Blog Vacation

Jen and I will be celebrating nine years of marriage this week. I will be taking a much needed vacation for the next two weeks. Jen and I are planning on getting away by ourselves and then we plan to do a few things with the kids. Looking foward to investing in my family. God Bless!

Crazy Week

Just wrapping up another week and what a week it was. Thursday we had Rag Bri ride through the great town of Montezuma. I couldn't believe we had over 10,000 bikers in our little square. I was the official runner of lunch. If we ran out of something, I was in charge of going and getting it. While I was on the way to the store to pick up some napkins, I witnessed a hit a run on one of the bikers. Fortunately no one was hurt but the guys 2500 bike was detroyed. I really felt bad for him. By the time the day was done I took a long nap to get ready for our Free Garage Sale. We set up on Friday and the sale was on Saturday. We gave away lots of stuff to people in our community that needed it. I couldn't believe all the stuff we still had left over. It is great to be a part of something bigger than yourself. I know God smiles down at us everytime we help someone in need. All in all I'm pretty tired but it was all worth it. ( I am looking forward to vacation though.)

Preaching that Makes a Difference!

I'm reading a book right now by Andy Stanley called "Communicating for Change". It is basically a different approach to preaching that calls for one point messages. His point is that people can only remember so much. I remember the messages in my life that stuck with me the most were the messages that were either illustrated or had one central point. What about you? Was their a sermon or a message that has always stuck with you? I would like like to hear your comments on this one. Please post a comment below. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Missionary Journey

I just got done reading Acts 13 and 14 this morning. It is the story of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. For the first time, the Gospel was being spread outside the region of their custom. Paul and Barnabas came into contact with some interesting characters. On one occassion they came into contact with a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet. On another occassion they were mistaken as gods because of a miracle that was performed. But through it all, the message of Jesus was proclaimed and people came to the faith. The missionary journey was a success!

This reminds me of the importance of sending missionaries to areas of darkness. This past Sunday we had the privleage of hearing Andy Reed, missionary to Central Mexico. I am excited to say that the Missions Committee decided to support Andy at $100.00 per month. CH now supports six missionaries a month. Missions has been the foundation of our church and one of the reasons why I believe we are blessed. Let us not forget the importance of the lost in our community and those outside.

Special Missionary this Sunday!

I am excited for this coming Sunday as we will have special guest, Andy and Chelsey Reed joining us. I was on staff wtih Andy at Berean in Des Moines for almost two years. Andy has a great heart for missions and is just an all around great guy. Him and Chelsey are going to Central Mexico which is known as the "Heart of Darkness." They will be sharing their hearts with us on how they plan to reach those in Central Mexico. Please plan on attending this Sunday as I know you will be blessed.

Making right investments

We had a great Sunday yesterday. If you weren't there you missed a crazy video that we did about finding the lost treasure of Montezuma. I broke out the Montezuma Jones hat as I went around town trying to find clues to the lost treasure. I ended up in the basement of the Methodist church (pretty scary down there) and found the map that led to a treasure full of junk. The point was that Jesus told us not to store treasure here on earth where moth and rust destory but rather make investments in things that matter for the kingdom. I have three investments that are dear to my heart. Let me go over them again once more.....

1. Family- My family is my number one priority. I must make investments in my marriage and my kids.

2. People- I want to invest in people that can't give back.

3. Ministry- Winning people to the kingdom far outlast's any possession on earth.

I hope that all of us will make the right investments. Remember that life is short, so make the most of the time that you have and make a difference for the kingdom of God.

Not Ashamed

I was reading in my Bible this morning from Acts 5. I encourage everybody to read through the book of Acts. What a powerful book that tells of God's awesome power and moving of the Holy Spirit in the First Church. In Acts 5 we read about how Peter and some other apostles were brought before the Pharisee's to try to stop the apostles from preaching the name of Jesus. The apostles response was simple, "We would rather obey God than man." Knowing that the Pharisee's couldn't kill the apostles at the time because of the support they had, they instead whipped them and ordered them out. I love what chapter 5:41 says, "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Wow! Did you get that? They were rejoicing after being whipped. What about us? Do we rejoice when we have to suffer for the name of Jesus? Many of us will never be whipped or beaten because of our faith, but often we whine when we suffer just a little bit of persecution from maybe our peers or co-workers. Let us take the attitude of the apostles and rejoice when we suffer persecution because of the name of Jesus. Jesus suffered for us while He was on the cross. He took our sins and nailed them once and for all. Let us not be ashamed of who we are and who's name we carry with us not matter what others may say.

Celebrate Recovery

What a great meeting we had Sunday Night as we discussed the beginning stages of our Celebrate Recovery Ministry. I have felt for a long time that something was needed in our community to help people recover from their addictions. It is so cool to see how God's timing is always the right timing. He has brought the right people together for this ministry to get going. Please be in prayer for the next few months as we continue to plan for this ministry. Launch date is scheduled for September 10th. God Bless!

Give up to Gain

We started our new sermon series yesterday called "Treasure Hunt." Yesterday we learned the principle that sometimes in life God calls us to "Give up to Gain." The principle comes from Matthew 13:44,45. Jesus tells of a parable of two merchants that sold everything they had, just so that they can have the one thing of true value. For one merchant, it was a treasure, for the other it was a pearl. Jesus was making a strong point that sometimes in life, God calls us to give up some things that may not be pleasing to Him in order for us to gain true treasure that is found only in Christ. Jesus wants to be the only true treasure. What are the things that are holding you back from God's best? I believe that if you made a commitment yesterday, God will bless you for it. I know that this week may be especially painful for some of you. I encourage you today to stick to your commitment. Remember that God will replace the thing you once valued with something even greater. Jesus is the only true treasure!

I'm looking forward to our new sermon series starting this week called "Treasure Hunt." There has been a great interest in treasure these days from Hollywood. For the next three weeks we will be discovering what the Bible says about true treasure. Take this opportunity to invite someone to church in July as we hunt for true treasure.

Back from Camp

We had a great week a camp this last week. What an awesome thing to see teenagers go after God. The theme for the week was "Lost in Jesus." What does it mean to be lost in Jesus? When you are lost in Jesus, you are setting every distraction aside and doing nothing but focusing on Him. When was the last time you got "Lost in Jesus"? I know the Lord told me this past week that I need to get lost in Him more then I do. This week, why don't all of us set some time aside, turn off the televisions, the radio's, the telephone's and everything else that distracts and focus in on Christ. I know that if you do, the Lord will bless you greatly.