Connections

Open Up The Sky

Been enjoying Deluge Band the last few days.  If you have 8 minutes and want to worship...watch this video!

That one is going to cost you!

I was at my friend Orie Wenger's house a few weeks ago with our staff. Orie is the Pastor of Mt. Zion Fellowship in our city.  He had recently been diagnosed with pancreas cancer and we were at his house praying for a his complete healing.  While we were there, Orie showed us a teaching video of a sermon that had impacted him greatly.  The preacher was talking about the stoning of Stephen in the Bible.  It is one of the only times in scripture where Jesus stands up at the right hand of God.  The pastor painted the scene so beautifully!  He envisioned Jesus pointing his finger at satan and saying, "That one is going to cost you!" The death of Stephen cost the enemy his greatest general. Saul was standing in the crowd guarding the coats of those throwing the stones.

Saul was converted and went on to spark a Gentile revival that is still going on today.

We lost one of our great Generals in the Kingdom of God today.  Orie Wenger went home to be with the Lord shortly after 12 p.m. today. The seeds that he has sown in our city through faithful preaching, prayer for revival and faithful leadership WILL RESULT in a great harvest.

Orie, there will always remain a vacant seat at the Church of Greenville table.  As you are now banqueting with the Lamb of God, we will be kicking the enemy in the teeth here in Greenville! Thanks for plowing the field so faithfully. 

Faith of a Child

We had a record attendance today in our children's ministry today.  Shawn Thompson is doing a fabulous job at reaching the children of CRCC.  Kids are coming to Christ left and right.  A few months ago, we had a young boy give his life to Christ at home with his parents.  He told his parents that Mrs. Shawn said that God gave His Son as a gift to the whole word, but only those who open the gift can have eternal life.  His parents replied, "Cameron, what is the gift that you need to open." He replied, "Jesus, the slain Lamb of God."  WOW!  

Shawn told me today that she was talking to her daughter over the weekend.  She said, "Shelley what do you think of when you see the color red?" Shawn replied, "I think if love." Her daughter said, "I think of the blood of Jesus."

Kids get it!  They can hear from the Lord.  They have the capacity to enter into the Kingdom.  They are not tainted with the hindrances of this world. They are loved by Jesus.

I am realizing that my #1 responsibility as a Dad is to lead my girls to Jesus! He is more important than "My little ponies" and bed time stories.  Pray for me please as I teach my daughter about the love of Abba!  

It's easy to complicate the Gospel as we get older.  It's a good reminder to just get in the posture of a 4 year old and approach the Father.

Secrets to Breakthrough

This post is for those who were out of town Sunday at CRCC, as well as, the community that I only know in cyberspace.  I preached on "The Secrets to Breakthrough."  God has burned the story of "The Widow at Zarepheth" into my heart over the last year.  1 Kings 17:7-24 tells the story of God's provision through the most unlikely sources.  What's funny is....about 5 people have told me pastors that they follow around the nation also preached on this passage this week.  Must be a God thing!  Here are a few points that I realize from the story:

1.  Obedience is the watermark of being a Christ follower.  

-This widow was told to provide for the prophet out of what little she had. The potential cost of her disobedience could have resulted in the death of her, her son and Elijah.

2.  Stewardship is non-negotiable.

-All she had was a HANDFUL of flour and a LITTLE oil.  When she took what was in her hand and stewarded it...there was enough supply to satisfy her family and Elijah. God is good at taking a depleted situation and injecting heaven's activity into it so that things begin to multiply.

3.  Prayers offered in faith result in supernatural breakthrough.  Not all prayers are partnered with faith.  There was a prayer meeting recorded in the New Testament where a group was praying for Peter to be released from prison.  He shows up at the door and interrupts their prayer meeting and they are shocked. I do not want to be so intoxicated with the activity of prayer that I am shocked when the answer is at the door. 

The stories of people's personal breakthrough stories have been incredible. God is moving in mighty ways!  I would love to hear your story of breakthrough.  

American Idol and God of This City

Kris Allen, American Idol champ singing God of This City! Thanks Chris Surratt for twittering this. Good stuff!

Proof in the Practice

"If we are really convinced that prayer changes the way God acts, and that God does bring about remarkable changes in the world in response to prayer, as Scripture repeatedly teaches that He does, then we would pray more than we do. If we pray little, it is probably because we do not really believe that prayer accomplished much at all." (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine p. 337.)

Regardless of your thoughts on God's sovereignty and/or the concept of Open Theism (read this if you are not familiar...considered a modern heresy by many evangelical scholars), you cannot deny the gravity of this statement.  

What are your thoughts?

Releasing the Sound!

Catalyst Music Project | Aaron Keyes from Catalyst on Vimeo.

This is a very cool opportunity that our pastor's son, Aaron Keyes is spear-heading with Catalyst called the Catalyst Music Project. David Walker, the Worship Pastor at CRCC is submitting one of his songs. Please pray that what David is writing would be exported to the world. The church will blessed by David's writing. By the way....if you haven't heard David's latest album Closer than Angels" then you need to stop what you are doing and purchase it here.

Experiencing the Father's Embrace

For years the Lord has used this picture to stir in me the concept of Sonship. John Jr. was more concerned about being a son than he was his father running the country. As a son, John Jr. had every right to be as close to his father as he could get. 

I'm learning a ton lately about sonship.  I read a book years ago called, "Experiencing Father's Embrace" by Jack Frost. This book and the Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning wrecked me with the Father's love and grace for me. In it I realized that we have a Prodigal Father, one who recklessly lavished everything He had on us.  When we refuse to approach the Father because of guilt or shame, we are declaring that the sacrifice of Jesus was not enough. The purpose of the incarnation is so that we could have a daddy!

Steve was preaching today and stated, "Sin does not cut off your sonship, it cuts off your fellowship." Fellowship with the Father is the tangible gift of sonship. Wow!  That is a good word right there.

It's possible to be born again and still have an orphan spirit....one that stays far away from the Father. I think if the enemy can't keep us from being adopted into God's family, he will try and keep us thinking that we are still orphans.

Who is following?

So...I am twittering now.  Follow me if you would like.  What I am wanting to know is this: Is there anyone still following this blog?  

If you would, please leave a comment and let me know who you are so that I know who my audience is now.  I want to write blog posts that are targeted and useful.

Thanks a ton!

Bucket of Breakthrough!

As I have been prepping for an upcoming sermon, God has been burning something into my heart.  The deal is...we are in a Breakthrough Series at CRCC.  Wow!  We have seen some breakthrough in the lives of people....from God opening wombs to providing jobs, healing sickness and moving people into the deeper waters of intimacy with Jesus.

Breakthrough is the accumulation of smaller victories. I realize that at times I am asking God for massive breakthrough in an area of my life, yet I do not know what it feels like to experience a small victory in the same area...so they do not register. It's sort of like the Pirate's Bucket at Six Flags. 

Children wait anxiously under the enormous bucket while each drop of water contributes to the tilt of the bucket....until there is a down pour.

Collecting smaller victories is like filling up a large bucket of breakthrough that eventually gets to it's tipping point and manifests in your life.