The Student Spot

V.I.C.T.O.R.Y. Victory, Victory, That's Our Cry!

2011-12-07T09:23:00.002-05:00

Scripture:
"Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him." (Revelation 17:14)

Observation:
God is all powerful! He is Lord over all things. We see God's amazing love in that he provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. We are blessed to be able to answer to the name of "called" and "chosen". These two terms are familiar terms in the New Testament talking about believers, but this is the only place in the book of Revelation that God, refers to His people as "called" or "chosen". What an amazing title that is given to us who follow Christ, by the King of kings, and what awesome responsibility comes with that title.

Application:
Because of who God is and what He has done for each of us, it should prompt us to a response that reaches out to others in love. I'm amazed when I think about how awesome God is (and I mean awesome in the true sense of the word) and that He still loves me and desires this deep relationship with me. As I ponder that thought, I think about the love that God has for others and because I have been called by God, I should be sharing that love with others, that they might know the King of kings.

Prayer:
Father, help me to not only walk in your love today, but help me to exude that love to others that they might see you love for them and give glory, honor, and praise to you today.
In Jesus Name, Amen

Now is the Time!

2011-12-06T09:05:00.002-05:00

Scripture:
"'Fear God', he shouted. 'Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all the springs of water'." (Revelation 14:7)

Observation:
Now is the time for you and I to...

1. Fear God
2. Give glory to Him
3. Worship Him

The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 1:2-"And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe."
Peter used the same terminology in his sermon in Acts chapter 2 at Pentecost, to remind us that the "last days' were inaugurated in the person and ministry of Christ. Therefore, we should be living lives that incorporate these three aspects.

Application:
We need to live a life that is fearful of God and His great power and His judgement. We should also give Him glory for everything, event he things that we often take for granted such as a marvelous planet which not only is inhabitable but a planet that shows the beauty and majesty of a loving and caring God. We should give Him all glory, honor and praise because of the cross! The cross of Christ allows us to have access to the Father and the hope of an eternity with Him. The cross allows us to live a life without fear of Satan or eternal separation from God (Hell).

Prayer:
Father, I come to you today grateful for all of the love that you show to me, from the perfection of creation to the salvation of the cross. Lord, help me to live a life that is fearful of you, that gives You all glory, and a life that is in constant worship to You.
In Jesus Name, Amen

Martyred for the Word of God

2011-12-05T10:24:00.002-05:00

Scripture:
"When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony." (Revelation 6:9)

Observation:
Those who have been martyred for the word of God and for their faithfulness will be avenged for their death. We as God's people are not to revenge the death of someone or to take revenge against those who hurt us but God will avenge those who have been persecuted or martyred because of their faith.

Application:
We must remember that because we don't have that type of persecution here in the United States, there are those who face amazing persecution and martyrdom due to their faith. There are those in our world who sneak around to meet in secret to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. We should remember to lift these people up in prayer and they should be an example of amazing faith to us.

Prayer:
Father, this morning I pray for those around the world that are facing extreme persecution today because of their love for you. I pray that you will protect them and encourage them today that their work is being noticed by their brothers and sister as well as you, Lord.
In Jesus Name, Amen

Neither Hot nor Cold

2011-12-04T17:28:00.002-05:00

Scripture:
"I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16)

Observation:
There is no place for the person who's work is barren or is not producing fruit. At least if you are cold it's easy to realize this fact and make the necessary changes in order to become hot.

Application:
This passage reminds me that you can tell if you are hot, cold, or lukewarm by the fruit that you produce. I need to be out preaching the gospel and evangelizing not only in spoken words but also by the life that I live not only in church but in the community in which I live, so that I don't find my life cold or lukewarm (content with the day to day that life brings).

Prayer:
Father help me to prioritize my life, that I might be found on fire for you.
In Jesus name, Amen

Attention All Middle and High School Students!

2011-10-26T09:18:00.002-04:00

David Crowder Band
Friday 11/4
Vines Center/Liberty University

LCC's middle and high school students will be experiencing the David Crowder Band at Liberty University's Vines Center in Lynchburg on Friday, 11/4.

Cost--$15 per person
Plus money for meals

Time of departure--4:30p.
Return time--1:00a--tenative

Fore more information contact Chris Long or Jeff Krecek.

March Events

2011-02-18T10:50:00.003-05:00

IMPACT Mexico Dinner Theater:
When: Sunday, March 13
Time: 6:00pm-9:30pm
Where: Lake Christian Church
Cost: $20.00 per-person

This dinner is being held in order to raise money for the church's trip to Mexico this summer. This will be a catered dinner with service provided by the Missions Team. Following dinner, there will be a movie in the sanctuary. Free childcare and complimentary dinner for children will be provided. Tickets are on sale now in the lobby each Sunday. Come out and enjoy a night of fun and fellowship while supporting a great cause.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

2010-11-18T10:09:00.001-05:00

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Philippians 3:1-11

2010-10-27T11:07:00.002-04:00

It's Time to Boast!

Here is Philippians 3 Paul wants people to know the importance of knowing Christ(Not in a physical sense but in the sense of having a personal relationship with Christ). Paul tells us to watch out for those people who do evil and claim that because they have done this or that they are at the top of the Christian latter. Read what Paul has to say about all that he has done for Christ and where that puts him.

Philippians 3:3-8 (NLT)-"...We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reasons for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin--a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ."

With all that Paul had done for Christ and spreading the gospel message if he had nothing to boast about except that Christ was Lord and had saved him through the blood of Christ, where does that put us? Here is the real problem. Why is it that in church or in life continue to compare ourselves to other people? I realize that there are some people who look up to me as some type of super spiritual figure and leader of the church, and I except that (no I'm not boasting trust me). I hope that in all I preach and lead that people can see that I am not better or worse than anyone else. I have my own problems that God continues to work with me on. The deal is that everyday that God allows me to preach the gospel message, is a blessing from God himself. God continues to amaze me with what he can do with a broken and beat up vessel like me. To Him be all glory, honor, and praise forever!

Philippians 2:12-18

2010-10-24T17:19:00.002-04:00

"Shine Jesus, Shine"

Here in this section of Philippians I believe that we get a view of the Philippian church which shows us that there must be some type of conflict going on in the Church. I know what you are thinking, "how could there be any conflict going on in the church?" Here is the deal, people in church fight. Sometimes I believe that people in church fight more than people outside of the church. Philippians 2:14-15 (NLT)-"Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shinning like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people." Here Paul is contrasting the lives of those who believe in Christ and those who do not have faith in Christ. Paul says that people of the world find fault and complain, but those who are in Christ spend their time rejoicing. Wow, what a word of wisdom for the church today. Why do we spend so much time going to meetings and fighting over stuff that in eternity does not really amount to a whole lot. I believe that one of the key reasons that many times we find conflict in church due to a lack of prayer. God has been continuously convicting me lately that it is very hard to have a heart, mind, and soul that longs after God if we don't really spend some quality time with God.

Think about your work place what if before some huge business decision or some important meeting, everyone got together and spend some real time with each other in prayer. What if before some huge conflict between two students in school a bunch of students got together and humbled their hearts in prayer. What if before a huge church board meeting the leaders got together, put their ego's aside and prayed. I believe that if this happen in every aspect of our lives we could live out verse 15 and spend a lot more time rejoicing and a lot less time finding fault and complaining.

Philippians 2:3-11

2010-10-21T11:24:00.002-04:00

Be Like Christ

Philippians 2:3-11 (NLT)-"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Can we really fathom the idea that Paul is talking about here in this section of Philippians? Have you ever taken a few minutes to think of what Jesus gave up in order to come to earth and save us? Christ gave up being with God, in order to come to earth to be a servant to all of mankind. This idea of Christ being a servant goes much further than you or I can imagine as Jesus being the servant of mankind meant that He would serve everything. Jesus being a servant meant that He would die on a cross for you and I. What an amazing concept! How is it that Jesus came to teach us servant-hood and yet we spend our entire lives thinking that we deserve to be served. The challenge today is to read through these few verses and ask yourself "do I have the same attitude as Christ Jesus?" Today, find someone to serve and quit expecting to be served.

Philippians 2:1-2

2010-10-06T18:47:00.002-04:00

Fellowship in the Spirit

Philippians 2:1-2-"Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose." (NLT)

Obviously the Philippians has some disagreements among them. Paul reminds them of the way that they should be acting because they "fellowship together in the Spirit". As we already noted, the book of Philippians is really about fellowship; not friendship but fellowship. Just from reading this passage of scripture the only thing that my mind is capable of thinking about is salvation. I know this seems weird but let me share with you where my mind is going on this.

Philippians 2:1, Paul ask the question is there any "fellowship together in the Spirit?" Obviously in Paul's mind in order for there to be fellowship in the Spirit, the Spirit must be active in a persons life. So how do we get this Spirit? So that we might be able to experience this "fellowship in the Spirit".

Romans 8:9-"But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all). From this scripture we see that there are obviously people who do not have the Spirit, therefore they would not be eligible to "fellowship in the Spirit".

As Peter stands and delivers his message on the Day of Pentecost (the day the first church started) the people listening ask Peter what they must do in order to obtain this amazing grace and how can we get to know this awesome Jesus? Peters answer is found in the scripture below.
Acts 2:38-"Peter replied, 'Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Peter says at the point that someone is baptized, its at that point in which you receive the Holy Spirit.

Please remember that baptism is but one part of the salvation plan, there are other which I will not go into detail but have listed below, but the issue of baptism seems to be greatly debated, so I wanted to give my two cents worth.

Salvation:
Belief
Confession
Repentance
Baptism
Faithfulness

Philippians 1:27-30

2010-10-03T19:58:00.001-04:00

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Philippians 1:20-24

2010-10-03T08:03:00.001-04:00

To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain.

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Philippians 1

2010-09-30T21:09:00.002-04:00

As we start this new study on the book of Philippians I will not be taking a whole chapter at a time. It seems like I missed some of the material in Colossians due to this, so I will only be taking small sections of Philippians.
Let me start with an overview of the book of Philippians. Philippians is one of Paul's prison letters. Therefore Paul is in prison for spreading the name of Christ when he writes to the Philippians. Paul's main focus behind this book is "Fellowship". Often in the church today we see fellowship as when ever we get together with someone else to have coffee, snacks, or just have a conversation together. I believe that we will see from Philippians that Paul's idea of fellowship was much more than sharing drinks and food. Paul will teach us that you cannot have fellowship with someone unless you have something in common, and for Christian fellowship, this means the possession of eternal life within the heart. In Philippians 2:1, Paul wrote about "fellowship together in the Spirit," because when a person is born again he receives the gift of the Spirit (Rom. 8:9), also see Acts 2:38-42. Too often we confuse friendship with fellowship, so hopefully Paul will teach us the real difference. Paul starts the book of Philippians by praising the Philippians for their dedication to "spreading the good news about Christ"(Phil. 1:5). Philippians 1:11-"May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God." Notice that Paul said this will bring glory and praise to God not us. Philippians 1:12-14-"And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear." Remember that Paul says because of your life in Christ it will bring glory and praise to God. Even while Paul is in prison he continues to share the message of Christ, to where it bring glory and praise to God. Paul even though he is in prison because of Christ continues to preach the "Good News". Yet, we let any little thing keep us from sharing Christ with our friends so that we might be able to fellowship with them. It's something to think about.

Colossians 4:2-4

2010-09-29T16:26:00.001-04:00

Prayer

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Colossians 4:2-4

2010-09-29T16:25:00.001-04:00

Prayer

Colossians 3

2010-09-28T14:13:00.002-04:00

Out with the Old and In with the New!

In the first part of Colossians 3 Paul reminds us that we have been "raised to new life with Christ"v. 1. Paul goes on to remind us of some of the past sins that the church at Colosse were trapped in. I believe that if you and I will read the list of things that the church at Colosse was struggling with we could say to ourselves "is he writing to us?" Paul lets us know that we should not be doing these things because of the new life that we have found in Christ. Colossians 3:10-"Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him." The word that is translated renewed is a present participle reminding us that we should be constantly renewing ourselves. Which I believe is such a reminder that scripture is not only relevant for the past but also today. Paul knew that we would not just come to Christ and never struggle with our sinful nature again. I believe that Paul is saying now that you are new in Christ continue to read God's word and pray to be continually renewed in our commitment to Christ. Colossians 3:11-"In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Or as one of my modern day friends waYne waGner put it, "there is no room for racism in Christ". The love of Christ is for everyone. Paul continues and says that the thing that should bind us together is LOVE. Today I pray that people will love one another because of the love of Christ.

Colossians 2:4-7 (Grounded, Growing, and Grateful)

2010-09-27T19:47:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
Check out this video for the blog today!

Colossians 2:4-7

Where's My Head?

2010-09-26T07:01:00.002-04:00

I have been working very hard over the past 8 weeks to get my body in shape, as I have been following the P90X DVD's. Now, in no way am I some ripped Tony Horton at this point but I have lost 20lbs and have muscles that I have never seen before. I plan to continue to do P90X after this cycle is complete just because it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something as well as it just making me feel better in general. I believe that being in good physical shape is something that everyone would like but very few put in the time and effort to accomplish it (that could probably fit the Christian life as well). As I started to work out everyday I thought about people I saw on TV, great specimens of physical fitness. I think about people like those UFC fighters who just are in phenomenal shape and have muscles from every part of their body. Now, what if those huge muscle bound people had no head? They would look really ridiculous wouldn't they? This is exactly what happened to the church at Colosse. They had forgotten their head (Christ). Colosse being a huge travel route, they gained access to all kinds of new world stuff, including new world religion. The Apostle Paul writes to the church at Colosse to remind them that they have lost their Head. It's amazing how God works in our lives. This study of Colossians could not have come at a better time for me. With all the things that life requires of me right now, I had forgotten my Head as well. With all the training that I have been doing to get my physical body in shape I had neglected my spiritual health. As I close this out for today let me share two verses.

Colossians 1:18-"Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body." (NLT)
Colossians 1:22-"Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body, As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." (NLT)

I realize that we all need to work out physically and spiritually but Colossians 1:22 got me this morning to just imagine that because of the work of Christ I can come before God holy and blameless.

It's Time

2010-09-25T16:02:00.003-04:00

I have taken a hard look at my life over the last couple of weeks. I have decided that I and we (as people) allow a lot of things to distract us from what is really important in life. Over the last couple of weeks I have taken notice that I stay up way to late at night, then go to bed and not want to get up in the morning until the kids get out of bed, then head off to the office or what ever the day ahead has in store, get the kids off the bus, spend some time with the kids, fix dinner, help with the kids until dinner, go to a night appointment for church or do some office stuff from home, then watch TV or play Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 (yes I have both consoles but this is not a blog about wasting money). I feel as if I have become complacent with God. Maybe to say it in better terms I have become lazy in my relationship with God. I continue to read the scripture and pray but just because that's what I'm suppose to do, not because of His love for me or my gratitude towards God. I write all of this for you to read because I want to be real. I want the the people that I work with or the students that look up to me to know that, in the words of Steve Harvey "Don't trip He aint done with me yet!" I thank God each and everyday for continuing to use me. The only reason God continues to use is because of His love and grace. Colossians 1:25 "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness". I pray that God will lead me in a spiritual revival of myself in order that I might be able to present the word of God in its fullness. I have decided that I will no longer stay up late and let the distractions of this world keep me from REALLY spending time with God. I thank God each day that He aint done with me yet!

The Boys

2010-06-04T12:41:00.002-04:00

I thought I would post a video of the boys so everyone could see just how crazy they are!

Sex Addicts!

2010-03-30T20:17:00.002-04:00

Okay, this post is out of my comfort zone and my be controversial but those of you who know me, know that I have no problem calling a spade a spade or preaching the gospel in fullness and in truth.
I have been reading a lot about the demise of the family, and continue to pray for our families and worry about the falling apart of families and how to fix it. Lately I've been reading the book "At the AlTAR of SEXUAL IMMORALITY". As I continue to pray for the family unit and our Church I believe that God is calling me to start a ministry for men, which addresses issues that some of our men are facing. I know that men are facing an overwhelming struggle against sexual immorality. If you don't believe me just keep reading.
"In 2001, pornography's annual revenues were approximately $10 billion in the U.S. and $56 billion worldwide. This was projected to increase to $70 billion worldwide in 2006. Currently, about 4.2 million websites offer adult content. Approximately 25 million Americans visit cyber sex sites between 1-10 hours per week. Another 4.7 million in excess of 11 hours per week." (Scott Ross, Adult Video News (October, 2002), T. Dale Pollard; Wired News Report, T.Dale Pollard; Internet Filter Review 2003). This is very alarming or it should be. I believe that the church has done an excellent job at avoiding this issue, as it can be very controversial.
In the next few months I will be starting a ministry that deals with sexual sin and men. I'm not looking forward to confronting this ministry, but realize that it must be done in order to disciple men of today to be effective fathers, husbands, spouses, and leaders in today's church. If you would like more information about this ministry please let me know. This ministry will be completely confidential and I will require all men who choose to participate in this small group to sign a letter of confidentiality.
I look forward to leading this ministry, to ask us to be the men God created us to be!

Chris

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T12:21:00.002-05:00

Death of the Little Ones...

2009-12-11T09:11:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I just finished the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" I was challenged to read this book by a girl named Samantha Hineman who went to our church. "Sammy" was such an amazing person. I did not get to know her that well just in passing at church when I saw her and her family. Sammy was confined to a wheel chair and had some health problems. Earlier this year Sammy passed away at a very young age. Her family and friends were devastated, who wouldn't be?
Just about a month ago some friends of mine from college, lost their infant son just a couple of days after his birth. I'm sure that they were and are devastated by their loss. As most of you know Courtney (my wife) and I lost one of our sons just seven days after birth. Corey Payton Long passed away on April 16, 1999.
We had no idea what to do or how to handle the situation. It was something that we had never dealt with in our lives and to be honest didn't know anyone else that had dealt with this type of loss. As parents we all feel like we should out live our children. So when a child passes away we ask the normal questions of "why?" I contacted one of my college professors and as we talked via email about some of these situations he offered a piece that he had written where he went through all of scripture and explained unfortunate events or circumstances that had happen to people in scripture. I would like to share just a short portion of what this professor had to say...
"Finally, there is John and the vision God gave him of a new heaven and earth which will replace this sin-marred and grief-stricken one. Once again God will dwell with men as in the original Paradise. Of all of John's descriptions of this glorious future God has prepared, none is more comforting than this glimpse. 'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' Today we all say with John, 'Amen, come Lord Jesus.' Both the Old and New Testament provide a consistent message regarding the source and significance of suffering in this world. So the choice is ours. We can shake our fist in God's face or wander in a wilderness of doubt and despair. Or we can humbly accept what He has revealed and trust Him even where He hasn't given us all the insights into life's mysteries we might crave. God showed us His true character in the person of His son, Jesus. I choose to trust the God who paid the penalty for my sins and then conquered death to grant me the hope of eternal life in His presence. How about you?"

Let me say as I close that it never get's easy to watch a young child pass away. It has been just over ten-years since Corey passed away and its gotten a little easier but there are still times that I break down and weep over him. I try to remember that "to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord" but that is sometimes easier remembered than practice. I do know that I'm hoping to seen him again one day and look forward to our reunion.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T10:29:00.002-05:00

"Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross"

2009-11-05T10:26:00.002-05:00

Extreme Faith in a Time of Extreme Persecution:
Last night I was reading through my The Voice of the Martyrs magazine. This issue was all about the ministers of the gospel in Vietnam. It was entitled "Pastors on the Run". If you don't read Voice of the Martyrs trust me it's worth picking up. So, this article was all about the different people who are sharing the gospel message with the Vietnamese people even though the police continue to arrest them, fine them, and beat them. One article that really caught my eye was about a minister and his wife who were conducting a church service in a ladies home when the police came in arrest them and continued to beat them. At one point the article mentioned that they beat the ministers wife so bad that she was unconscious for quite a while.
Then this morning I get to the office and read Ester chapter 3 and was reminded of how Modecai stood up to Haman and would not bow down to him. Haman goes out and get's the king to issue a decree that Haman and his mob would go out and kill all the Jewish people and take their land. In the face of what Mordecai knew could happen for not obeying one of the kings top officials he remained faithful to his God and refused to bow down to Haman.
Maybe this is the Old Testament picture of what we see happening in so many different countries where people are not free to worship and to hear the gospel message. As I looked through picture after picture of different people being beaten and arrested in Vietnam I couldn't help but wonder and pray that God would give me that much faith. Maybe today you and I need to take a hard look at our faith and who we are and ask ourselves if we are willing to be faithful unto death so we might receive the crown of life?

As I finish I thought of this old hymn and I know we don't use hymnals that much if any anymore but I believe that there are some very powerful hymns with great meaning as well as some of the praise choruses that we sing today.

"Stand up, stand up for Jesus, The strife will not be long; This day the noise of battle, The next, the victor's song: To Him that overcometh, A crown of life shall be: He with the King of glory shall reign eternally."

Where Your Money is ther your heart will be also.

2009-11-04T08:41:00.002-05:00

Let me first say that I am no expert on money, as you will see very shortly. Money is a very tricky thing, it seems as if the more money that you have the more money that you want. I really don't understand this concept which is maybe why I can never save any money. As a leader in the Church I don't look at this as a good trait to have, Lord knows if I could figure out how to get my finances on track I believe that my life would be a lot less stressful.
Why is it that we feel that we must get up in the morning and put on expensive clothing, to walk out of our huge homes, to get in our fancy car, to drive to Starbucks and pay five dollars for a ten-cent cup of coffee, to work at who knows what job, to get back into our fancy car and stop by Starbucks to have something to drink on the way home, to come home and relax in front of our 52" flat screen LCD TV, which is hooked up to the cable with every channel imaginable, and even if we missed something during the day we could probably find it on our DVR. If that was not enough entertainment then we could listen to our XM radio, or play Xbox Live because we all know that we can't have a home that does not have high speed internet access. Oh, did I mention that if one person in the family is doing this in the living room that I'm sure everyone else could probably just go to another room in the house and do those same things if not more.
Please do not take this the wrong way, most of what was mentioned above is from my very own home. The point is this, that with all that we have sometimes we feel as if we are poorest people on the planet because we don't have some of the same things that other people have. At no point did God say that the things listed above were necessary for life. I read the first two chapters of Esther this morning and couldn't help but to see how the Queen at first had it all they had this huge celebration going on and people were eating and drinking and have a great time. But if you will remember it wasn't but a couple of days from which the queen was gone and Esther was in enjoying that lifestyle. I've seen this exact same thing happen in my life over and over again. Just when I believe that I have arrived and have everything that I could ask for or imagine it gets taken away because God is keeping my humble, and due to poor choices I have made in the past. This also goes the other way thankfully, that when I believe that I can't make another payment or pay for anything else, God provides just what I need and often times a little extra.
My advice for today keep your head up and keep working hard, because who knows you may just be sitting and eating with the KING tomorrow.

Confrontation and Resolution

2009-09-01T10:18:00.002-04:00

Leadership

2009-08-31T08:57:00.002-04:00

Right or Wrong??????

2009-08-21T12:41:00.002-04:00

1 John 1:5-2:2

Over the next several days I'm going to read through first, second, and third John.

What an amazing passage today. John gives us this picture that says that if you are affiliated with the light how can we continue to practice in spiritual darkness.
1 John 1:6&7(NLT)--"So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."
It's very funny that in a world where we continue to push the limits on everything, John is very clear on his message that there is definitely a right and a wrong. John says that we cannot continue to practice spiritual darkness and claim to walk in the light it just cannot be. The disheartening part of this passage is verse 10--"If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." You and I already knew that we were guilty of sin or at least I hope that you did. John makes it very clear that (Romans 3:23 "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.") The great part is 1 John 2:2--"He himself (Jesus) is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." What a powerful message to realize that we have fallen short of God but that because of Jesus you and I are able to walk into the light with confidence. I'm joyful because I can read this next verse that I'm going to share with you but that this is also my thankful prayer to God today.
Romans 5:21--"So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Jonah and Me

2009-08-11T09:04:00.002-04:00

Freedom to Worship

2009-08-10T11:13:00.003-04:00

Okay, I know it's been a long time since I was able to update this but I sent the kids back to school today and have a little extra free time to keep up with this, so I hope that you will begin to read, enjoy, and be challenged. I will start making videos again tomorrow but today you will actually have to read, I know this is disappointing but stick with me I will make it easier.

I have been reading a lot of stuff from "The Voice of the Martyrs" website and their magazine. I must say that it has had a tremendous impact on me to this point. This month they are featuring an article "CHINA: Can't Block the TRUTH" by Dr. Tom White. He goes through to explain how some of the Christians were meeting in homes and the Public Security Bureau (who is in charge of making sure there is no christian worship) found a home where Christians were gathered and worshiping. Dr. Tom White notes that usually they are not able to report stuff like this but the Chinese government was more than happy to post on their government website that they had found these worshipers and arrested the two people who lived at the house along with destroying all of the literature that had to do with Christ.

I wish that I could post the picture that was in the magazine but it is not online and I don't have a scanner, but let me try to explain it for you. Five Chinese people have escaped away into the country side dug a pit that is ankle deep and brought water in to fill the trench in order to baptize a young lady.

My first thought is it's amazing to see the lengths people go to in oppressed nation to be baptized, and in America? People will argue about the necessity of baptism.

My second thought is we Americans take our freedom way to lightly. We don't have to sneak around from house to house to worship, we have the freedom to worship any day and any time we want to, without the fear of being arrested and killed for our faith. Yet on any given Sunday there are always seats empty while others are literally dieing to hear the same message that some of us decided that we didn't need to hear this week because something more important was going on.

Sorry, I will get off my soap box. Reading some of this stuff has really given me a whole new perspective. Maybe today thank God for the freedom you have to worship and ask forgiveness for the wasted opportunities that you have let pass by, it was a huge eye opener to ME!!

What's Up

2009-06-23T15:09:00.002-04:00

Life has been really busy. Sorry I have not posted any new videos lately. I promise I will get back to doing them. The summer is extremely busy, I believe that all of you know how that goes. Let me leave you just a few things that have been going on at church (Lake Christian Church).

We just started going through the entire Bible in 90 days, it has been really cool to this point. We also launched a new web site that is completely interactive and allows people to get connected to anything in our church directly from the web, you should check it out. www.lakechristianchurch.org

Well that is all for now I will

Two Desires

2009-05-08T08:43:00.002-04:00

Slaves for Christ

2009-05-01T12:19:00.002-04:00

Barnabas

2009-04-24T23:30:00.002-04:00

Hebrews 11:24--"He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord."

I have been reading this book called the "11 indispensable relationships you can't be without". So today I read about Barnabas and how we all need a Barnabas, someone to encourage us and we all need to be a Barnabas to someone else. Here is the part that Got me, the author talks about being a spontaneous Barnabas. The author says these words--"In fact, one of my most favorite spiritual practices is to dedicate at least one day a week to being a spontaneous Barnabas to every person I meet that day."--Leonard Sweet.

Wow, what a challenge for us to try and encourage someone else in our every day lives. I can think of many times in my life where I just need someone to look at me and say "don't give up". I believe that we all have points in our lives where we need people to encourage us. I believe that is what made Barnabas' gift of encouragement so valuable. He knew when people needed to be encouraged and lifted up, especially in ministry. Look again at what the book of Hebrews says (at the top). If that same line could be said about you and I, what a testimony that would be.

So tonight I want to tell you all who will read this keep up the good work and don't give up. To God be the Glory!!

Later,

Where Have You been!

2009-04-23T18:00:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have not added a post in a couple of days I have been busy packing to go out of town this week. I am currently in NC. I will be on later as I do not want to be rude to my guest. So make sure that you check back later for my entry for today, unfortunately it will not be a video post but I will write a post tonight!

Later,

Sharing the Pain

2009-04-20T09:47:00.002-04:00

Worship in times of Stress?

2009-04-16T09:01:00.002-04:00

The God of Today, Tomorrow, and the Next Day

2009-04-15T10:16:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUdb2C6k-tY&feature=email

God of Today, Tomorrow, and The Next Day

2009-04-15T09:47:00.000-04:00

Our Part--A humble look at our part in ministry!

2009-04-14T13:26:00.002-04:00

God Loves Even You or Me

2009-03-21T07:48:00.002-04:00

Joshua 6

As I continue to read through the book of Joshua, the work of the Israelites, the work of Joshua, and more importantly the work of God continue to amaze me. In Joshua chapter 6 God gives Joshua the orders to march around the city of Jericho and on the seventh day march around the city seven times, have the priest blow their horns, and have the people shout and the walls will fall down and the Israelites will be able to take everything in Jericho. Let us not forget that Rahab the PROSTITUTE (who hid the spies) still lives in Jericho. Isn't that funny that's the way that we sometimes view Rahab or other people who are caught in sin. Yeah I mean we view them capitalized and in bold type, like they are some type of disease. Yet we fail to realize that we have our own disease that continually hold us back from doing what God called us to do. Let me remind you what Joshua 6:24,25 say.

Joshua 6:24,25--"Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made fro silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the LORD"S house. So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day."

Rahb is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:30-31--"It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down. It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies."

The plain fact is both you and I have sin in our lives but by faith we can be heros of the faith as well!

IN HIM <><

Leadership

2009-03-19T09:09:00.002-04:00

Joshua 3 & 4

Ok, this little thought is for those in Church leadership or any type of leadership. So to my friends who follow this I hope that this helps. Joshua remember from yesterday is trying to fill the leadership shoes of Moses, which I must say are pretty big SHOES ("mama said, these were my running shoes"*Thanks Forest*). Joshua chapter 3 God is giving Joshua a message to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, which must have seemed impossible with having to carry the Ark of the Covenant and getting all those people across a river which was flowing out of its banks at the time. Here is where I found Joshua becoming a great leader in the eyes of the Lord and how you and I can be the leaders like we see in the scripture, the leaders or heros of the faith like we see in Hebrews 11.
Joshua 3:7--"The LORD told Joshua, Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as i was with Moses."(NLT)
God tells Joshua that He (the LORD) is going to make Joshua a great leader not that there is anything spectacular that Joshua can do to make himself a great leader. It will take some hard work for Joshua to continue to listen to what the LORD is saying to him but God is the one who is going to really make Joshua a true leader of the faith. This would only come if Joshua would do what the Lord told him to do, which he did.
I believe that sometimes we fall into this mindset that says, "God needs me". Let me just say that I realize that God does not need me, the truth is probably that God could get a lot more done with out me, or if I would get out of HIS way. A few months ago I read a book called "Experiencing LeaderShift" by Don Cousins. If you have not read a good leadership book in a while this one is great. He calls our problem of believing that God needs us "Serving Heresy 1: God Needs Help" He goes on to make this statement which I believe is vital to this thought, "We do make a critical difference in accomplishing this work. But the key is this: God gives us this opportunity to be difference makers for our blessing."
Joshua 4:14--"That day the LORD made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses." (NLT)
Joshua did what God called him to do, Joshua became a great leader, he was able to fill the shoes of Moses, and because of that Joshua received the blessing for leading the way God called him to lead.

Later,

Passionate about God's Word

2009-03-18T08:57:00.003-04:00

The first video was from yesterday. Today's theme is being passionate about reading God's word and spending time with God daily. Scripture: Joshua 1:6-9 (NLT)

The God who Cares

2009-03-18T07:31:00.002-04:00

Are You Going to Win an Oscar?

2009-02-25T10:38:00.002-05:00

Matthew 6:1--"Be especially careful when you are tying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding."(The Message)

I couldn't hep but write this after reading this verse today! With all the talk about the Academy Awards or Oscars or (maybe there the same thing) as you can tell it's not like I'm a big awards guy. No, I didn't watch them on TV never have and probably never will, I don't like any of those award things! The part that really stood out to me was how the media covers these types of events. The next morning the media talks for hours about who wore what designer dress and what they looked like on the red carpet all the while completely neglecting to say anything about who won the award (which was the purpose of being there and dressed up in the first place).

As I sit here I can think of all the things that I/we make a performance out of. I see in todays' church we make a performance out of our worship (sometimes) but more importantly we make a performance out of our everyday lives. I believe that we all are good actors from time to time, but I believe that realizing and admitting to God that we know that we are acting is what God really wants us to do. It's when we think that we have everyone fooled including God that our performance really gets us in trouble.

It's very funny that the very things that the world looks at, such as who had the most expensive dress clothes and who did what. Is the very thing that God says he is not concerned about at all. Where the world continues to be outwardly focused, God continues to focus internally. If we continue to be the people that God has called us to be, then one day we will receive the reward of all rewards!

IN HIM,

Ruled by Society?

2009-02-17T09:46:00.003-05:00

James 2:1-4--"My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. IF a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, 'Sit here sir; this is the best seat in the house!' and either ignore the street person or say, 'Better sit here in the back row,' haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?" (The Message).
Here is where I'm going with this. "don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith." I have heard lots of comments made over the past couple of months from people like "why did you use that version of the Bible?" to "I believe you could be a really good preacher if you stopped joking around so much?" or "why did you do that event?" Listen I believe that I have prayed over every event and message that I am a part of. I also believe that God gave me a since of humor to laugh. I believe for far to long we have allowed "public opinion" dictate the way that we "live out our glorious Christ-originated faith." I guess today's thought is more of a warning in a warning. First if someone brings something to your attention don't just turn your nose up at it, ask yourself have you prayed about this and feel this is really what God is asking you to do? The second thing is once you have prayed and spent time with God about something you are trying to do in your life, don't let others diminish the power of God, and therefore keep you from living out out the "glorious, Christ-originated faith" that God has given to all of us!

IN HIM <><

Repurpose

2009-02-03T10:42:00.002-05:00

1 Corinthians 5:1-5 (Read this for more thought later)

I have been preaching the last four weeks about repurposing our lives. I thought that this would make a great blog entry as it means something a little bit different for me each and everyday.
First have you heard of this whole repurpose movement? Here is what it does, it takes something old and makes something completely different out of it, you give it a new purpose! You might take an old pair of jeans and make them into a pocket book. You might take a cool tea kettle and make it into a flower planter.
As I continue to think about this I believe that it is time that we repurpose our lives back to God and His word. I realize that we have had God's word for a long time but for a long time it just sits on our shelves and looks pretty collecting dust! Why not repurpose God's word for it's original purpose to get to know the creator of the universe? How can you and I expect to be the people that God called us to be if we don't know him? It's time that we took some time daily and read God's word and spend some time with him on a daily basis. We need to repurpose our lives.

Psalm 119:9-16--"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might no sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me you decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word."

Can you make that your prayer starting today for the rest of your life?

Silent

2009-02-01T08:09:00.002-05:00

Job 2

Have you ever read Job chapter 2? It starts by God telling Satan how great his servant Job is. Then Satan is allowed to take away the health of Job. He is attacked with sores, ulcers and scabs from head to toe. Can you imagine what that must have been like? The part that really amazes me is this Job 2:11-13

Job 2:11-13 (The Message)--"Three of Job's friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country--Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath--and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw--they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and night they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering."

Have you ever been in a difficult situation and people tried to tell you that they knew what you were going through? I believe as humans we feel as if we need to say something in times of anguish to let the hurting party know we care. This is not what we see in the example of Job's friends. They sat for seven days and night and didn't say a thing, they were SILENT! I know they wanted to say something to Job but they also knew that no words could express the pain that they felt for their friend. Let this be an example to you, the next time someone you know is in a difficult situation try just being there as a comfort. Sometimes people want us to just shut up and sit silent.

Lured Away

2009-01-26T11:50:00.002-05:00

I just looked at this blog today and realized that it has been a really long time since I wrote anything. My goal is to write something every couple of days if you know me please hold me accountable on this!

I looked at this passage this morning for my personal time:

2 Cor. 11:1-3(The Message)--"Will you put up with a little foolishness aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much--this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of you love for Christ."

I'm so afraid that in life I'm continually lured away by Satan to leave the very things that God has called me to. It's seems like such a battle sometimes to do the very things that I should do. I guess this is the same way that Paul felt as well. It just doesn't make since sometimes. I have come to the conclusion that I don't know why God chose me to do His work and I don't know why He continues to allow me to work for Him, but it's time that I showed some obedience and trust in Him. It's time that I started living each day with passion and purpose and forget about the small things in life. It seems that the small things that really have no meaning at all, like what someone says to you just trying to be hateful or what people do to you just trying to pull you down, you and I should hold our head up high as the Bride that was prepared for Christ for "such a time as this"!

The Greatest Text Message!

2008-10-07T09:10:00.002-04:00

Matthew 6:25-34

Ok, so a few months ago I was sitting on my couch watching TV when I received this text message on my phone. "Help, I'm working on a sermon for tomorrow, help me answer this question 'if you only had one month to live what would you do?'" So I began to type that I would probably take my family on the greatest vacation that they have ever experienced in their lives, that I would spend two weeks doing that. Then I would come home and make sure that everything was in order so that my family would never have to stress about anything. Then I would take the last week to completely spend time with my family and sharing every moment that I could with them. I remember thinking to myself "man, would that be hard news to take that I only had one month to live." About an hour later, I received this text message, "God did not promise any of us tomorrow, so why not live today like that!" WOW!!!! Did that hit home or what. I could help but think I have never received a text message that challenged me. This really hit home, I spend so much time worrying about the different things of this world, when I should be out living like there is no tomorrow. Which this all make perfect sense when we read Matthew 6:25-34, where scripture tells us not to worry and God points to the different things of the world, and how He provides for them, so how much more does he care for us. I guess what I am trying to say is live today like it's your last so that when your last comes you will have no regrets about what you did yesterday! So I close with this question, If you had only one month to live what would you do?

IN HIM

The God of the Universe cares for me?

2008-09-18T09:18:00.002-04:00

Matthew 8:23-27; Matthew 6:25-34
Let me just say that after reading a chapter in Mark Atteberry's book "Free Refill", I have been officially challenged. All to often in my life, I find things going just great then it seems as if everything goes sour quick. I've been a little stressed lately with lots of work stuff going on, and some other things that are going on that are just putting me under a lot of stress, not to mention my lack of ability to say "no" to people, which continues to fill my calendar. Let me just say that as far as the ability to say "no" to people I am getting better. It just seems as if life continues to beat me and people in general up. I believe this has a lot to do with the way that we read our Bibles and our view of God at different points in our lives. Let me explain what I mean.

First, I believe that we feel a lot more stress or the stress that we feel is a lot more consuming due to the lack of scripture that we are currently taking into our lives. So yes you can make the obvious connection. There has not been a lot of time for Chris to do personal study therefore it has not been done. The crazy part is that I've been in my Bible a lot, but the key is that its to write some lesson or answer a question for someone, I have not taken the time as "religiously" as I should to sit down and read the scriptures for my own good. Which for me as a minister is a slippery slope because after a day I can look back and feel like all I've done is read the Bible but in reality, I've done nothing for my own spiritual growth.

Second, I believe that the second things that adds to our stress level is our view of God. Now let me just say that I know who God is and I believe that He is the perfect creator who is continually in control of my life and sent Jesus His one and only son to this earth to die for my sins, and through belief, confession, repentance, baptism, and living a faithful life I can be assured of the eternal promise of heaven. I say all that to say that sometimes we forget just what all that means and stands for. Next time you get a chance google pictures of the earth from space and realize that you are one the earth somewhere. Then google pictures of the milky way galakcy which earth, sun, and moon are a part of are realize that somewhere in that galaxy is our earth and somewhere on that earth is you. The God who created all that in it's perfect way, even knows the very number of hairs on your head. That's the God that you and I serve and love, and we allow a little stress at work to bother us. God can make sure that our galgacy is perfectly created and functioning in its own special way, that same God is there to take care of you and I and as stated in Matthew 8 calm the storms of our lives.

So, I believe it's time that we turn back to the scripture and make reading God's word a daily ritual, and please remeber that this plea is coming from a man who struggles with this himself. It's also time that we take a look at how big God is and how much he cares for each one of His creations (which is us by the way).

Is this me?

2008-09-12T10:46:00.002-04:00

Isaiah 26:9

Ok, today's thought should be kinda brief but I believe that you will get the point and this should be challenging at least it was to me as I read this on my daily Bible box of my Facebook.

Isaiah 26:9--"My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness."

Wow, do I yearn for God? Does my spirit long for God? Well I can answer that question quite simply as NO, not always. Here is where I am, yes sometimes I am really on fire for God and I believe that I yearn and long for God, but I'm not always like that. I know that this may be hard to read, it's even hard to write that I'm not always sitting in my office reading my Bible and praying, or seeking some lost person out to share the gospel with them. I know where this comes from. Sin has completely destroyed our relationship with God who is Holy and perfect, therefore because we continue to look to the world to provide some since of satisfaction or excitement then we fail to yearn and long after God. Now by no means am I saying that God is not satisfying or exciting, I believe that there is nothing more satisfying or exciting than God to our spirit, but so often we allow our flesh to think for us.

Ok, on to the second part of the verse, not much to say about this. When God's judgements come to the earth then we definitely learn righteousness. We don't always like learning righteousness and it doesn't always put us in a great position but it is righteous none the less.

So today this verse has turned into a prayer for my life, that my soul would yearn for God today, and that my spirit would long for God as well. I guess this could be a prayer for each and every day that the yearning and longing would continue to grow stronger and stronger.

Magic with a Message

2008-09-11T09:36:00.002-04:00

Matthew 14:22-33

Ok, so it's been a while since I wrote but summer is officially over and it's time for me to get back on track.

I like to do this thing called "magic with a message". "Magic with a Message" is a magic show with a little gospel message that goes along with each trick or illusion. Let me just say that there have been some who tried to copy this show (DAVE McCants tries to do something called Inspirational Illusions). One of the only illusions that I know and my favorite is a card trick where I turn all of the cards into the five of hearts, well it seems that way at least. "What does this have to do with God,?" you ask. Well here it is, sometimes I feel as if God is no where around. Have you ever felt like that? I know that He is always right here with me but sometimes it feels as if God is no where to be found. I realize that it is my own sinful depravity that makes me feel this way and it is only because I have stepped away from God for a few moments. That it is because I have chosen not to seek God at that time in my life. I couldn't help but to think about Matthew 14 where Jesus comes to the disciples on the water and Peter gets to walk on water. You remember the story I'm sure. As Jesus walks out to the boat which is being tossed in the storm the disciples are scared because that believe that they are seeing a ghost. Then Jesus tells them "It is I" which after reading a commentary or two and looking at the original Greek I see that this statement that is used "it is I" is the same phrase which literally means "I AM". Sometimes I believe that you and I get mixed up and don't realize that God is with us each moment of our lives. It is not just some illusion. Jesus didn't just tricked us and say He would be there but he really isn't. Jesus comes to you and I in our times when we look out into our world and lives and say "Jesus is it really you?" Jesus speaks back to us and say "IT IS I!" Jesus wants to be with us, will we let Him in the boat?

Focus

2008-08-08T08:41:00.002-04:00

Matthew 14:22-32
Wow, it has been a long summer! It feels like I have been away from home more than I have been at home this summer. With all of the students going back to school now I should have some free time to relax and begin the planning process so that I can do it all over again next summer. I believe that youth ministers are the greatest people on the planet! Well enough of that let me share some things with you today!

I can't help but to think about my own spiritual life and see how easy it is to lose focus on what is important in life. God should and is number one in life, He should always come first. Then it would be easy to say that our families should come next, then the church. I believe that this does not always happen and we lose focus on what is going on in our worlds. I know for myself this summer maybe I have put camp and the youth group ahead of my family, so for the record I'm sorry to my family for not being at home a little more than I was. I hope to make it up to them by spending some quality time at home now. I believe that it is so easy for us to lose our focus on what is important. I couldn't help but to remember the story of Peter and the other disciples out in the boat when Jesus comes out to them walking on the water. Peter what an amazing man jumps out of the boat and begins to walk on the water because he is completely focused on Jesus. Then in the twinkling of an eye he begins to sink because he gets distracted by the wind, waves, and storms around him. Well this probably sums up your life and definitely sums up my life. It seems as if one moment I am completely focused on God then the next moment something is distracting me and I completely lose focus on what is important. I believe that if we continually fill ourselves with God's word that it is easier to stay focused on Him, so this is what I am trying to do. You should give it a try as well!

Trying to stay FOCUSED!
Chris

Welcome Back!

2008-07-07T11:31:00.002-04:00

Wow, what a summer it has been already. I know that I have not written in a long time. I have been out of town for that past couple of weeks, so it is time to get back to work. I have missed being able to keep up with this thing as I feel as if I'm really accomplishing something when I write down stuff. I believe that this is the greatest way to journal on the planet as I love technology which most of you probably knew that judging from the amount of cell phones that I have owned, oh and I type a lot better than I write. If you are struggling with a way to journal I would challenge you to try this! Well I must run for now, probably something more a little later.

IN HIM,

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T08:58:00.002-04:00

Ok, I haven't written a lot lately! I have been extremely busy! The busyness continues today as I have been at the office since 7:00 am and will be leaving for two weeks of camp right after Church. But then again I know that you all feel my pain. I wanted to leave this week with just a little thought!

Someone (my mom) wrote me a text message saying "when I see you with your boys I know that you are the greatest dad ever." I began to think about that. My first thought was that I cannot be the greatest dad ever because I feel like my dad was probably the greatest dad ever. Then I thought about some of the disagreements that my dad and I had and figured that he probably was not the greatest dad ever, not because we had disagreements but just knowing his life and where he came from (this goes for disqualifying me as well, as my life has not been perfect). Matthew 23:9--"And don't address anyone here on earth as Father for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father." God is the only one able to be called Father due to who He is. So I hope that all of you who have procreated will have a great Father's Day and remember your true Father in heaven.

The Way It Is

2008-05-22T13:56:00.002-04:00

Jeremiah 11

Jeremiah went out on a limb and had to tell the people the message that God had given him. The message, a simple one that the people were to obey God.
Jeremiah 11:8--"But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.'"
After Jeremiah proclaims this message the people get hostile and plot against Jeremiah, fortunately, Jeremiah had learned to take a bold stand for the Lord even in the face of opposition. I believe that there are some times in life that we need to stop beating around the bush and tell people the way it is. Why is it in the Church we can't call a spade a spade?, or point out what people are doing is wrong? Trust me I have had enough times in my life where I could have used someone telling me just the way that it is, and show me that God still loves and cares about me but He does call me to quit doing whatever it is that is taking me away from His covenant. Maybe we should start telling it the way that it is and like Jeremiah just learn to be bold in the face of opposition.

IN HIM,

Stick Makers

2008-05-10T05:03:00.002-04:00

Jeremiah 10

After reading Jeremiah 10 I couldn't help but to think of all things that we put in God's place. I believe in my own life there are some things that stay that I am always fighting and then at other times there are things that come and go that take my attention away from God. Recently the men of our Church did a prayer walk together and we talked about the static on a T.V. and how our lives are filled with so much other stuff that we fail to be able to slow down and see God. We fail to realize that all those things that we put in God's place will never last.

Jeremiah 10 (message)--"Their gods are frauds--dead sticks, deadwood gods, tasteless jokes. When the fires of judgment come, they'll be ashes."

You and I can be like the Israelites and continue to be stick makers but we must realize that God will destroy all those stick gods! Are you making a stick today?

IN HIM ,

Jeremiah 9

2008-05-08T09:43:00.002-04:00

As I continue to work my way through Jeremiah (which I hope that some of you are as well), I am continually amazed at how Israel has the same problems that you and I deal with. The people have become a vile people who seek other gods and do whatever it is that satisfies them for the time being. The people pursue those things that may make them famous or huge in the worlds eyes, but they fail to realize that while God is concerned about their achievements that their achievements are not the ultimate goal.

Jeremiah 9:23-24--"This is what the LORD says: Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

I believe that John Maxwell got it right in his new Leadership Bible: p.920 There are two types of things:

The Ultimate
1. God is the Source.
2. He provides a life.
3. Spiritual things are the end.

The Immediate
1. The others are a resource.
2. These provide a living.
3. Material things are a means to an end.

I need to do the immediate things but in doing the immediate make sure that I don't forget the ultimate!

IN HIM,

The Nation That Wouldn't Obey God

2008-05-06T09:49:00.002-04:00

Jeremiah 7

Wow, I believe that the title says it all. Here in Jeremiah's day the people would not obey God and I would say that we are in the same situation (myself included). God gives Jeremiah a message to give to the people about how they are acting and when I read this today it really hit me hard. Let me just share a part of it with you.

Jeremiah 7 (selection from the Message)

"Get smart! Your leader are handing you a pack of lies, and you're swallowing them! Use your heads! Do you think you can rob and murder, have sex with the neighborhood wives, tell lies nonstop, worship the local gods, and buy every novel religious commodity on the market--and then march into this Temple, set apart for my worship, and say, 'We're safe!' thinking that the place itself gives you a license to go on with all this outrageous sacrilege? A cave full of criminals! Do you think you can turn this Temple, set apart for my worship, into something like that? Well, think again. I've got eyes in my head. I can see what's going on." God's Decree!

Well I believe that sums it up for me. Why is it that we think that just because we walk into some Church building that we are going to be different or that God doesn't notice what we do. it's awesome how the Bible is so relevant to us today!!!

IN HIM,

Matthew 23:1-7

2008-04-28T08:55:00.002-04:00

In this passage we see Jesus talking to the religious leaders of His day and telling them what they are doing wrong and how they have made this church thing all bad. That they only want to be seen for what they do but they do not live out the rules and regulations that they put on every one else.
I want to leave a few questions for discussion this week!
What is Church to you?
Why do you come to Church?
What is the difference between religion and God?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

IN HIM <><

About Me!

2008-04-22T11:22:00.002-04:00

Ok today's post is some random thoughts that have been going through my head from different things that have happen in my life over the past couple of weeks. It is funny to me how God works. God used me to talk to this lady in our Church about baptism and then God used another one of our members to talk to her as he came from the same background. I really got to see in the past couple of weeks how I plant, someone else waters and God makes it grow.
Second, we (Lake Christian Church) just had our first annual Men's Retreat. It was awesome all of the guys that went, came in with open hearts and open minds, and it was just neat to see a group of men get together and have a good time but also be able to be really challenged by God's word. We talked about a lot about concerns and influences. We all have a great deal of concerns in our life dealing with all sorts of things, but we have a limited amount of influence. I believe that we could have almost an unlimited amount on influence as well but we allow our concerns to take over therefore limiting our influence. I hope that this week you will be challenged to look at your influence for Christ and how are you limiting it by getting caught up in your concerns.

IN HIM <><

Matthew 7:13-23

2008-04-17T11:51:00.002-04:00

In this passage we read about "The Narrow Gate." I really like what the NLT (New Living Translation) says "You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way." I believe that all to often we fail to see hell as a real place. We like to tell ourselves that "everyone is good and that all people are going to heaven, especially because we have a loving God." Let me just be honest with you for a second, not everyone is going to heaven, and the God that I serve has made it quite clear that if YOU chose to disobey Him then hell is a very real place of torment and that will be your eternal destiny if YOU so chose. I believe that part that we get wrong all to often is that we would rather be the judge than the servant. It amazes me that we as humans feel that we can judge someone else, when most of the time we are not even close to doing what we ourselves are suppose to be doing. Pretty funny when you think about it! God has asked that we "love one another". Its funny that the thing that God says we have not part in (judging people) we want the biggest part of and the thing that God says we are to do (love one another) we want no part of. I have come to the conclusion that we are completely messed up!!!!!

IN HIM <><

Marriage and Christianity

2008-04-09T10:12:00.002-04:00

Ok, so what you are about to read I took from the "Bridge" handout that Brian (our minister) put in your bulletin a couple of weeks ago. I believe that this will help you in the way that things work as far as salvation, especially since we have been talking about this a lot in the past couple of weeks. I hope that this helps! Please if you have any questions please call me or if it is more comfortable for you leave comments and we will chat!

COVENANT OF MARRIAGE

This relationship begins with a special kind of love that says, "I've found the one I've been looking for."

This love responds by...

Deciding to submit myself to the other's best interest.

"You first"

Telling others of the decision made.

Wedding Ceremony

*Giving the oath of allegiance
*An end and a beginning
*Leaving the single life for a shared life.

Now, you can't just sit back and do nothing! You need to get to know your mate better and better. Te depth and quality of the relationship will be determined by the amount of effort exerted at this point.

COVENANT WITH CHRIST

This relationship begins with a faith that says, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

This faith responds by...

Deciding to submit myself to Jesus' best interest; repentance.

"You First"

Telling others of the decision made; public confession.

Baptism is to the covenant of Christ what the wedding is to the covenant of marriage:

*The oath of allegiance
*An end and a beginning
*Leaving the "self" life for a shared life.

Now, you can't just sit back and do nothing! You need to get to know God better and better. The depth and quality of the relationship will be determined by the amount of effort exerted at this point.

IN HIM <><

2 Corinthians 5:17

2008-04-03T13:24:00.000-04:00

2 Corinthians 5:17--"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

As most of you know we have been going through the 3:16 study by Max Lucado. Why is it that our world is so messed up? Why do 3rd graders come up with plans to harm their teachers? Why do men fly planes in to buildings filled with people? Why do people shoot at cars on the interstate? Maybe because they have not been changed into new creations?

As I look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 I can't help but to think about what an amazing thing God does with people. God takes all people and allows them to come to Him and be a part of His family as long as they follow the rules or guidelines (I'm not sure which of those words I like better for this application). Any way as messed up as I am with all the problems that I have God still allows me to work in His service and be a part of His family.

Let me share this statement from the study guide 3:16--"We inadvertently get it wrong when we say that we invited Jesus Christ into our lives. This suggests that he took up residence in the areas we assigned him. Maybe we allotted him Sundays, and we give him fifteen minutes to fix any problem we can't handle. This isn't real salvation! We don't invite Jesus into our lives; he invites us into his purpose. When we understand this nuance, we are ready to experience the life-changing power of God."

I guess the real question is do I allow God to change every area of my life every minute or do I continue to hold somethings back from God in order to experience the pleasures of the flesh? This is not a hard questions to answer I continue to hold things back from God, how about you? Do you hold parts of your life back from God?

Isaiah 40:18-22

2008-03-26T09:17:00.002-04:00

Here in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah writes about the people abandoning God to worship Idols. He explains how the rich had crafted Idols out of gold and precious medals but even the poor had started crafting their own idols out of wood and other things because they could not afford the precious medals. God lets us know that he created everything for us and yet they and we fail to worship Him. I believe that verse 26 is very important to this thought.

Isaiah 40:26--"Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hose one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and might strength, not one of them is missing."

God knows each and every one of the starts by name how much more do you think that he knows you? I believe that the components of nature can be a constant reminder of how much God cares about us. Event though we realize that God loves and cares about each and every one of us we still like the Israelites fail to follow God and we end up following something else in this world, I guess you could say that we invent our own idols. Let me leave you with two questions for today.

1. Why do we abandon God and pursue worship of meaningless things?

2. What things do we worship instead of God?

IN HIM <><

Easter

2008-03-23T13:30:00.002-04:00

Well today is Easter! Easter is one of the biggest Holidays of the year, and rightfully so. I mean Jesus did raise from the dead and show victory over death. Who else can make that claim? My point exactly. I guess I am a little concerned that we don't live like Jesus raised from the dead each and every day, or do we? People get excited about Jesus around Easter and I guess I'm just wondering how we can keep the excitement that comes with Easter all year round. Tomorrow is not Easter but I plan to live like Jesus conquered death tomorrow. I want people to be excited about what Jesus did for them. Jesus went to cross for you and I. He chose to die so that we might have "life and have it to the full". What a challenge Jesus gives us to live each day as if it where our last with the excitement of knowing that Jesus died for us!

Now, that is something to be excited about. I hope that you have a Happy Easter and you will live today like it will be your last, and if you wake up tomorrow that you will take that challenge on again!

One not I forgot to mention in the last post that you are more than welcome to leave comments on the blog, maybe even a question I believe that this blog can be a place that we can learn from each other and grow!

IN HIM <><

Events

2008-03-21T20:04:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone,
I wanted to let you know about some upcoming events! Saturday, March 22 is our annual Easter Egg Hunt at the church make sure you plan to attend.

Also next Friday, March 28 we will be having a K-5th grade lock in at church. Please come and bring a friend. Drop off is 7 p.m. and the cost is $2. I hope to see all of you here!

Well I have to run it has been a very busy day, and the day is not over yet as I will be stuffing Easter eggs for the next couple of hours!

IN HIM <><

New Stuff!

2008-03-18T14:39:00.002-04:00

Ok, so the Lake Christian Church web site is up and running so if you are visiting this blog from our web site WELCOME!!!! As the youth minister at L.C.C. I strive to challenge our students in lots of ways. So I will be posting devotional thought for the students on this blog I hope that the students as well as any person who reads it will be challenged and enjoy!

IN HIM <><

Dishonest

2008-02-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

Genesis 12:10-20

I read this today about Abram and Sarai going to Egypt and Abram tells Sarai to tell the Egyptians that he is her brother so they will treat him well. So this is what she does and sure enough the Egyptians treat him well because of her then Pharaoh takes her as his wife and "serious diseases" we inflected on Pharaoh because of this. So Pharaoh tells Abram and Sarai to leave with everything that they have. To me I see it interesting to see that even Abram had a sin that nagged at him. He had this problem with dishonesty and we would see it continue down his family line. It's funny how we as people look at everyone different once we know what their sin is. We will find some way to make someone else's sin a lot worse than our very own. I believe that part that we fail to realize is that it is not our job to judge in the first place, but it is our job to forgive. I have said this before but let me reiterate why is it that the thing we are to have a part in (forgiveness) we want no part of, and the thing that God says have nothing to do with (judgement) we want to do all the time. I hope today that you will look at your life and see what you are doing. Are you doing the thing God calls you to do? or are you doing the very thing that God says is not your job?

Later,
Chris

The Flood!

2008-01-22T10:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I just got done reading Genesis 6 where God called Noah to build the ark. Wow, what an amazing task that was at hand for Noah. This reading really hit home with me today. As we think about Noah and all that he did with the ark. Noah was a farmer by trade as scripture says that he was "a man of the soil." I often wonder what it must have been like in the town that Noah lived in. It was probably a lot like the town that I live in (Fluvanna), small town where things are pretty simple but the people who live here are complex and do a variety of things with their lives. People who live here are doctors, lawyers, construction workers, school teacher, preachers, and students in school. I cannot help but to wonder how it must have been as people began to talk about what Noah was building. The people must have laughed and hurled jokes at him, but Noah continued to build until one day it started to rain (man I was able to fit that in again). That's how it is in our lives we go different places and do different things and people may laugh at us or hurl jokes at us because we are Christians, but I believe that if we live out our faith like we are called to do in the book of Hebrews then people will start to catch on and the explosiveness of Christianity will spread like wild fire. I believe that for far too long we (including me) have said and acted one way on Sunday and then go and do what we want to do every other day of the week. I believe that some people think that it's alright to do what you want during the week, when I believe that if we are "souled" out to Christ that it would effect every aspect of our lives. I don't know maybe I'm on my soap box but I am ready for people to be what they say. If you are not a Christian and you live and say that then I have no problem with that, at least I know who and what you are and have a starting point to work with you, but people who claim to be Christ followers and yet don't even begin to TRY to act like it something is wrong with that. I don't know let me know what you think!

Trying to Grow with You,
Chris

The Garden

2008-01-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Ok before I get started let me give you the prayer request from yesterday.
1. Kayla get her stitches out on Wednesday.
2. That all will have a good week at school.
3. Irene would catch up in her school work.
4. Allison to bring her civic grade up.
5. Brian would continue to heal.
6. More students would come to H2O.

Ok so let me start by saying again it has been a while since I wrote. As most of you know I am going to read through this Bible that I have had for some time called The Bible for Personal Revival, so last night I went home and read chapter 3 of Genesis (yes only one chapter for personal study) which by the way I have had a difficult time taking any time for personal study lately because I am doing so much at Church no excuses (sorry). So chapter 3 is all about how Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree then God came and found them and they were thrown out of the Garden forever. It became apparent to me last night that due to this sin and man becoming sinful all of the trouble (rain) we face in life (if you don't get the rain comment, come to H2O), is because we are sinful. I cannot stop thinking about what the Garden must have been like. Can you imagine walking with God and Him being in you presence to walk and talk with just like your best friend or your wife or husband? This must have been awesome. If I had to guess I would say that the Garden must be a lot like heaven. Where everything is living in perfect harmony where there are no cares at all and where everything is in the very presence of God where He would walk and talk with His creation. Wow, what an amazing thing this must have been. I can't wait to get to heaven to see this! But I realize that because I'm still alive and writing this that God must have more for me to do here on Earth. As Paul would say "to live is Christ, to die is gain."

Chris

Jeremiah 6

2007-11-06T08:35:00.000-05:00

Let me remind all of you who are of age that it is election day, and you should do your civic and religious duty and vote. Elections have a huge impact on what direction our world goes. It's a good thing! Ok, so lets get to the study!

Today I'm going to start by giving you the GN because I want to describe a little about what is going on. I just got this brand new Archaeological Study Bible, now I'm not much on archaeology (I had to turn to the front of the Bible just to see how to spell it) but it has some great information in it that I believe you will enjoy and that will help us in our study of Jeremiah!

GN-Jeremiah 6:13-"From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are al frauds."
GN-Jeremiah 6:19-"Listen, all the earth! I will bring disaster on my people. It is the fruit of their own schemes, because they refuse to listen to me. They have rejected my word.
GN-Jeremiah 6:27-"Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of my people."
GN-Jeremiah 6:30-"I will label them rejected silver, for I, the Lord am discarding them."

Here in chapter 6 God is telling us exactly what he see's in Jerusalem, He says that the city is so corrupt that He will have to destroy it. Again let us not forget that just a chapter ago God said that if there was even one honest person in the town He would not destroy it, but as we know that did not happen.

I believe it's important for us to see that even the people who were deticated to God's service where not living for God (see v. 13) even the priests had fallen into dispicable practices. I also believe it's important for us to note that this whole destruction is not God' fault (see v. 19) it is the fruit of not listening to God. In v. 27 God lets Jeremiah know that he (Jeremiah) would determine the quality of the people that where there. v.27 if they don't live up to God's standards then He will label them rejected silver.

What a lesson for us today as we often ask the age old question "why did God do that?" when maybe we should be asking what action did we do to bring about these circumstances. I'm sure that after the destruction and Jerusalem starting being attacked that the people probably stood around and wonder why God had not protected them, but God lets us know that it was "the fruit or their actions" that brought the destruction about.

The other thing that really stood out to me is the type of man that Jeremiah must have been. God puts him in charge of going out and determing the quality of the people that must have been extremely difficult for Jeremiah to tell people that they way that they were living would ultimately cause them death.

Wow, is this getting intense or what! I hope that you will take each lesson that I present here or not lesson but just thoughts and you will take God's word and read it for yourself and see what God is asking you to do today.

IN HIM <><

Jeremiah 3-5

2007-11-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying I hope that everyone enjoyed worshipping together and I pray for those who were unable to attend a service yesturday, that everything is ok! Let me just say that when I write it is for more than just the people of Lake Christian Church (LCC) in Palmyra, VA. I believe and know that the God you and I servce is much larger than the small towns or even the big cities that you and I live in. So it's my prayer that this journal will somehow make a difference in your life, because it makes a huge difference in mine.

Jeremiah 3-5
God is revealing to Jeremiah the impending destruction that He is sending on Israel and Judah. It's cool to me how God uses some illustration to describe what is going on and what will happen as God is writing this he knows that on Monday, November 5 that I would be reading this and need some help understanding exactly what is going on so He used illustrations that I would understand to convey exactly what has happen and how faw Israel and Judah have fallen away from Him. God is cool!!
As I was reading about this I learned a little bit more about what exactly was going on. You see there were two different kingdoms of Israel at this time. Israel which was the northern kingdom and Judah which was the southern kingdom. God is wondering why don't the people of Judah get what is going on and turn back to God. Judah had just watched Israel fall to the Assyrians. God had allowed the Assyrians to overtake Israel because Israel had turned their backs on God, now Judah is doing the exact same thing and yet they are failing to turn back to God. Sometimes people just don't get it. Then I think about us, as people living today we have it even worse and we have watched (in the Bible) all of the kingdoms fall because they turned their backs on God yet we continue as a people and a nation to do the same things. God must get frustrated!

GN--Jeremiah 5:1--"Run up and down every street in Jerusalem, says the Lord. Look high and low; search throughout the city! If you can find even one just and honest person, I will not destroy the city."

Let me close with this. Many times people will say how can the God of the Bible be a loving God when He destroyed entire cities. To answer this just look at Jeremiah 5:1 God would have spared the entire city if he could have found one honest person, not a hundred, or a thousand, and God wanted was one person. I believe that this is also a lesson to us that God doesn't need the biggest and best, he just needs the committed!

Will you be committed in your walk today!

Jeremiah 1 & 2

2007-11-02T08:23:00.000-04:00

Ok, here is the new start! I hope that not only my students will find this helpful and challenging but that others will be able to grow in Christ from this blog. So here goes nothing. WOW what a challenge! Ok I don't have a specific amount of scripture that I have to read each day I just read until I find five or six things that stand out to me ("golden nuggets"--thanks Dean Trune). As I go through this if you see "GN" that means that what comes next I thought was a golden nugget!

Today I read Jeremiah 1 & 2

Jeremiah is a preist in the day of Kind Zedekiah. Jeremiah lived in a time when the society around him was falling apart. When I say "it was falling apart" I mean socailly, economically, pollitically, and spiritually. Jeremiah has been sent to share the message of repentence. Repentance is something that we talk about a lot at Church but I believe that a lot of "church people" do not have a firm grasp of what repentance is. One of my Bible college professors taught me that repentace is a change in mind that leads to a change in action. So this would mean that if you truly repent from something that you don't go and do that again. I believe that we get sorry and repentence confused in out lives. I can remember sitting in music class at Roanoke Bible College when a group of students were acting up, which Professor Bondurant does not tollerate; (and I have come to appreciate that) she yelled at the students and they said they were sorry but Professor made it clear when she responded that she did not want them to be sorry but wanted them to repent. Ok, enough rambling.

GN-Jeremiah 1:5"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.
GN-Jeremiah 1:6-7 "O Sovereign Lord, I said, I can't speak for you! I'm too young! The Lord replied, Don't say I'm too young for you must go wherever I send you and say what ever I tell you."
GN- Jeremiah 2:27-29 "To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, 'You are my father.' To an idol chiseld from a blcok of stone they say, 'You are my mother.' They turn their back s on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me 'Come and save us!' But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah. Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled, says the LORD."

*All scripture from the "New Living Translation"*

If you can't read these few verses and not see the world in which we live today, somethings wrong, that's why these are the golden nuggets for today! Well I must go, my prayer is that you and I will realize that God made you and I special and we all have a job to do no matter what age we are but first we must repent and turn to God.

IN HIM <><

Gone To Long!

2007-10-02T10:35:00.001-04:00

Hey Guys,
Sorry I have not been keeping up with this I have been very busy over the last couple of weeks. I am working on a youth website, and if I must admit I believe that it is coming along rather well. It is looking good and I believe that it will be effective in showing what the youth ministry at our church has to offer. I hope that you guys are still reading this as I have updated the upcoming events, remember that if you are planning on attending an event please sign up in the wings of the building or give me a call or I guess shot me an email or text message or voice mail. WOW way to many options thees days! Hey leave me some comments on what you think of our new series "Life on Loan"! Well I must go for now as today I am off to preach a funeral for a lady who was a long time family friend.

IN HIM <><

New Week!

2007-09-17T12:43:00.000-04:00

Hey Guys & Girls,
It was great seeing all of you yesturday. I believe we had a great day yesturday. I believe that the "Life on Loan" stuff went great give me some feed back and let me know what you think about the new series. Tell me what you like and don't! I would also love to hear your comments on the devotions that you should be doing each day. Let me know what you think about those devotions and put anything that is thought provoking on here as a comment. I hope that you guys are gaving a good time, and be praying for our group that is preparing to leave on our missions trip.

IN HIM <><

Long Weekend!

2007-08-31T09:29:00.000-04:00

Well most of you are getting ready for your long weekend. I know that you get out of school early today. I wanted to let you all know that we will be starting H2O our Jr. & Sr. High Bible study Next Sunday night. Make sure you are there we have some exciting things to study this year. Well here are my plans for the upcoming weekend. Since we have no Church events this weekend, tonight I'm planning on going to the grocery store with my family. Tomorrow the college football season gears up so I will be sitting in front of the TV all day watching football (now that's a good day). I think Monday the family and I may take a road trip, to somewhere we have not been. So hit me up and let me know what your plans are.

Ashley--Glad to hear that your grandmother is doing fine! God hears the groans of those who love him!

Later,

Prayer This Week!

2007-08-28T09:36:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I didn't get a chance to blog yesturday but I'm back. Here are the prayer request this week.

Ashley Elliots gradmother is having heart problems
Christina's brother totaled his car
Kayla's boss is going to Korea
Ethan Weaver pulled his hammy and had to put off graduation from boot camp one week
Phillip is leaving this week for school

So those are the things that you should be praying for this week. You guys are awesome make sure that you leave some comments and I look forward to making this blog a way to get in contact with you and keep you informed about what is going on at Church.

Later,

Back to School!

2007-08-13T08:49:00.000-04:00

Well, by now all of you are back in school. Hey look at the bright side before you know it you will have completed another year and it will be summer again. I don't know where the summer went it seems like it went by so fast. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. Well here are the prayer request for this week. Oh, and thanks to all who came out for the lock in we had a great time!

Prayer:

School Starting

Elliot's Family friend no doing well

Kelly-Courtney's stepmom having a baby

Allen's step grandmother

Ashleigh's grandma having a heart cath done

Ok, that is all for now have a good time at school and I will talk to you soon!

IN HIM <><

Lock IN Update!

2007-08-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

Ok,
Since you all have had so much trouble with this, let me explain it a little bit better. If you have a favorite snack that you would like to bring. Please bring enough of that snack for everyone!

Later!

LOCK IN!

2007-08-09T09:03:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
The lock in is this Friday night so I want to see you all here! Lot's of people have already called to tell me that they are coming so there should be lots of you here! Ok, here is the plan. The lock in starts at 8:00pm and your parents should pick you up Sat. morning by 8:30am. I will be getting everything but if there is a favorite game of yours or snack feel free to bring it just remeber that there may be 15 to 20 other people here! We will be watching Simon Birch and I have the Karaoke machine ready to go as well as the Air Hockey table. OH and don't for get about sardines! I will be fixing some pizza to eat when you get here so we will start off by having pizza and doing our devotion. The lesson is going to be on "How Great is Our God" so think about that and come ready to add your thoughts. Alright gotta run I will talk to you all later.

IN HIM <><

Prayer This Week!

2007-07-30T08:22:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody,
It was good to see you Sunday, I hope that you all had a good week last week. Well there are only two weeks until you little kids go back to school, so how does that feel? I know that a lot of you are ready to go back, so that's cool! Well here are the prayer request for this week.

Ashleigh--Getting braces Monday
Courtney--V-ball tryouts
James--New kid going to a new school
Ashleighs--mom's friend just started treatment for cancer
Roger--has cancer
Danny Johnson--liver cancer (Go Danny we are all behind you!)
Becky's friend--has amnesia
Amanda's--neighbor Bill died
All Students--pray for a good school year!

Hey we are also working on getting a new website up and running so be looking for that and if you would like to listen to each weeks sermon you can go to www.lcc.podcastpeople.com Check it out!

Later,

Conflict in Schedule!

2007-07-23T11:50:00.000-04:00

Hey,
Due to a schedule conflict I will have to reschedule the Jr. & Sr. High lock in to August 10! I hope this works for every0ne just let me know!

IN HIM <><

A Break!

2007-07-23T10:04:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
It's been a little while since I last wrote. Things have been crazy busy! I have been away at camp for two weeks (Oak Hill Christian Service Camp) then I got back and went straight into V.B.S. So my life has been very crazy. These last couple of weeks have been tough on my family as we have not had much time together as it seems that we are always running to something else. I have a wonderful wife who is great support in my ministry. I know that you guys don't always see Courntey but she is the reason that I can be so successful at ministry. Alright enough of the sappy stuff! I hope that all of you are getting ready for the Jr. and Sr. High Lock in on August 3rd. I can't wait I believe that we are going to have a good time! Well I must go for now so I will talk to you all soon.

Prayer!

2007-07-09T09:02:00.000-04:00

Ok, thanks for all of you who came to the SURPRISE EVENT on Saturday night! It was great to see all of you on Sunday morning. I believe that we have had a great study going through the Bible but now that we have finished that study it's time to start something new. So we are going to be looking at dating, relationships, and don't say it SEX! I believe that you will find lots of helpful things in this study and I'm sure you will learn a lot. I also pray as we start this study that you will be challenged in what your relationships are made up of and how important it is to build good strong Christian relationships!

Oh and here are the prayer request for this week! Make sure that you pray for one of these things each day, you will have to double up on a couple of days since there are nine prayer request!

Mrs. Phillips--breast cancer
Hann family--going to Florida
Ethan's boss--fell out of a tree
Ashleigh's Elliots mom's friend--had surgery for breast cancer
Dennis Dawbreakers--mom died on Saturday
Kim Bennedict--continues to struggle although her and Reid are relaxing at the beach this week--pray they can enjoy themselves.
Students--We have several students at camp this week
Ethan Weaver--going to boot camp Saturday
Haley's mom's friends ex husband--is dealing with drug addiction

IN HIM <><

Another Saturday!

2007-07-07T09:57:00.000-04:00

Well it's Saturday and finally some time to sit and maybe relax a little bit. It seems that the past few weeks have gotten extremely busy. This may have something to do with the fact that I had been at camp the last two weeks, and then I get back and have to get everything together for VBS. I'm really excited about our VBS this year as I have not waited until the last minute to get everything done, like I have in the past. I have been working on this year's VBS for several months now, I hope that it will show.

Tonight I know that all of you Jr. & Sr. High students will be coming to the Church to have a fun time. I'm not yet ready to let you in on what we will be doing but I believe that you will enjoy yourself.

On a more personal note, my life is going well! It's amazing the person God continues to challenge me to be. God is so good, he continues to use me, somone who wanders off frequently and return me to a place where He has called me to be. So for that I owe a big shout to the big guy! Well I must go know as I want to take my family swimming today, get ready for tonights youth event, and even order the UFC--PPV tonight!

IN HIM <><

Saturday's Event!

2007-07-05T10:25:00.000-04:00

Alright I know that you all have been dying to know what is going on Saturday! So here it is, make sure that you are at the Church at 7:00pm and that your parents can pick you up at 9:00pm. Sorry that is all the information that I can give you. I hope to see you there! I am very busy right now, so I will right more a little later today, once I get some of this stuff done!

Later,

I'm Back

2007-07-02T12:14:00.000-04:00

Sorry I have not written in a while I have been out of town at camp the last two weeks. I had a great time but I am extremely tired. I got to preach yesturday at church so, sorry I did not get to hang out with all my students in class but we will next week. Life is going well, things at Church keep me extremely busy, but I like being busy if I were not busy I would probably be in trouble. Ok, I know a lot of you are wondering what the secret event is for this coming Saturday and all I can tell you is that you will have to wait until tomorrows blog!

What You Want

2007-06-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

Well as I sit here in the office trying to make the youth ministry at Lake Christian Church the best possible youth ministry that it can be, I'm stuck wandering exactly what the students want as far as a ministry. What would the students like to do? Where would the students like to go? What type of service projects or ideas interest you? These are all the questions that I'm asking myself today as I try to make this ministry the best it can be. If you have any suggestions please let me know.
I want to make the God that I love and serve real to each and every person I come in contact with, especially the students that I work with. Help me, by telling me exactly what you want and need for this to happen.
Also for any events that we do you can sign up write here on my blog. Just leave a comment that you are planning on attending that event and your name. I will write it down this will help me make sure that I have all the details taken care of for all of our events. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!

IN HIM <><

Busy Tuesday!

2007-06-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,
Well it's another busy Tuesday. I have a ton of things to do today, so I got up really early this morning to get a head start on today. Let me tell you I feel really good about getting up really early. I know that it sounds crazy but I really do feel like I have a lot more energy. Well let me update you on a couple of things! Kayla Taylor wants us to pray for her and her family she is trying to decide if she should join the U.S. Air Force. So make sure that you add that to your list. Oh and someone ask if I could put some pictures of you up on the blog I would be glad to. If you have any pictures just email them to me and I will pick and choose the ones that I like best. I feel this is only fair since this is my blog, that I get to choose what pictures are on my blog. Does that make since to the rest of you? I hope so! Well I must go as my Tuesday calls me to stay busy. I look forward to hearing from you, so write soon and write often!

Chris

Prayer this Week

2007-06-11T10:25:00.001-04:00

Hey Everyone here are the prayer request from Sunday!

Amanda's Dog Truman poked his eye
Michael is leaving for work on the farm
Michael and Kaitlin's mom is back
Ashleigh E. mom has a friend who just found out she has breast cancer
Kim & Calvin Bragg welcomed Noah 8lb 8oz on Sunday
Amanda's neighbor from Cal. hurt her neck in a car accident
Ashley's friend Brian was in a bad car accident

Ok there they are I pray that you will remeber these people in your prayers this week.

Now for what's going on in my life as this blog thing is suppose to be some type of journal and I want you the students and parents to get to know me better on a personal level and I want to get to know you on a personal level.

Things have been very busy in my life. Church keeps me very busy which is a good thing, but I also have a wife and two boys that love attention, and I love giving them attention. I just got back in touch with a student who was a part of my very first youth ministry. He is now going to ECU and will graduate in about a year. It was great to be able to talk to him through email. That's about all that is going on right now!

Later!

First Time!

2007-06-10T09:01:00.000-04:00

Well, this is my first post ever to a blog, I guess you could say that I'm diving in! A few weeks ago I didn't even know what a blog was. So now that I am up on technology, I will be updating regularly so that you the people and the students of my Church know what is going on in my life and the life of our student ministry! I hope that you enjoy!