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

Cindy Winters

A few weeks ago, Fred Winters was shot to death as he was preaching at First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois. The week after the shooting, his wife, Cindy, was interviewed by Julie Chen on The Early Show on CBS.

Here is the video of that interview in its entirety.

I'm speechless. Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched this amazing and strong woman of God talk about losing her beloved husband.

Two Scriptures came to mind as I listened to Cindy Winters.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Colossians 3:13

Take some time to read those verses. And take some time to pray for Cindy and her children today.

Easter Reminders 1

This Sunday is going to be A-MA-ZING! ACC, get ready for God to knock your socks off.

We don't view Easter as just a time for pretty flowers, egg hunts, and ham dinners. We view Easter as a prime opportunity for an incredible move of God. We absolutely believe that God is going to change lives this Sunday.

In the next few posts, I want to remind us all of a few things about Easter '09. We can make a great day even greater by remembering a few simple things.

The first reminder is a simple one. Remember our schedule for Easter Sunday. We'll have two worship services at our normal times of 9:00 & 11:00 am. However, there will be no 10:00 am classes on Sunday.

Most of our guests will attend the 11:00 am service. That's why we're asking as many of our people as possible to come at 9:00 am.

The services will be identical. There will be identical children's ministry programming offered during both hours.

Even if you don't normally come to first service, would you do it this Sunday? Would you give up your seat to someone who might be coming to hear about Jesus for the first time?

Got some more reminders coming tomorrow.

Listen to This…No Excuses!

Brian's message from Sunday is now on our website. If you weren't at ACC on Sunday, you need to listen to it. If you were at ACC on Sunday, you should probably listen to it again.

I told you that Brian was bringing a powerful Word on Sunday. Promise given, promise delivered. He flat out brought the heat! If you can hear this message and STILL not serve, something is seriously wrong with you!

No Excuses! – Brian Morrissey

How Am I Celebrating Opening Day?

Working. Meetings. Preparing for Easter. And hopefully listening to at least a little bit of the Reds' opener.

I actually turned down a free Opening Day ticket yesterday. A fella at church actually put the ticket in my hand and told me, "You're not allowed to say 'no.'"

I was really moved by his generosity. Unfortunately, a very gracious "no" was the only answer I could give him. I simply don't have time for a ballgame this week. Easter (a pastor's Super Bowl, to stick with the sports references) is this Sunday. Gotta have a solid week of prayerful preparation.

With that said, you'd better be at ACC this Sunday. People will be talking about this service for a long time…because they're going to see Jesus in an unforgettable way. Can't wait!

Oh, and by the way…Go Reds!

Town Hall For Hope

I wanted to put this event on your radar. On Thursday, April 23, ACC is hosting Town Hall For Hope.

Are you tired of the fear and uncertainty regarding our current economy? Seems like everyday brings more bleak economic news. The headlines are filled with job losses, bailouts, foreclosures, and endless promises that the government can be trusted to fix it all.

Are you ready to move past the hype and toward real hope? Then you need to be at ACC on April 23. Financial expert Dave Ramsey is hosting a nationwide town hall via online streaming video. We're pumped that ACC is an official host site for this event.

Dave will offer some straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures, and more. He'll carefully explain where we've come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money.

If you're ready for a godly message of hope instead of all the gloom-and-doom, Town Hall For Hope is for you. It happens Thursday, April 23, at 8:00 pm.

If you don't live in our area, there are official host sites all over the country. Look for one in your area here.

Easter 2009

Easter 2009 at ACC is going to rock! I can't stress this enough…you need to be there. And your friend who needs Jesus DEFINITELY needs to be there!

I'm starting a new sermon series on Easter Sunday called Identity Theft. God is going to change a ton of lives in this series, and we're putting the pedal to the metal on Easter Sunday! We're not holding anything back!

Our worship services will be at our regular times of 9:00 & 11:00 am. However, there will be no 10:00 am classes that day. That will allow more time to visit, easier ebb and flow in the parking lot, etc.

We will offer identical children's ministry programming in both hours. Regardless of which hour you attend, your kids will experience the same awesome worship designed just for them.

Having said that, would you consider coming at 9:00? Even if your family normally attends at 11:00, would you come at 9:00 on Easter Sunday? Most of our guests will come at 11:00 and we need open seats for them. Will you serve them by giving them your seat so they can experience Jesus?

I can't wait! Jesus is alive and He is going to rock us on Easter!

Picnic/Egg Hunt This Sunday

Wanted to give everyone a final reminder that our annual spring picnic/Easter egg hunt is this Sunday following the 11:00 am service.

Check out the details here.

No Excuses & Different Preachers

I'm pumped about this weekend at ACC…and I'm not even preaching!

Brian Morrissey is going to be giving us a message from God this week. It's been a while (too long, actually) since he preached. Brian is a gifted teacher/communicator, and he's got a hot message cooking for this weekend. The message is entitled No Excuses!

I'd like to make an editorial comment here. Historically, the church has always had people who thought that if "the preacher" isn't preaching, then they could take the week off. That's just plain stupid. We need different voices who speak truth into our lives. You need to be at ACC this weekend (and every weekend) to hear the Word of God…regardless of who is bringing it.

Truth be told, I've preached too long in one stretch recently. I'm actually cheating our church by not allowing them to hear other men of God bring the Word.

I would hope this goes without saying, but this has nothing to do with me being lazy. I love to preach! It's hard for me to step away, even for a week. But if I thought it always had to be me onstage, that would be a very prideful attitude.

This is going to be an awesome week in the life of ACC! Brian is going to bring a powerful Word. I can't wait for God to change you and me through His truth this weekend!

Seasons

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NIV)

There is incredible wisdom in these words from the Old Testament. Verse 1 is the key. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

We all experience "up times" and "down times" in our lives. There are weeping times and laughing times. Dancing times and mourning times.

Even in our relationship with God, we experience different seasons. We have spring…but we also have winter.

The important thing is to realize that every season has a purpose. If you're in a time of testing, uncertainty, or fear…you're probably praying for your spiritual winter to end. You long for spring. And that's normal. You should pray that.

But at the same time, understand that God works in winter, too. You may not be able to see everything that lies ahead. You're wondering if spring will ever arrive. But you have no idea what God is doing behind the scenes. To fully experience his plan, you have to endure the winter.

There is a season for everything under heaven…and every season has a purpose.