We just finished our first series entitled "Incomplete", a series on the 6 things that God has lead us to focus on here at the Bay West Campus.
The tough thing about a series like that, as I've expressed, is moving away from the sort of "checklist" mentality in dealing with Christ. If I do these things, then I'm good. The problem is that's already been done, it's called the Law, that God gave, and it was created, not for us to find righteousness in it, but to highlight the fact and make it easier for us to see that we CAN'T keep it, thereby making it easier for us to turn to God...still, when you say, "Hey, look at these 6 things!", people tend to look at this as the definitive list...but it isn't...hence the name of the series "Incomplete", because just any compilation existing of only our efforts to save ourselves from the punishment that sin brings would be just that....Incomplete.
Throughout the series, we've said, time and time again, that Jesus is the thing that connects everything. Our relationship with Christ and the faith in Him is what leads us to salvation, because He is the only source of that saving.
Katye sent me an email the other day about a verse she found in her reading that really kind of capped off the sentiment from this series on "The 6"...
James 2:22- "You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith COMPLETE." (NLT)
Pretty cool, huh? See you Sunday, when we examine a perspective on something that we all do every day...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
It's all in who you know
For years, I've heard this phrase and it's made me bristle. It implies that you can't get ahead in this world on your own merit, it's always about the person in power that you know that can get you to the right place.
I HATE that... I want to make it on my own merit on things, that's why I hate it... That, and I'm one of those guys who have never really known anyone to hook me up. :-) Just kidding.
This week, we'll be talking about the next one of "The 6" here at Bay West Church which states that one of our values at Bay West is that we lead people to cultivate relationships with God's purposes in mind. When I was studying for this talk, I began to see that the statement I hate may be more a part of my life than I ever suspected...and that may be okay. Oh yeah, it's easy for the preacher to take the high road, capitalize the "Who" and say the "Who" is God, but that's too obvious...and while that would be the greatest value statement I could make, it would hardly be the end of this subject in the life of a Christ follower.
Hopefully, I can shed some light in the immensity of this one of the 6 that just really gets lumped into eating meetings and parties...but it's much, much more than this. If you are in West Palm Bay, or you just want to drive a little bit, feel free to stop on by. See you Sunday, 10am, Heritage High School.
I HATE that... I want to make it on my own merit on things, that's why I hate it... That, and I'm one of those guys who have never really known anyone to hook me up. :-) Just kidding.
This week, we'll be talking about the next one of "The 6" here at Bay West Church which states that one of our values at Bay West is that we lead people to cultivate relationships with God's purposes in mind. When I was studying for this talk, I began to see that the statement I hate may be more a part of my life than I ever suspected...and that may be okay. Oh yeah, it's easy for the preacher to take the high road, capitalize the "Who" and say the "Who" is God, but that's too obvious...and while that would be the greatest value statement I could make, it would hardly be the end of this subject in the life of a Christ follower.
Hopefully, I can shed some light in the immensity of this one of the 6 that just really gets lumped into eating meetings and parties...but it's much, much more than this. If you are in West Palm Bay, or you just want to drive a little bit, feel free to stop on by. See you Sunday, 10am, Heritage High School.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Are you working it or missing it?
Worship is something that most of us have on a calendar of some sorts, either in the habitual brain side set for Sundays at "x:xx" or the family on the wall calendar or the online, computer-based variety. Our schedule consists of getting up on time, taking the shower (hopefully), busting out the smell good (DO, ToothP and the like), breakfast (optional), getting the kids ready (if you have them), checking the news/internet or whatever is your morning routine... I'd love to say Quite Time with God and His Word, but I know that some people take the "well, I'm going to church already" road, sadly enough, so I know for some, that's in the optional category with breakfast.
Then, you've got to hit adequate drive time and if you are at Bay West, you've got to get there early enough to fulfill your opportunity to serve the weeks you are on...which so far has totalled "2".
Most of us, if we can hit our little mile markers and hit the service before I start to speak, we stamp goal accomplished...good job.
But is that enough? While this would probably be the picture of a successful Sunday for most and if people were asked what they had to do to prepare for the worship service on Sunday, it would be a similar list...is that enough?
Sadly, no, it's not. This Sunday, we'll be talking about #3 on the 6 in our series entitled "Incomplete". Hopefully, we can all come away with a broader perspective and some winning strategies to get the most out of Sundays. If your worship has been sort of boring lately, I've got some answers for that. If you're just not "feeling it", got that covered... No problem...
See you Sunday!
Then, you've got to hit adequate drive time and if you are at Bay West, you've got to get there early enough to fulfill your opportunity to serve the weeks you are on...which so far has totalled "2".
Most of us, if we can hit our little mile markers and hit the service before I start to speak, we stamp goal accomplished...good job.
But is that enough? While this would probably be the picture of a successful Sunday for most and if people were asked what they had to do to prepare for the worship service on Sunday, it would be a similar list...is that enough?
Sadly, no, it's not. This Sunday, we'll be talking about #3 on the 6 in our series entitled "Incomplete". Hopefully, we can all come away with a broader perspective and some winning strategies to get the most out of Sundays. If your worship has been sort of boring lately, I've got some answers for that. If you're just not "feeling it", got that covered... No problem...
See you Sunday!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sooooo....love it is or is it?
One thing I noticed as I prepared for the love component of the Incomplete series at Bay West Church is what secularly we associate with love and exactly how it changes the focus of love. I'm not really talking love and lust, but just in the foundational aspects that make you really understand what's involved in the endeavor...I'm going to spend some time on that on Sunday...
When you think about it...everywhere you look, love's all wrong, as far as the definitions go...people say the right things, then send you on a wild goose chase, philosophically...what you look for, what you think you're in for...no wonder people seem to fail at love so much, when everything around us at times works to re-focus in another direction...
The dichotomy is really interesting...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Dangerous series...incomplete
We started off at Bay West Church in West Palm Bay with our series "Incomplete" last Sunday. It had an interesting germination. In the development of the vision of Bay West, we wanted to identify some things that we would like to be core values to our campus. In meeting and praying with some of the couples on the launch team, we came up with what we call, "The Big 6". It's a list of 6 habits, characteristics, behaviors that we'd like to be known for at Bay West. In developing this list, I really felt God's leading to begin Bay West by preaching on these foundations of Bay West...hence the six-week series we are starting out with.
I was at Sun Shoppe in Melbourne, meeting with Elliott Davis, one of our worship leaders about a month or two ago. I shared what the first series was and he said "Hey, that would be a good thing to call this series, Incomplete" Of course, I was like...wha???? He went on to explain his thinking that 7 was the perfect number and this was one short, leaving it incomplete. Of course, we went to the same place....that the 7th and complete picture was Jesus that made it all relevant. Great! Incomplete was complete.
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
23 But I [Jesus] will reply, ‘I never knew you....
Hence the danger...there are loads of people, all across the planet, that think if they just can "do" enough stuff and put Jesus' name on it...even in a well-meaning, honest, trying-my-best, in-church-ever-Sunday sort of way, that this will be enough...but not so much.
Christ, right there in Matthew, puts it in black and white. The biggest thing, the foundation of our judgment, before all the "you did WHAT????? You mean I have to forgive THAT???" starts (just kidding - :-) ), the requirement will be if He knew you or not...did you have a relationship with Christ? Did you spend time with Him? Did you follow Him daily? Did you get to know Him in the ways He left for you to? It won't be because you did a bunch of stuff that impressed Him enough to make Him think you deserved it...just the opposite. We CAN'T accomplish that at all...impossible.
The Big 6 aren't your salvation...they are just good things that can help you understand, live, grasp, emulate what already exists in your heart...a relationship with Christ. So let's not get the cart before the horse, the ".com" before the "http:" so to speak...remember the foundational non-negotiable here...that's you...Jesus...healthy relationship...the rest will work itself out.
I was at Sun Shoppe in Melbourne, meeting with Elliott Davis, one of our worship leaders about a month or two ago. I shared what the first series was and he said "Hey, that would be a good thing to call this series, Incomplete" Of course, I was like...wha???? He went on to explain his thinking that 7 was the perfect number and this was one short, leaving it incomplete. Of course, we went to the same place....that the 7th and complete picture was Jesus that made it all relevant. Great! Incomplete was complete.
You know when you preach a series like this...that lists some good things to focus on in your life...there's always a danger. It's called the "holy checklist syndrome". The danger is that someone might think that if they do these 6 things, the "holy checklist", they'll be fine.
Nothing could be further from the truth....and it's part of the reason that the name of the series, "Incomplete", fits so well.
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
23 But I [Jesus] will reply, ‘I never knew you....
Hence the danger...there are loads of people, all across the planet, that think if they just can "do" enough stuff and put Jesus' name on it...even in a well-meaning, honest, trying-my-best, in-church-ever-Sunday sort of way, that this will be enough...but not so much.
Christ, right there in Matthew, puts it in black and white. The biggest thing, the foundation of our judgment, before all the "you did WHAT????? You mean I have to forgive THAT???" starts (just kidding - :-) ), the requirement will be if He knew you or not...did you have a relationship with Christ? Did you spend time with Him? Did you follow Him daily? Did you get to know Him in the ways He left for you to? It won't be because you did a bunch of stuff that impressed Him enough to make Him think you deserved it...just the opposite. We CAN'T accomplish that at all...impossible.
The Big 6 aren't your salvation...they are just good things that can help you understand, live, grasp, emulate what already exists in your heart...a relationship with Christ. So let's not get the cart before the horse, the ".com" before the "http:" so to speak...remember the foundational non-negotiable here...that's you...Jesus...healthy relationship...the rest will work itself out.
GREAT Day!
We had a great day at Bay West Church this morning. The training took WAAAAAAY longer than expected on Saturday, so needless to say, even though God's been extremely faithful the whole way, we all found a way to lose a little sleep last night. Of course everyone was so keyed up to get it done, we had the guts of the Worship Center done at 8:15-8:20am...lol.
The service was great, even though we had some minor technical snafu's and PCI/us will have to get those worked out (got to mention the Tech stuff...I am still a techy guy at heart.)
All in all, though it was great...talk to you next time...what? You want numbers...we didn't count...just kidding, here are the vital stats.
Bay West Church first Sunday
1 hour and 20 minute setup and sound check
45 minute takedown and store away
Service was 1:05 (and yes, Jim went over, got out at 11:10, but we started late on purpose - just this week- :-) )
108 or so in the Worship Center (some people came in late - don't know if they got counted also)
43 kids
17 workers (including Jenny and Bevan, Children's Minister and leader)
34 people filled out guest cards (even though we didn't have any pens or anything to fill them out)
Lot of people we didn't know...
That's 170 on Campus for the first Sunday (not counting Roberto, the best head custodian in the business in Brevard county, or Larry, since he couldn't stay the whole time).
Praise to God...let's get ready for next week!
The service was great, even though we had some minor technical snafu's and PCI/us will have to get those worked out (got to mention the Tech stuff...I am still a techy guy at heart.)
All in all, though it was great...talk to you next time...what? You want numbers...we didn't count...just kidding, here are the vital stats.
Bay West Church first Sunday
1 hour and 20 minute setup and sound check
45 minute takedown and store away
Service was 1:05 (and yes, Jim went over, got out at 11:10, but we started late on purpose - just this week- :-) )
108 or so in the Worship Center (some people came in late - don't know if they got counted also)
43 kids
17 workers (including Jenny and Bevan, Children's Minister and leader)
34 people filled out guest cards (even though we didn't have any pens or anything to fill them out)
Lot of people we didn't know...
That's 170 on Campus for the first Sunday (not counting Roberto, the best head custodian in the business in Brevard county, or Larry, since he couldn't stay the whole time).
Praise to God...let's get ready for next week!
God can do a lot of things...
I found out a new one yesterday and it bears repeating and it happened in our journey of starting our new satellite campus, Bay West Church in west Palm Bay, Florida. Heritage High School, 10am...
On Thursday, the AP at Heritage High let us know that he'd been able to clear out "most" of the room that we'd been scheduled to use for storage there at the school, but still had a shelving unit...and he didn't know where we'd put the overflow.
That was troubling since our diagram of the room and how our cases fit in there from PCI showed that we'd have the room jam packed and have 3 large cases that wouldn't fit in the room and would have to be stored elsewhere...now there was no elsewhere.
Honestly, I was a little bit ashamed (that's dumb right?) to go to God with what I had...all I really knew to ask for at that point was "can you just make the room larger, please?"
We got there yesterday and our equipment was delivered by PCI. When we started loading the cases into the room, ALL the cases fit in the room...with the shelving unit in there!
I've always felt that God could do anything that He wanted to do, but I'd never thought about Him being able to enlarge a room and I guess I never thought I'd be lucky enough to see it...but He did.
God can do a lot of things...thanks, God. Bay West Church starts today.
On Thursday, the AP at Heritage High let us know that he'd been able to clear out "most" of the room that we'd been scheduled to use for storage there at the school, but still had a shelving unit...and he didn't know where we'd put the overflow.
That was troubling since our diagram of the room and how our cases fit in there from PCI showed that we'd have the room jam packed and have 3 large cases that wouldn't fit in the room and would have to be stored elsewhere...now there was no elsewhere.
Honestly, I was a little bit ashamed (that's dumb right?) to go to God with what I had...all I really knew to ask for at that point was "can you just make the room larger, please?"
We got there yesterday and our equipment was delivered by PCI. When we started loading the cases into the room, ALL the cases fit in the room...with the shelving unit in there!
I've always felt that God could do anything that He wanted to do, but I'd never thought about Him being able to enlarge a room and I guess I never thought I'd be lucky enough to see it...but He did.
God can do a lot of things...thanks, God. Bay West Church starts today.
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