New Life Assembly

Bald-faced Monday

Good morning!  I woke up this morning to a new face in the mirror, the result of about a month's worth of wondering about what I'd look like if I shaved off my goatee (which I've sported for about 10 years now).  I've declared this week a shaving-free week, and then I'll re-examine the decision on Saturday in time for service on Sunday.  So if you see me between now and then, make your double-take, and then say "hi" - I won't be offended :)

Great, great weekend at New Life!  I thought the band really clicked this week and sounded great.  The more I play with these guys the more privileged I feel - good musicians who want to honor God with their talents, that's a great combination.

I taught the second in our monthly series on redemption and despite going longer than normal (sorry about that) I thought it was well-received.  We talked about the way that God redeemed Israel's firstborn through the passover sacrifice, and how God instituted a culture of redemption in the nation of Israel that would always appreciate and value how God had acted on their behalf when they could not act for themselves.

I spent a few minutes really drilling on those of us who are parents with kids still at home.  I'm unapologetic in saying that you need to parent your kids!  Don't wait for the church to do it, or pass the buck on to someone else - it's your responsibility to teach your kids about a covenant relationship with God.  It's your responsibility to redeem your time with your kids.  It's your responsibility to tell them the stories of what God has done for you so that you can create an expectation in them that God will act on their behalf as well. 

To be honest, I was a little hesitant going in because there's always the potential in more of a "teaching" time to get dry.  After the service I had a first time guest approach me, tell me she was Jewish, and had never heard the connections made between the Passover celebration and what Christ had come to do.  I was blown away by that - she was so happy to have been there.  I felt like if no one else got anything from it, I was glad that she was there on that particular Sunday.  God is amazing like that!

Looking forward to getting back to the series on renovating our hearts this week though.  On tap is the connection between our hearts and our words - should be another challenging week for us!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Renovating our Hearts: Issues

All the issues of our lives flow from our hearts, so we must guard our hearts as Christ does his work of renovating them:  Download Issues

President's Day

Musing on whether we're celebrating all the presidents today, just the good ones, or just the really, really famous ones?  Or whether it's all a gimmick so that car dealerships can shout and have big banners announcing their HUGE SALES? 

Kids are home from school for the week, so that means I'm back in the work-at-home-while-mediating-disputes mode.  We may get up to Boston for the day on Thursday, which would be great.  The kids always love a trip to the city, so we're hopeful that the weather will cooperate in us getting to spend at least some of the day there.

What a great, great weekend!  Spent some of the day with Jacob on Saturday as we got a new radio installed in our old car, which had been radio-less for about three years or so.  Rita and I recently made the decision to fix that car up and hold onto it for a couple more years rather than purchasing a new vehicle, so I insisted that if we were going to do that, we should at least get some sound in the vehicle!  So Jacob and I wandered through Best Buy (a dream for boys of all ages), Barnes and Noble, and had lunch at Chipotle - all in all a good male bonding day. 

I thought yesterday was just a tremendous service.  I've been teaching on allowing God to renovate our hearts, and yesterday was probably the most pointed, and hard-hitting message so far, but probably also the most necessary for us to hear.  I taught from Proverbs 4, with emphasis on the verse that says that everything we do flows from our hearts.  So we talked about our issues (and we all have 'em) as being primarily issues of the heart that then flow out into what everyone else can see about us.  If we're ever going to change our lives, we're going to have to allow change to come in our hearts.

I heard a few people tell me that they thought I was talking right to them, and a few told me that they had to go home and do some "work" digging in their hearts.  I hope it'll stick for you, and for me, because I needed it as much as anyone!

Next week we're hitting redemption again.  I even gave homework for us to do this week, so if you happen to check back in, remember to do your reading!

Grace and Peace to you.

Renovating our Hearts: Dwelling Place

This week we look at the ways that Jesus relentlessly pursues our heart to bring healing, strength, and all of his fullness into our lives:  Download Dwelling Place

Monday all Over

Good Morning!

You don't have to settle in to deeply today, as I think I'll be fairly brief.  I've got a full week ahead this week as I try to get myself at least a little bit ahead in my work so that I'll be ready for next week when the kids are off school.

Great day yesterday!  Full house for service, music was good, felt great about the message as well, so on the church side it was a great weekend.  I'm enjoying prepping for this series on renovating our hearts.  I love the fact that we can talk about our hearts honestly in the hopes that Jesus will enter into our hearts to bring about healing, life, and purpose for us.  I think it's amazing that he's not put off by what he finds in our hearts, but that he relentlessly pursues them, no matter how dark and confusing they can be.

I can't stress enough how vital it is that we let Christ into the very center of our lives so that from there he can bring healing and life to us.  It's so critical that we stop pushing him to the edges so that we can gain strength from him that we don't have on our own.  If we could just get that piece in place, so many other aspects of our lives would begin to fall into line.  With Christ at the edges, though, we weaken ourselves beyond what we could imagine. 

Next week we're going to look at the heart as the source for all the issues of our life.  Should be good and challenging again.  But as I said yesterday, just because it's hard, doesn't mean we should avoid it. In fact, it means we should probably run to it so that we can get it out of the way!

Grace and peace.  May the fullness of him who fills all the universe and holds it all together flood your heart today!

Super Monday

Good Morning!  Pull up your chair, which if it's anything like mine, is feeling just a little extra strain this morning.  Grab your coffee (or caffeinated beverage of choice), which if your like me, is a little extra needed this morning from staying up to watch a great game - and in my case a so-so episode of "The Office" that followed.

I thought we had a great day yesterday.  The heat was on in the building, which was a plus, and it seemed like everyone who showed up was in a great frame of mind to worship and get our hearts centered on Christ.  We had our full complement in the band again, which always makes a difference in the music, I think. 

I taught a message that has been a long time coming, but which was really necessary.  Just a straight talk message letting us all know that no matter our religious background (or non-background as the case may be) we're all sinners apart from Christ.  Went at it from Romans 3, and reminded us that relationship with God is not a do-it-yourself project, it's the kind of project we need to call the professional to accomplish. 

That work was accomplished through Christ on the cross, the atonement for our sin, and the one whose sacrifice makes us righteous in God's sight.  Can't be earned, simply has to be received.  It was the gospel as simply as I could tell it, and I hope I communicated it well.  More importantly, I hope the Spirit does his work in the hearts of those who heard it.  Over the next several weeks we're going to explore the ways that God renovates our hearts, and the ways that we participate in that process.  Really looking forward to digging into that topic together!

"Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen." ~Hebrews 13:21