Mother's Day Videos
May/090
Here are the Mother's Day videos from our staff that we used at ACC this morning.
Happy Mother's Day!
Every Woman You Know…
May/090
needs to be at ACC this Sunday!
I'm doing some final prep work on the first message in our Beautiful series. God has given me a powerful Word that every single woman needs to hear.
Old or young…single or married…it doesn't matter. Ladies, you need to hear the truth that God will speak this Sunday.
And guys, trust me…you need to hear this truth, too. If you think it's going to be all flowers and perfume…just wait. God is going to rock you.
Can't wait for Sunday! Looking forward to seeing a lot of women set free…and a lot of men stepping up to the plate.
Advertising vs. Delivering
May/090
A few days ago I drove by a huge sign advertising a painting business. According to the sign, the painters in this business are professionals and they'll do a great job painting your house, your place of business, etc.
I only noticed one problem. This sign was in front of one of the ugliest houses I have ever seen. Seriously, the paint job on this house is putrid.
Anybody see the problem here? The sign says one thing, but the results say something far different.
As I was thinking about this dichotomy, it hit me…that's the problem that so many of us have in our lives. We advertise one thing, but the results are the polar opposite.
We talk about grace, but we refuse to forgive.
We talk about generosity, but we're stingy with our money.
We talk about living with great faith, but we won't do anything unless it makes practical sense.
We talk about love, but the only thing people receive from us is judgment.
You get the idea. The takeaway from all of this is so simple…
Don't post a sign for your painting business in front of an ugly house.
In other words, don't advertise something that you're not delivering.
I'm Proud
May/097
This post is personal. Read on if you want. If you don't, it doesn't matter to me. I'm saying this to whoever will listen.
I am immensely…
completely…
absolutely…
unequivocally…
wholeheartedly…
proud of my wife.
Last night Nicki turned in her grad thesis, took her last final, and now…SHE IS FINISHED!!! Her master's degree coursework is officially completed.
I am in awe of my wife. She is Superwoman. She has been plugging away at grad school for a long time, along with being a working mom and wife. And she does it seamlessly. (BTW…we don't have her final grades yet, but it's very likely that she'll complete grad school with a perfect 4.0 GPA.) It blows my mind. I couldn't be prouder of her.
We're enjoying the moment right now. No more school. No more studying. No more papers.
Life is good.
Beautiful
May/090
Listen up ladies. This one's for you.
This Sunday is Mother's Day and we're kicking off a brand new three-week series called Beautiful. Every mom, daughter, grandmother, granddaughter, and anyone else with XX chromosomes needs to be at ACC this Sunday.
Let me ask you something ladies…are you beautiful?
My hunch is that every woman reading this immediately answered, "No."
That's because you are letting culture define your beauty instead of your Heavenly Father. Your definition of beauty comes from the pages of Cosmo (or some other rag in the checkout aisle) instead of the Word of God.
That changes this Sunday. Ladies, you (and every other woman that you know) had better be at ACC this Sunday. God has a Word for you that can change your life.
Oh, and by the way…guys, this is not a permission slip for you to check out for the next three weeks. If you have a lady in your life (wife, daughter, mom, grandma, aunt, cousin, etc.), you need to be present for every single week of this series. God's got some straight talk for us about the women in our lives.
Wide-Open Spaces
May/090
The trouble with America is that there are far too many wide-open spaces surrounded by teeth. (Charles Luckman)
Would It Be Okay With You?
May/091
Alright…I'll admit it. This post from my buddy Joel messed me up. Seriously. I've been thinking about it ever since I first read it.
Give it a read and then come back here. I've got a couple of things to say.
Would It Be Okay With You? – Joel Young
Generally speaking, I know how people perceive me. One of the perceptions that people do NOT have about me is the perception that I am a traditionalist. Most people would think that I am the anti-traditionalist.
Not so fast.
In reading Joel's post, there were a couple of times that I thought, "No. Actually, that would NOT be okay with me."
That prompted some deeper thought and some reflective soul searching. If I'm not okay with this, then the question becomes, "Why? What is my hang up?"
The answer that came back to me was difficult and it might surprise you. The answer is tradition. Some of Joel's propositions go against a tradition that I'm comfortable with, therefore I'm not okay with it.
And that's wrong.
It is wrong to allow my traditions and my comfort zone to dictate how God can move in my life and in our church. We can't allow man made traditions to keep us from doing what God calls us to do. We can't allow our comfort zones to hinder us from being EXACTLY the kind of church that GOD wants us to be.
And I'm as guilty as anybody else. I bet you're surprised by that. But it's true.
Now begins the hard work…prayerfully seeking God. Asking him to soften my hard heart. Repenting of the times that I have chosen my comfort over His call.
How about you?
Identity Theft Recap
May/090
We put the wrap on a four-week sermon series at ACC yesterday. Identity Theft was an awesome series for a few reasons.
1. We were challenged to see ourselves for who we really are. Galatians 3:26 tells us of our true identity: "For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (NLT)
We are sons and daughters or God, which makes us a prince or a princess. Hey, you're a child of the King…might as well claim the title that goes with it.
2. We were made more aware of our enemy. Satan is real. Satan is active. Satan has a mission…to take you down. To rob you of your identity in Christ. In this series, we talked about four of his most potent identity-stealing weapons.
3. We were seriously challenged, not only to know our true identity, but to live up to it. A prince or a princess has a strict code of conduct to live by. We're children of the King, and our Dad has a high level of expectation for us.
That's just a handful of reasons why I loved this series. God did, and is still doing, some incredible things in the lives of His children.
Sports Camp Registration is Open!
May/091
We've been anticipating this day for months. Online registration for Mega Sports Camp went live this morning!
Get your kids registered today.
Secrets
May/091
We're wrapping up our Identity Theft series this weekend. In this series, we've been exploring various weapons that Satan uses to rob us of our identity in Christ.
This weekend, we're ending the series by talking about a very powerful weapon that he has used in your life and in my life…a secret.
When we have a secret sin in our lives, it robs us of who God created us to be. And as long as we remain in the shadows, nothing is ever going to change.
This Sunday, we're stepping into the light. I'm not going to lie…it's going to be tough. But it's also the only way to recapture the freedom that is found in our true identity.
