the best is yet to come

Winter Retreat Anticipation

Caleb — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:16:00 GMT

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.

Guarding Our Eyes from the Junk Food: Pt. 5

Caleb — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:19:00 GMT

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.

Guarding Our Eyes from the Junk Food: Pt. 4

Caleb — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:40:00 GMT

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.

Guarding Our Eyes from the Junk Food: Pt. 3

Caleb — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:18:00 GMT

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.

Guarding Our Eyes from the Junk Food: Pt. 2

Caleb — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:55:00 GMT

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!

Guarding our eyes from the junk food: PT. 1

Caleb — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:50:00 GMT

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.

Cut it off and pluck it out

Caleb — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:39:00 GMT

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.

Peacekeepers vs. Peacemakers

Caleb — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:57:00 GMT

I have been a part of the church my whole life. As a pastor's kid and now pastor, I am in the church building whenever the doors are open and I meet all sorts of people as they come and go. With so many different types of people in one place, conflicts are sure to take place. Fortunately, growing up I watched these conflicts from a distance, they never seemed to affect me. I was even blessed enough to never be in a church where a large faction or split of any type took place. But the fact is, events of conflict happen all the time in churches all across the country. We argue over the color of carpet, business models, pews vs. chairs, choruses vs. hymns, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, Patriots vs. Steelers, and so on. In the last few years as an adult and church leader I have found that confrontation due to conflict takes place on an almost daily occurrence. I have come to understand that confrontation, conflict, and difference of opinion is not negative when handled correctly. In fact, such things are positive because they move us into a place of excellence as well as a place of true peace.

Recently, I read a scripture in Romans 12 that really jumped off the page. Romans 12:18, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

The truth is, the majority of the time peace depends on us. Yes, there are moments when situations are out of our hands, where people are upset or disgruntled, and no matter how hard we try they will still be upset. Yet the majority of the time it does depend on us. We have the ability to bring peace or war, unity or division.

Jesus called us to be peacemakers and I personally want to be someone that says, "No matter what, if it's possible, as much as I am able, bring peace."

Then I started thinking about true peace vs. false peace. This is something Chrissy loves to talk with me about.

False Peace = parents overlooking disobedience of their children allowing them to dictate what they do so the child does not become upset.
True Peace = parents disciplining their children in love when the child acts out in a wrong way. (The child may be upset initially, but you've made a way for true peace to come.)

False peace = leaving a meeting upset over the decision that was made, complaining about it, downing your authority, allowing your frustration to fester.
True peace = voicing your disagreement over the decision at an appropriate time with a humble attitude, understanding God is in control and that you aren't no matter who makes what decision.

False Peace = ignoring confrontation when someone has hurt or wronged you because then the individual will know they hurt you or become agitated that you were even hurt, allowing fear, bitterness and pride to take root in your heart.
True Peace = embracing confrontation; using it as an opportunity to air your feelings as well as talk about the situation and how you feel wronged by that individual, letting the individual explain himself/herself, giving opportunity for both parties to grow, forgive or be forgiven.

Are you living a life of true peace or false peace? Unfortunately, many of us live in false peace because we have bought into the lie that we are called to be peacekeepers. This is false; we have been called to be peacemakers, not peacekeepers. There is a distinct difference. Peacekeepers encourage individuals to bottle up their thoughts and feelings so as to sustain a false peace (perhaps even tolerate a sin) in the situation. Peacemakers address real situations allowing all people to express their feelings; thus, enabling all to understand each others' opinions and make wrongs right. Peacekeepers force the issue to remain in the dark. Peacemakers encourage the issue be brought into the light. Peacekeepers manage bondage. Peacemakers bring freedom.

As you read this, you may all know the difference between true peace and the false peace. You've experienced both sides of peace in your lives, in your relationships, in your families, in your churches. Remember, in whatever situation you find yourself in today, we are called to be peacemakers not peacekeepers, if at all possible, as far as it depends on us.

Man in the Mirror: An MJ Tribute

Caleb — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:18:00 GMT

As most of you, I've been on a bit of a Michael Jackson kick lately. I remember the day after he died every individual who drove by me or pulled up next to me would be blasting favorites like "Beat It," "Smooth Criminal," "Thriller," "Man in the Mirror," and the list goes on. It was amazing just how much of an impact this one man had on music and the world. Anyways, that's not what this blog is about.

This week Chrissy and I had the pleasure of viewing the movie, "This is it," a documentary where you watched several of his comeback tour rehearsals leading up to his debut in London a few weeks before he died. Needless to say, we loved it! I'm not advocating everything Michael Jackson ever did. He obviously had his issues. However, I'm not sure any artist has ever written more hopeful, truthful, challenging music in the secular industry than Michael Jackson. Songs that called for an end to violence, world hunger, selfishness, crime, war, and world destruction.

As we watched the movie one of the songs that has always been a favorite of mine came on, "Man in the mirror." My mind immediately went to a passage of scripture which until recently I had never fully understood. James 1:22-24 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." I had always focused on the idea of being a "doer" not a "hearer," and I had preached from this passage; yet, never had I fully understood the whole mirror concept.

James compares those who are hearers of this world to "face-forgetters." Let me explain. Imagine someone wakes up in the morning goes to the mirror and sees himself. He notices that he has a gigantic whitehead on his forehead, he has some dirt on his cheeks, his hair is sticking up in every direction, and he decides to do nothing about it. He walks away from the mirror and never thinks about the way he looks again. He almost forgets all of the flaws that need to be adjusted, and just carries on as usual. This is what hearers of the word and not doers are likened to. Scripture serves as a mirror to our lives. We are to take the word that we read, the scriptures we are taught and compare them to our lives. The scriptures reveal our sin and faults and shortcomings, thus causing us naturally to change what is in contrast to the scripture, to change what is not pleasing to God. When we hear everything scripture says and don't apply any change to our lives then we are like these whitehead faced, dirty cheeked, carrot top haired people.

Be sure to look in the mirror and make the changes necessary so you are not just a hearer but a doer as well. After all, "If you want to make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make that CHANGE! WHOOOOO!

Celebrating our Differences Pt. 2: Just a good ol' boy

Caleb — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:35:00 GMT

This past weekend i had the honor of performing a funeral for the grandfather of one of our youth leaders. This youth leader as well as his grandfather are "good ol' boy's" - they own and work on a farm with horses and other animals. They enjoy hunting, fishing, camping and even own a bar and grill in town called "The BUC." So naturally, I fit right in. (If you know me, then you obviously know this is far from the truth.) Our youth leader's grandfather never attended our church. He was from a Catholic background (I believe many Catholics are saved and going to heaven), and praise the Lord he accepted Christ as his personal savior a few days before he passed. In fact, this youth leader, his grandson, was able to lead him in the sinner's prayer.

Those who attended the funeral were diverse, but the majority of them were good ol' boys (or girls) from the surrounding area. People who worked hard and enjoyed being outdoors and working in it. Friends and family came up to share stories remembering this man who worked hard on his farm, had an amazing sense of humor, enjoyed playing pranks, and loved his friends and family. Stories were told of how he would always tell the people close to him how much he loved them. It was beautiful.

I loved hearing these manly, burly, blue collar men who possessed no fear in showing their love for each other. Then I started to think about the church. Do we love the people in our church? Do we love the lost enough? Do we disregard different skin color, different backgrounds, or maybe different social standings and love others enough? I wondered how often we overlook people or write others off because of the way they look, or the amount of issues they have. How often have I thought, "that's a lost cause" and not bothered to show them the love of Christ? We must fulfill what Jesus challenged us with and what scripture speaks to us of in 1 Thessalonians 3:12, "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you." I want my love to OVERFLOW for my brothers and sisters, but also for others. The word "others" makes me think of loving my neighbors. When the Pharisees asked Jesus who their neighbor was he told them the story of the Good Samaritan. So our neighbor is everyone with whom we come in contact. I really need God's help to show love to all people.

Lately I've been asking God to give me "spiritual eyes" to see what He sees, to hurt for what hurts Him, to reach out to those that He shows me. For too long I've let my fleshly eyes look at people and see "lost causes" and my prayer is that I would no longer be tempted to think this way.

God loves the the inner city dwellers, the suburbanites, the meatheads (another name for someone who works out a lot, I saw a few of them at the gym this morning), the punk rock princesses, the goths, the homosexuals, the metrosexuals (like me), and the "good ol' boys".

Let's start showing them love too!

Celebrating our differences pt. 1 "Music Snobs"

Caleb — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:20:00 GMT

I am a pastors kid, so naturally i am supposed to love every song that comes on Christian radio.  However, my entire life i have been surrounded by the type of people that could only be defined as "music snobs." From my sisters, to my closest friends, even to my wife the people that have always been the closest to me have always held a strong dislike, albeit hate for mainstream Christian music.

Now I know my personal taste in music pushes me away from the sound of CCM's top 40 (aside from worship, i listen to worship pretty much all day).  Occasionally I am annoyed at the amount of cliche's used in the lyrics and music of mainstream Christian music, but then again the itunes top 10 songs are completely cliche in secular music as well. Though i am naturally hesitant with what i listen to i like to be aware of that which our students are listening.

Recently one of our young youth leaders gave me a brand new CD by Skillet entitled "Awaken". I have heard over and over our students talk about how amazing this CD is so i thought i would give it a try. Not only as a pastors kid, but being that i am a youth pastor this CD should be one of my favorites. However, upon inserting it in my CD player I realized I'd heard a few of the songs already on our local Christian radio station and these were the songs that quickly caused me to reach for the tuner to change the station. After listening to the CD all the way through i realized Skillet just wasnt for me. Upon the youth leader asking me what i thought i politely told him it had some catchy stuff in it (this wasnt a lie, very true) but that it wasn't really my favorite style of music.  He understood.

So often the differences we have as Christians divide us as we look down on one another for personal likes or dislikes. Eph. 4:2 says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Sometimes being gentle and bearing with one another in love means respecting the different tastes of others. Whether it's in the form of a skillet CD, a Christian T-shirt that says, GAP "God Answers PRayer", or reading the latest Ted Dekker book.   Instead of looking down on people we might consider less educated or less cultured let's celebrate our differences, celebrate that others have drawn closer to God through something they truly enjoy (whether it sounds like junk or not, haha).

Celebrating our differences pt. 2 coming soon.

::COMING SOON:: Dating.Love.Sex sermon series

Chrissy — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:54:00 GMT

Make sure you're at REVOLUTION in October as we learn Godly principles of dating, love and sex. See ya there!

Lovey Dovey

Caleb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:07:00 GMT

Last night Chrissy and I had date night. Often we go out on random nights for fun, however, there is something more special when you decide that one day will be specifically dedicated to each other. No phones, no errands, no time constraints, just a night to focus on each other. It was wonderful as our conversation went from dreams, to goals, to church, to God and back around again throughout the evening. Some of you that aren't married or dating a significant someone may have already stopped reading, but if you haven't, I would encourage you to make sure you have these nights when the time comes. We went to dinner and a movie - nothing over the top, yet it was so special. It was special because it was a night dedicated completely to each other, to enjoying each other's company and to growing our relationship.

As I was reading my Bible before bed, I felt God speak to me, "When was the last time you dedicated a night to me?" A night without twitter, facebook, iphone, television, even music. I take time apart for my relationship with God of course, mornings and/or evenings, but so often it is abbreviated by all the things of this world that come ringing, singing, or dinging (my text noise is a ding ding). When was the last time i really took a chunk of time to listen and share my heart with the all-knowing God apart from all the distractions of this world? We need to be people who know when to put all the distractions away and focus on enjoying God's company, on growing our relationship with Him.

This morning Judah Smith tweeted "You ever feel guilty for reading your tweets before you pray?" I guess he understands where i'm coming from.

We all have different things that distract us from growing closer to God. What's distracting you, what's keeping you from getting more of God?

Psalm 16:7-8, "I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

P.S. I love my wife so much that I went and saw "The Time Traveler's Wife" with her, and of course everyone in the movie theatre cried except for me. My next blog should be about developing a tender heart...well, maybe not.

P.P.S. I have the most amazing and most beautiful wife in the world. Just wanted to throw that in there; after all, the title of this blog is "Lovey Dovey."

Why we need more cussers in church

Caleb — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:46:40 GMT

On Sunday night I had the opportunity to baptize two individuals. The event was nothing new for me - I often baptize our students and have done several baptism services over the past four

years. This one was special though because it was the baptism of a couple who has been attending our Bible study on Thursday nights after recently deciding to take faith in Christ seriously. I would love to take credit for the couple coming to know the Lord… hey, i would even like to say they started coming to our Bible study because I invited them. However, neither statement is true, yet I am praising God because they are two individuals Christ created, loves, called and has a plan for. It is always amazing when God begins to work out that plan and special to see people submit to Jesus' authority in their lives.

Anyways, back to the story. As we sat in the choir room in our robes preparing to be baptized, Pastor Peter explained to the 15 or so people the proper way to hold your nose, grab your arm and be dunked. He brought up one of the individuals being baptized and demonstrated what would take place during the baptism, he explained that after the interview he would state, "because of your confession of faith in the Lord Jesus as your personal savior, i now baptize you in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit." (Fake Dunk on the volunteer) Everyone seemed comfortable with this, it seemed easy enough but then one man raised his hand. I knew that this man was newly saved because i had seen him come to the altar on a Sunday morning not long ago. He was probably in his early 60's (guesstimate) and was not the smallest man in size or stature. I'm going to say he ran about 6'3'' and was pushing 350 to 400 pounds (once again, guesstimate).He raised his hand and stated, "That's all good pastor but you're going to hurt the HELL out of your arm trying to lift me up."

I burst out laughing, hysterically. Somehow, I was filled with a strange joy and extreme encouragement at the mere act of this man swearing in the moments before his baptism. I looked around at the deacons and deaconesses who would be helping us with the baptism process. They all seemed hesitant to laugh or react in anyway. I looked to Pastor Peter next who had a rather large grin on his face. Finally, I looked to the other individuals preparing to be baptized and watched each of them slowly laugh, not sure whether it was ok or not. (I think me laughing hysterically gave them the go ahead.) We all proceeded to get a good laugh out of this awkward yet enjoyable moment.

Why did this encourage me and many others? It's simple - because this one word was a statement that someone who very recently had been walking in darkness was now walking in light. You could tell he was a bit embarrassed for his choice of words. Now obviously our goal is through Christ to get rid of the sin and filth that naturally fills our lives when we don’t know Him. Some people immediately are set free from bondages, past sins, and different habits that have plagued them throughout their life. Yet, more often times than not, getting rid of sin, bad habits and a prior way of life is a long and slow process. "Sanctification" is what we call it, which by definition is the process of being made holy. We must remember that it is in fact a process and one that will never be completed until we meet our savior when this body dies or when He returns.

Another reason I was so encouraged by this man swearing was because it reminded me of what the church has to be about - furthering the kingdom of God. It has to be about making disciples, baptizing them and leading them to a place where they can go and make more disciples. If our church was full of non-cursing, "perfect" disciples, than we're not making new ones.

So basically we need more cussers in church because it means people are coming to know Jesus and through the process of knowing Jesus, hopefully the cussing will stop. If it doesn't stop completely, that's ok as long as they're trying to stop it... that's what the grace of Jesus is for, right? Jesus said himself that he came for the sick, not the healthy (Mark 2:17)

I'd rather be a cussing Christian who loves people and tells others about Jesus than a Christian who has the cleanest mouth but never does anything with the love they know.

Peace!

(Just so you all know i am not advocating swearing, but rather advocating seeing lost cussers come to know a loving Savior. Also, Christians should start focusing more on what they do than what they say.)

P.S. I don’t cuss. Once and a while in my head, though, a bad word might come to mind. I'm still trying to work on that, help me Jesus.

The beach and seeds

Caleb — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:25:23 GMT

1st Blog Ever:

On Sunday night Chrissy, myself and my mother and father-in-law drove up to Cape Cod. We planned on staying one night, all day Monday and then returning Monday night. The first night we got there and found out that the friends of ours we were meeting had blessed us with a hotel room directly on the beach, it was amazing. I had forgotten just how relaxing the beach is for me personally. Chrissy and I took a walk late Sunday night talking and enjoying the cool breeze off of the ocean. It's amazing what one night and day away can do for you, by the time we left monday night i felt encouraged, rejuvinated, and excited to get back to Agawam (shocking i know).

We left late Monday night and everyone was tired from a full day of sunbathing, shopping, and topped off with amazing seafood for dinner. We were all full and it was of no surprise to me when everyone began falling asleep as i drove. I tend to not spend enough time in deep thought or contemplative prayer but that is precisely what happend during this 2 and a half hour drive. I was tired myself and there is always one way for me to keep awake... chewing sunflower seeds. This is something my Chrissy loves to do while driving and oddly enough my mother always did in the car when i was younger (they say we men tend to marry women like our mother, i know i did).

As i chewed away on these delicious Bar-b-que flavored (my favorite) sunflower seeds my mind raced between thoughts on God, life, our church, our current ministry as well as future ministry. I was filled with excitement about what was happening and what was still to come. Strangely i find myself often thinking negatively about all the things i should be doing, or all the things that arent going well, or even all the things i feel God SHOULD be doing. It was as if God was speaking to me to think about the good things, the positive things. I realized what a cynical and negative people we have become in this culture and in the church. The verse that kept popping in my head was Philippians 4:8. You see i want to be someone who thinks about the good, the noble, the excellent, the praiseworthy. I want to let those things fill me up and overflow out of me. The world isnt looking for more negativity, more cynicism, they have enough of that. The lost are looking for love, for a positive, uplifting, encourging message of Christ. One that shows them that the best is still yet to come and that God has a plan and a purpose for them.

As we drove on with each bump we encountered on the road my wife would jolt awake and frantically ask me "are you ok, are you awake!" I would smile and say, yes, I'm very awake. She was concerned, concerned for my well being as well as for all others in the car (including herself). We need people like this in our life, people who are constantly making sure we are ok, making sure we are staying in between the lines, staying on the road, staying on the straight and narrow, maintaining a positive and encouraging attitude. Do you have someone like that in your life? Someone to challenge you, to encourage you, to strengthen you? If not, get someone, seeds only work for so long.

A Heart of Purpose and Dwelling Place tonight

Chrissy — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:11:00 GMT

Tonight in REVOLUTION Caleb will start a new sermon series on 1 Samuel, "A Heart of Purpose." We will be joined by ZBC's worship band, "Dwelling Place." Praying that God will speak to the hearts of all those in attendance tonight! Sermon Notes coming soon...