Howdy NewSpring Church…wanted to share 10 things with you as we continue to prepare for our Christmas season.
#1 - Sunday was amazing, honestly, I don’t think I will ever be able to sing the song “Hosanna” again without thinking about the fact that Jesus RESCUED me…and that I am to be about the business of partnering with Him in the rescuing of others. (See II Corinthians 5:16-21) We live in a world that is screaming “HOSANNA (please save, save now) and we have the answer…I can’t wait to see what God does as we continually embrace this mentality.
#2 - I tweeted this last week…but wanted to say it again, until we are willing to embrace the uncomfortable we will not experience the supernatural. As I read the Scriptures and study about the life and death of Jesus I am more convinced than ever that the last thing church people are supposed to obsess over is their personal comfort level on Sunday’s. Jesus embraced the uncomfortable to reach us…HE LEFT HEAVEN (which was huge), came to earth as a baby, lived among us for 33 years, went to the cross (uncomfortable) and took our place so that we could be reconciled to God! AND…as followers of HIM we should be willing to give up our personal preference DAILY in order to reach a world that simply does not know Him. (Take a look at Galatians 2:20, Acts 20:24 and Luke 9:23).
#3 - We can never allow church to become a place where we obsess with keeping the “rescuers” happy, thus neglecting the very ones that need rescue. (Keep in mind…there are over TWO BILLION people on the planet that have never heard the Gospel…and it isn’t because the church lacks the ability to go and share it…it’s because, once again in many cases…doing so would cause us to be…UNCOMFORTABLE.) Let’s continue to do whatever it takes (read Mark 2:1-12 again) to reach people far from God.
#4 - If you haven’t already…PLEASE get your tickets for the Christmas services here. Many of them are already getting close to full…and we want to try our best to try and make sure that everyone who attends has a great experience. Use these tickets to invite the people that you know need to hear the Gospel…and…don’t forget, we’re giving away a free ipad at every campus in every service…and are doing so by drawing out of a box that people dropped their ticket into before they entered the service.
#5 - I KNOW it’s uncomfortable to invite people to church…but…as I have said over and over, statistics show that people are more likely to attend church at Christmas time than any other time of the year. So…go for it.
#6 - Don’t forget to wear your Hosanna bracelet this week…and as you do so pray for our Christmas services, that THOUSANDS will be drawn to Jesus and surrender their lives to Him.
#7 - And…also, don’t forget that we will NOT be having church at any campus on Sunday, December 26th…we are taking that Sunday off so that our staff and volunteers can rest after an intense Christmas season. We will resume church on a normal schedule on Sunday, January 2.
#8 - Christmas offering started out GREAT…continue to pray and ask the Lord what He would have you give…and then just do whatever He tells you to do.
#9 - THIS SUNDAY is going to be amazing as we talk about the letter O in the word H-O-P-E and deal with the OPPORTUNITIES that EVERYONE has when they surrender their lives to Christ. Jesus didn’t just die to save us from hell…He also did so to save us from a meaningless life…and we will DIVE into that more on Sunday!
#10 - I’ve got my shovel…I’m digging, thanks to everyone who is doing the same. I LOVE MY CHURCH!