Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Reflections From Sunday

This week we covered part4 of our series on The Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6: 9-13

9"Pray, then, in this way:
'Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10'Your kingdom come
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11'Give us this day our daily bread.
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

We looked at verse 12 where it states, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors". This portion of this prayer has 2 parts. The first part is "forgive us" and the second is "as we forgive". We have a Biblical mandate to "forgive others, just as we have been forgiven". We have to also realize that sin deserves death and therefore, needs forgiveness. It is God alone who forgives and His forgiveness is an act of His grace. Sin must be repented of. As believers in Christ, we are free and our relationship is put right, we are "justified". God's method of justification is forgiveness as He "forgives us our trespasses". If you missed the service yesterday, you can watch it here on GatewayTV

Mark Your Calendars::
~June 4,5, 2010 GF Ladies Retreat
~June 29 - July 2, 2010 Student Camp @Pineywoods
~July 16-17, 2010 Father/Son Retreat
~July 25-28, 2010 Pre-Teen Camp @ Pineywoods

ConnectGroup Schedule::

TuesNite @ 7pm @ The Snow's
WedNite @ 7pm @ The Brown's
SunMorn @ 915am @ GFchurch



Places To Sign Up::


GF Ladies Retreat June 4-5, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX

Youth Camp June 28-July 2, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment

Father/ Son Weekend July 16-17, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX. (All guys welcome to attend)

Pre-Teen Camp July 25-28, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment


I love our church
I love our people
I love what He is doing in us
I love what He is doing to us
I love what He is doing through us
I love that He is not done with us

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Book Review~ "Radical" by David Platt



David Platt is the pastor of The Church of Brook Hills, a four-thousand member congregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Platt gives us all a reminder that we have been called to radically follow all that the Lord has called for us to do. Platt challenges the church to choose between whether we will continue as usual in the Christian life and in the church, enjoying what church culture would deem as success or will we, take an honest look at the Jesus of the Bible and ask what the consequences might be if we really believed him and really obeyed him.

Chapter 1 Someone Worth Losing Everything For
Chapter 2 Too Hungry For Words
Chapter 3 Beginning at the End of Ourselves
Chapter 4 The Great Why of God
Chapter 5 The Multiplying Community
Chapter 6 How Much Is Enough
Chapter 7 There Is No Plan B
Chapter 8 Living When Dying Is Gain
Chapter 9 The Radical Experiment

Here are a few of my favorite quotes found in this book::

"We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves" p.7

"We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with" p. 13

"The price of our nondiscipleship is high for those without Christ. It is high also for the poor of the world" p.15

"Consider the cost when Christians ignore Jesus; commands to sell their possessions and give to the poor and instead choose to spend their resources on better comforts, larger homes, nicer cars, and more stuff. Consider the cost when these Christians gather in churches and choose to spend millions of dollars on nice buildings to drive up to, cushioned chairs to sit in, and endless programs to enjoy for themselves. Consider the cost for the starving multitudes who sit outside the gate of contemporary Christian affluence" p. 15

"Do you and I really believe that Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have and all we own and all we are in order to find our fullness in Him?" p. 19

"Our understanding of who God is and who we are are drastically affects our understanding of who Christ is and why we need Him" p.34

"The goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God" p.47

"God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in his extraordinary provision" p.56

"God blesses his people with extravagant grace so they might extend his extravagant glory to all peoples on the earth" p.69

"..we have unnecessarily (and unbiblically) drawn a line of distinction, assigning the obligations of Christianity to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all" p. 73

"God has created us to accomplish a radically global, supremely God-exalting purpose with our lives" p.83

"He has given us people, and he has said, "Live for them, Love them, serve them, and lead them. Lead them to follow me, and lead them to lead others to follow me. IN the process you will multiply the gospel to the ends of the earth" p.93

"Disciple making is not a call for others to come to us to hear the gospel but a command for us to go to others to share the gospel" p.94

"God has called us to be a people who spend our lives for the sake of his glory among the needy outside our gates" p.118

"God knows every detail of our lives, and when we step out in faith to follow him, he will show us that our greatest security is not found in the comforts we can manufacture in this world but in the faithful provision of the only one who knows our needs and the only one who is able to meet our needs in every way" p.174

"When we consider the promises of Christ, risking everything we are and everything we have for his sake is no longer a matter of sacrifice, It's just common sense" p.181

This is a great book, an easy read, and very challenging.

Sunday Reflections

This morning was a great day @GFchurch and we are very excited about the community that He has called us to love. Scott Finch did a great job of leading us in worship this morning. We celebrated our life in Christ and ended the service this morning by taking The Lord's Supper as a family of faith.

We covered part3 of our series over The Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6: 9-13

9"Pray, then, in this way:
'Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10'Your kingdom come
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11'Give us this day our daily bread.
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

We looked at the verse "Give us this day our daily bread". We spoke about the fact that the Lord is the bread of life (as found in John 6:35, "Jesus said to them, "(I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst) and that He is all we need.

We looked back in Exodus where the Israelites were fed by manna (daily bread) but were told to only take what the needed for the day (once again, daily bread). You can see it here in these verses found in Exodus 16: 1-7
1 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

2 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

3 The sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

5 "On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, "At evening you will know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt;

7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your grumblings against the LORD; and what are we, that you grumble against us?"

Here are a few things to thing about when reflecting on the Lord being our daily bread and the fact that He is truly our provision.
(1) He gives to us, and He knows what we need
(2) To be content with what He gives; keeps us from falling into temptation, and
(3) As He gives, He keeps us humble

A good friend of mine, Collin Roberts has been in Sudan this past week and I sent him a message asking him to shre with me what the Lord was teaching him about "daily bread". Here is the response I received from him::

This is actually something the Lord has been revealing to me. Give us this day our daily bread...

We have many circumstances, they come in many forms, hurting, strong, sad, joy. Circumstances will always change in our day, something will always arise, but one thing remains, remains stable and forever, God. Our daily bread is the sustaining power and truth He has given us, to walk with Him, for Him, and in hope for Him. He does not change, He is all satisfying. I could try to bring happiness to these people, I could bring a smile to their face but for a moment. But, when I pull away, leave this country, only He will remain. We proclaim the Gospel, teach truth, and pray He reveals. That is my hope in my daily bread.

....Thanks Collin for sharing with us. I am praying for you and all that He has in store for you.

There a lot of things going on in the life of our church and we are really excited about what the Lord is doing in us, to us, and through us. I really enjoyed teaching this morning over part3 of the series called, "The Lord's Prayer". If you were not able to join us this morning you can catch the service at GatewayTV

Mark Your Calendars::

~June 4,5, 2010 GF Ladies Retreat
~June 29 - July 2, 2010 Student Camp @Pineywoods
~July 16-17, 2010 Father/Son Retreat
~July 25-28, 2010 Pre-Teen Camp @ Pineywoods

ConnectGroup Schedule::

TuesNite @ 7pm @ The Snow's
WedNite @ 7pm @ The Brown's
SunMorn @ 915am @ GFchurch



Places To Sign Up::


GF Ladies Retreat June 4-5, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX

Youth Camp June 28-July 2, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment

Father/ Son Weekend July 16-17, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX. (All guys welcome to attend)

Pre-Teen Camp July 25-28, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment


I love our church
I love our people
I love what He is doing in us
I love what He is doing to us
I love what He is doing through us
I love that He is not done with us

Friday, May 14, 2010

Colossians 4: 2-6

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

I love these verses from Colossians. Paul is speaking to faithful saints in Colossae and he urges them to continue steadfastly in prayer. He asks them that they pray the God would open a door for them to share the Word and declare the mysteries of Christ. He also then charges them to walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best of their time. It is not by accident, that we find these next words in Paul's challenge. He then says, "Let your speech be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person". This is something that I prayer for every day. I ask God to give me his eyes, His ears, and His heart so that I can see, hear and love people the way that He does. So often, in our humanness, we allow circumstances or our attitudes control the way we relate to those around us. We can not allow this to happen. We can not allow circumstances dictate our behavior. We must be praying for His eyes, His ears and His heart~ that is how we need to see, hear and love through these very situations that the Lord allows us to walk through.

I pray that He will give us opportunity, not only as the church but as individuals as well, to share the Word with those around us. May He give us the opportunity to declare the mysteries of Christ to those who are in our sphere of influence and even beyond. May we all walk in wisdom and may we ask Him who gives to us generously all the we need.

Rich or poor God I want You more
Than anything that glitters in this world
Be my all, all consuming fire


You can have all my hands can hold
My heart, mind, strength and soul
Be my all, all consuming fire


All we need, all we need, all we need is You
All we need, all we need, all we need is You




Jesus, you are all I need. You are all anyone needs. You are the Way. You are the Truth. You are the Life. Give

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Book Review~ "Transforming Church In Rural America" by Shannon O'Dell


I have just finished reading Shannon O'Dell's book called Transforming Church in Rural America. God grew an unexpected passion in Shannon for “Rural America” and grew Brand New Church to 2000 members with 5 campuses, a number of satellite house churches, start-up/initiating remotes, and an online campus”.

The book itself, is an easy read and it is full of great information for those in leadership. As a church planter, this book was a welcomed read and one that I was able to process and place into our context of ministry in Royse City, TX. There were a few chapters that after reading, I had to literally put down and process all that I had just read because it resonated so much with me and where we are in the ministry of our church. Chapter 6 was one of those chapters. I love leadership and I love the phrase that, "Leadership is resiting the urge to settle". He takes a 3 step approach in this chapter as he discusses (1) resisting the urge to settle in the home (2) resisting the urge to settle in the church and (3) resisting the urge to settle in our personal lives. He also covers, in chapter 6, the 8 ways of becoming a team on pages 111-112.

Here is how the book unfolds itself and some quotes that really stood out to me::
...Chapter 1~ Possibilities
...Chapter 2~ One White Couch: Answering The Call...Finally
...Chapter 3~ Desert Days: Finding a Place in Nowhere
...Chapter 4~ Vision: When Seeing Requires Believing
...Chapter 5~ Attitude: Sacred Cows and Slaughtering the Status Quo
...Chapter 6~ Leadership: Resisting the Urge to Settle
...Chapter 7~ Understanding: Standing under a Rock-Solid Structure
...Chapter 8~ Enduring Excellence: Well Done without Much
...Chapter 9~ Multi-Sites and Satellites: Rural Goes Viral
...Chapter 10 Lessons from Jerusalem Wall: Nehemiah meets Nebraska

~ “When you desire to grow a congregation, you will never get it. But if you grow congregants, then you are going to see transformation in their lives and within the church.” (p. 39)
~ “If you do not have defined vision for your church, the loudest member will define it for you.” (p. 55)
~ "What we want is yesterday, today and tomorrow all tied up in one neat little package- a package that does not exist. What we need is a well-honed attitude emerging from a disciplined mind and a faithful heart" (p. 72)
~ "Growing means changing. If you are called to lead and you do it, you will grow and change. It is a promise from God" (p. 81)
~ “Leadership is resisting the urge to SETTLE.” (p. 88)
~ "Your best leaders are sitting in your pews." (p. 104)
~ "Clearly articulated and passionately proclaimed vision causes leadership to rise up within the ranks and calls more soldiers to the cause" (p. 104)
~ "Constantly, consistently, and continually transmit the vision, mission, and our preoccuptaion with reaching the lost" (p.108)
~ “The minute you say it’s not relevant for every detail of your life, then the Bible becomes a fable and a fairy tale.” (p. 130)
~ on the church:: "It was a top-down structure that started with the authority of Christ, transferred by the Word of God, through pastors(elders) who mobilized and equipped servant-leaders, who matured to become pastors and mobilizers who did the same.” (p.132)
~ “Excellence does not cost a lot of money: it costs in time and vision.” (p. 148)
~ “It doesn’t really matter what building you are in; your church can grow if it has vision, attitude, leadership, and understanding.” (p. 151)
~ “When you have a dream, people are always in the wings ready to destroy it. … The loudest boos usually come from those in the cheapest seats.” (pages 191, 195)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Sunday Reflections

This morning was a great day @GFchurch. We continue to see new faces and are praying for the community that the Lord has called us to love. Scott Finch did a great job of leading us in worship. Mother's Day was a sweet time for us, as we recognized and prayed for all the Mothers in the church. We also had a dedication time for the new babies in the church, which is always very special.

There a lot of things going on in the life of our church and we are really excited about what the Lord is doing in us, to us, and through us. I really enjoyed teaching this morning over part2 of the series called, "The Lord's Prayer". I walked through verse 10 in Chapter 6 of Matthew, where we find the Lord's Prayer. If you were not able to join us yesterday morning you can catch the service at GatewayTV

Mark Your Calendars::

~May 15, 2010 Men's Breakfast
~June 4,5, 2010 GF Ladies Retreat
~June 29 - July 2, 2010 Student Camp @Pineywoods
~July 16-17, 2010 Father/Son Retreat
~July 25-28, 2010 Pre-Teen Camp @ Pineywoods

ConnectGroup Schedule::

TuesNite @ 7pm @ The Snow's
WedNite @ 7pm @ The Brown's
SunMorn @ 915am @ GFchurch



Places To Sign Up::


GF Ladies Retreat June 4-5, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX

Youth Camp June 28-July 2, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment

Father/ Son Weekend July 16-17, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX. (All guys welcome to attend)

Pre-Teen Camp July 25-28, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment


I love our church
I love our people
I love what He is doing in us
I love what He is doing to us
I love what He is doing through us
I love that He is not done with us

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Events Coming up @GFchurch

GF Ladies Retreat June 4-5, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX

Youth Camp June 28-July 2, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment

Father/ Son Weekend July 16-17, 2010 @ Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, TX. (All guys welcome to attend)

Pre-Teen Camp July 25-28, 2010 @ Pineywoods Baptist Encampment