I watched the NFL draft yesterday. (I REALLY wish they would speed that thing up!) I guess the thing that I could not get out of my mind is the guys being drafted and how excited they had to be…this was their chance to play in the NFL—to live their dream, heck, who in the world ever gets to do that?
AND then I thought—that’s me!!! Just like I am sure those guys had butterflies in their stomachs…I have those same feelings every week. Just like those guys probably could not sleep the night before the draft—I usually don’t sleep on Saturday nights. And just like those guys are “living their dream” in life—so am I! I always get geeked up about Sundays!!!
I was especially geeked up this morning because…well…I didn’t speak today. Clayton King, one of my best friends and our teaching pastor, brought one of the best messages on tolerance I have ever heard. I don’t just get excited about NewSpring when I speak…I get excited about it EVERY Sunday! It was fun to be able to walk around and hang out with people…I had a blast.
Some of the things that Clayton said that really stuck out to me were…
- “We have learned to tolerate sin, which is both deadly and dangerous.”
- “The truth has a longer shelf life than any of the most creative lies we have ever heard.”
- “The problem with humans isn’t that we do bad things but that we are bad inside.”
- “I am NOT open minded about certain things, I can’t be. For example, I am married to my wife, I love her and I am completely closed minded to ever being with another woman.”
- “I am not afraid of other religions in our country because I believe that the truth will eventually rise up to the top.”
- “It’s not about tolerance—it’s about what is true.”
- “Many times when people use the word ‘tolerance’ they are really just asking you to celebrate sin with them.”
- “Homosexuality is a sin, BUT it is NOT the only sin the church should focus on. The church has their favorites, homosexuality, abortion and so on—but what about gluttony and racism?”
- “At the end of this day there IS an authority in this world!”
- “Many times we are ‘tolerant’ because we are afraid of offending someone.”
- “The worse thing a leader (preacher) can do is give people what they want. If I give my kids what they want they will eat nine corn dogs for dinner, be unhealthy, go off to school, flunk out, live in our basement and eat Lucky Charms for lunch while playing HALO and typing on their blog. My kids need TRUTH, to give them what they want would hurt them!”
- “The disciples were NOT convinced that they were right, they were convinced that the Gospel was true—and there is a difference.”
- “The most loving thing that God can do for us is show us our sin so He can save us before we die.”
Those were the highlights in my mind—it was a GREAT Sunday! A few more things…
#1 - Do Not Miss This Coming Sunday!!! We are closing out the America’s Idol series…and I cannot wait to preach the message the Lord has put on my heart. Warning…this will not be a talk for the faint of heart…but I promise it will be one of the most unforgettable services we have ever had at NewSpring until…
#2 - MOTHER’S DAY! Folks…I can’t even begin to explain this weekend and how awesome it is going to be. Every lady who comes into our church will be given the ROYAL treatment…the Gospel will be shared…and ladies, PLEASE bring tissue!!! This is going to be one of the BEST Sunday’s in our history!
#3 - We begin a new series on May 20th...and you will not believe how we are starting it!!!
That’s it for now—if you think about it please pray for me this week…it’s going to be extremely busy!!! :-)