Howdy NewSpring Church, seven things I would LOVE to share with you today…
#1 - Sunday’s message by Brad Cooper was INCREDIBLE and exactly what so many of us needed to hear (and over 50 people prayed to receive Christ, THAT NEVER GETS OLD!) I am still reflecting on…
- Jesus calls us away from the familiar! If we are going to be His followers we’ve got to be willing to embrace the unfamiliar and the uncomfortable, see Philippians 2:5-11
- Jesus will be the only way we overcome (Mark 4:35-41), I love the fact that the Lord put His followers into a situation where there was no other solution except to turn to Him. I love how Brad taught that suffering is a platform for us to declare the greatness of Jesus.
- Jesus went through the storm to pursue ONE MAN (Mark 5:1-20!) Gotta admit I got a little emotional when Brad got to this part of the message because I kept thinking, “that’s my story!” I did not “find God” (because He was not lost)...as I look back over my life I can now see all of the times that in HIS grace and mercy (NOT because of my good works) that HE CAME AFTER ME!
#2 - I had the privilege to hang out on Sunday at our Charleston campus…it was SO awesome to stand in the lobby and have dozens and dozens of conversations with people who had experienced life change. I love my church…and I love all of the work that JESUS IS DOING HERE!
#3 - THE GAUNTLET begins a week from yesterday!!! WOW!!! I can’t believe it’s here. I’m asking everyone at NewSpring to pray that we will experience an unbelievable move of God unlike anything we’ve ever seen…because…as our teenagers catch on fire we’ve seen the flames spread across and impact our church in amazing ways.
AND…NewSpring Church, just to reemphasize, I REALLY DO BELIEVE in the next generation, (Fuse and KidSpring) - in case you missed it I shared Seven Reasons Why earlier this year, you can check it out here.
#4 - THIS COMING SUNDAY IS GOING TO BE AMAZING as every campus will hear from their campus pastor!!! Seriously, these men have been preparing for this message for over two months so I can promise you it is going to be awesome!!! Please pray for these guys and show up on Sunday with expectant hearts! (AND…I’m really excited about the Clemson campus pastor being revealed at the 6pm service at our Anderson campus!)
#5 - I’m going to sound like a broken record on this one…but…you SERIOUSLY NEED TO MAKE PLANS to be at our NIGHT OF WORSHIP (details here) on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25 as we gather together as a body and beg Jesus to draw people to Him like never before at our services on Sunday, August 26!!!
#6 - Yes, as a matter of fact I am excited about preaching on Sunday, July 29th!!! In actuality…I’m about to LOSE MY MIND!!!
#7 - I love to share resources/links on this blog that I find helpful and challenging. With that in mind I would strongly urge you at some point to check out this post written by Joshua Harris entitled “Mommy Porn Is No Better Than Daddy Porn.” I believe that Joshua did an INCREDIBLE job of addressing the “50 Shades of Grey” issue that so many people seem to want to avoid. I’m serious…it’s a GREAT article!!! Check it out!!! (AND…I would also highly recommend his book entitled “Dug Down Deep,” it is an EXCELLENT THEOLOGY BOOK that does not feel like a theology book!!! Seriously, one of the best books I’ve read!)
That’s it for today…I LOVE MY CHURCH! THE BEST IS YET TO COME!