have the opportunity to witness 12 students getting water baptized! We are so excited for these students who have decided to be obedient in this next step of faith in their relationships with God.... it'll be a moment they will never forget.

Hope to see you out under the tent tomorrow night!

A week ago we finished up what we called the Reach 413, a home missions trip to the pioneer valley.  We watched as 20 students from Revolution Youth ministry gave up their vacation week to come, sleep at the church and serve throughout the week.  To say that the week was amazing would not even come close to doing justice to the magnitude of God's power and faithfulness.  God did so many spectacular things but I'm going to share just one of the testimonies of the week. 

Throughout the week we were serving in soup kitchens, youth outreach centers, and doing yard work as well as doing daily outreaches in parks around the Springfield and Agawam area.  The first outreach we did in Springfield was interesting because I could sense the hesitancy in our students.  We were walking into a park in an area known for crime and shootings, and our students appeared a bit nervous.  However, as children began to arrive, students forgot where they were and just focused on who they were.  In that moment I watched our students become Jesus' hands and feet. They were "letting the children come unto me," as Jesus said.  We played games, laughed, wrote on the sidewalk with chalk and then, when the time was right, we presented the gospel. 

We gathered all the children together and they sat down ready to see what we had in store for them.  A few of the students led in children's song, we set up competitions between boys and girls, and then we told them about Jesus.  We weren't sure what to expect, but when almost all 15 or so children raised their tiny hands wanting to accept Jesus into their hearts, we knew that there was someone else with us, someone else on our side. We knew that this was exactly where we were supposed to be.  Each child repeated the prayer as our students laid hands on their miniature heads and shoulders.  The children's joy was evident as we sent them off with a toy and a comic book that talked about Jesus.  It was amazing seeing the joy in their faces as they flipped through the comic book showing their friends and parents that stood nearby.

God used our students mightily and I know all of them left that week with a greater sense of what it means to be a Christian.  I know nothing gave them more satisfaction than being able to answer the question: What did you do on your vacation? With two simple words...I served!

Our 2010 Winter Retreat, "Forever" is only one day away and the anticipation is gigantic. 

Over the past year we have said over and over, "The best is yet to come."  Going into last night we already had more students signed up for Winter Retreat then ever before.  Obviously we got last minute sign-ups at service yesterday evening and a few more calls this morning.  Each event, each service, each year everything just keeps getting better.  This mantra isn't something that just sounds good, it's truth.  

I can barely contain myself thinking about all that God is going to do this weekend and the friendships and unity that will be built. 

Our verse this weekend which goes with our theme, "Forever," is Psalm 100:5, "The Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

God's love truly endures forever and I look forward to His faithfulness being poured out on this generation once again this weekend.

Way #5 to guard your eyes from the junk food of life.

CHANGE THE ATTITUDE OF YOUR MIND- "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceiful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;"  Eph. 4:22-23

We must learn to change the attitude of our minds.  That old man, old sinful person is always trying to cause our mind to think in that same old way.  But God is challenging us to live different, think different, be different.

Ed Young says the "tude is rude."  Our fleshly attitude is usually sinful or wrong, but when we make the attitude new, when we align it with God and His word, that's when we begin to live the right way.

The only way to change that attitude is to allow scripture and the presence of God to rewire our brains, to change our way of thinking from wrong to right, from selfish to unselfish, from prideful to humble.

Our "tude is rude" naturally, but as God's people we are no longer slaves to sin.  Let's change our minds and live as free men and women.

Way #4 to guard your eyes from the junk food of life.

KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES

In Gethsemane Jesus told Peter, James and John to "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." -Matthew 26:51

We all have weaknesses or vices.  Things that we are naturally prone to give in to as human beings.  We need to be careful to avoid those situations and vices so we aren't even put in a position where we could be tempted to compromise or succumb to our sin.

Jesus said to pray and we know avoiding temptation begins with asking God for strength through prayer.  Without Him we would never be able to resist the sin that so easily entangles. 

Jesus though starts with "watch".  We have to be on the lookout, keep our eyes open, be ready for the sin that is coming at us.  Let's be people who know our weaknesses and keep a watchful eye out for the situations that would cause us to stumble.

The junk food is everywhere. 

Way #3 to guard your eyes from the junk food of life.

BE COURAGEOUS-Acts 4:13, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.  And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."

Peter and John were uneducated common men, yet everyone was astonished by their boldness, by their courage. 

The end of the verse is the part that I love, "they recognized that they had been with Jesus."   Courage doesn't come from some deep inner strength that certain people possess naturally, courage comes from "being with Jesus."

If we really want to guard our eyes, if we really want to be  people of courage, if we really want to stand up against the sin our culture would say is acceptable, right, or permissable then we need to do one simple thing...

BE WITH JESUS!

Spending time with Jesus is where true courage comes from.  Courage to challenge the status quo, courage to go against the flow, courage to go.

Way #2 to guard your eyes from the junk food of life.

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART-Hebrews 3:7-8, "So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..."

When listening to your heart, it's not your own thoughts or convictions you're listening to, it's God.  As followers of Christ we know the Holy Spirit resides within us and we must learn to listen to Him when He speaks. 

When God convicts us of sin, of things we are watching, images we are taking in with our eyes, we need to stop and listen.  We cannot harden our hearts like the people of Israel did.  We cannot continue staring at the junk food that is polluting our minds.

Stay sensitive to God, listen to Him, obey Him.  When we ignore God, we disobey him.
Remember, the more we ignore that voice, the harder it will be to hear Him the next time.

Listen to your heart!

We are in the middle of a sermon series entitled "Junk Food" here in Revolution Youth.  I'm going to be posting 5 ways to guard your eyes from the junk food of life over the next week or so. 

Every day we encounter junk food. We see it everywhere, indulging in it often.  We love the way it looks and tastes.  We love how we can get it "right now."  Junk food rules our culture.  I'm not just talking about food, I'm talking about the junk that we see on television, in the movies and on the internet every day.  It's almost impossible to guard our eyes from the junk food of this culture.  However, there are some steps we can take to protect ourselves as God's people.

Way #1 to guard your eyes from the junk food of life.

Know What You're Looking At - Prov. 13:16, "Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly."

A prudent man is one who acts with wisdom.  This scripture says that he acts out of knowledge.  We should never take action in a situation until we have gained knowledge.  We need to know the situations we put ourselves in, know what we look at, know what we will allow permeate our minds.

How often do we watch movies merely because a friend recommends it?  How often do we watch television shows without having any idea what kind of images may pop up during the course of this unknown program?  How often do we click on this link or that link without a second thought?

We need to do our research, gain knowledge, and stop ourselves if we're not sure what our eyes are about to see.  Otherwise, we are a fool who will be exposed in his folly.  Our minds are sponges soaking up the images we allow entrance through our eyes.  We must guard our eyes.  Let's be sure knowledge always precedes our actions.

We have entered 2010 and countless people have talked about this year's resolutions.  Pastors have blogged and spoken about what we should do next as we have now entered another decade. 

I was reading Matthew 5 the other night and began to think about resolutions.  I was wondering if anyone ever resolves to eliminate sin from their lives?  I know this is a daily thought we probably all have, but to make it a new year's resolution, not so typical. 

Matthew 5:29-30, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away.  For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

These are harsh words spoken by Jesus.  In His culture the right side of the body was considered more important or more powerful.  Our eyes cause us to lust in our mind and our hands represent the physical actions that we take as we sin.

Was Jesus telling them to physically cut off their hands and pluck out their eyes?  I don't think that was his point. His point was to make us question what things are causing us to sin.  What is important or powerful in your life that you are allowing to rule over you?  Sometimes we have to give up that which might be the hardest.

This New Years let's resolve to get rid of the things causing us to sin in our life.  I want to give up the things of this world even though they may seem important, so that I can live more pure.  Let's seek to give up that which might be the hardest. 

Let's be people of purity.  When it comes to sin, we need to cut it off and pluck it out.