Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Hell

Powerful word, isn't it?

This Sunday, we are going to run smack into the most difficult teaching in the Bible: the biblical doctrine of hell.

This will be the second message in The Other Side series. God has already worked in an unbelievable way through this series. But this Sunday is the wild card in this three-week series. What is God going to do when we talk about hell?

Honestly, I have no idea. I'm going into this Sunday with no clue about what God has in store for us. I'm not trying to suggest that we ever know exactly what God is going to do, but this Sunday is packed with a little extra mystery.

I can tell you this…whatever God chooses to do, it will be powerful. Prepare for a mighty move of God this Sunday, ACC.

Oh, and I know I sound like a broken record, but DO NOT be late on Sunday! Our service is starting in an amazing and very powerful way. If you're even a minute late, you'll miss it.

Graveyard Video

Here's the video we created for our first worship experience in The Other Side series.

Huge props to Brian for shooting and editing the video!

Starting Over

Sometimes you just have to start over. Case in point…my front yard.

The grass in my front yard burned to a crisp this summer…mostly because the sod the builder laid down was worthless. So I had a decision to make. Spend an endless amount of money watering and fertilizing dead grass or start over.

I chose to start over. We bought very expensive grass seed and fertilizer from a landscaping store. Then I went out and totally destroyed the old grass in my front yard as I sowed the new seed.

The new grass is now coming up and it's looking great. All because I was willing to start over.

Sometimes it seems like the church is willing to keep watering and fertilizing dead grass. Many churches constantly pour resources into a program or ministry that is dying or dead. Why? Because "we've always done it this way."

That may be true, but what kind of results are you getting today? Just because a program or a ministry worked in the past doesn't mean that it will ALWAYS work. Nearly all of a church's ministries have a limited lifespan. And when it's over, it's over.

This doesn't mean the ministry failed. If a church has been doing something for years, that probably means that, at one time, it achieved tremendous success. But if it's no longer successful, then why keep doing it? Celebrate the fact that it had a great run…and then start over with something new.

How Decisions Are Made

You know that sad part? This isn't too far from the truth in some churches. Glad ACC isn't one of them!

When People Pray for Me

It's humbling. Seriously humbling.

As Sunday approached last week, I sent out the bat signal asking for prayer. I felt awful. High fever. Couldn't talk. Couldn't stop coughing. Couldn't even stand up.

And people started praying for me. Good friends, as well as people I've never met, were praying for me.

God heard. God answered.

I'm grateful to Him…and to everyone who prayed to Him on my behalf!