Intro: QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION What’s the most powerful thing you’ve ever witnessed? Cars, Explosions, Power tools Power Lifter Processing power Powerful people Powerful armies Powerful Rome Journal | Memory Verse: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Sermon Title: Prayer, Planning & Power Ready, [...]
Romans 1:1-7 From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh, who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus [...]
I’m guilty…. Sometimes I avoid my own emotions like Covid. I mask up & say I’m “too busy” or I socially distance as a means of self protection. I could be walking around at church or the office feeling depressed, or insecure, lacking faith, feeling hurt, abandoned, disrespected, hated. These are real emotions that I feel inside but I mentally know it can’t be 100% [...]
Are we free to choose our own destiny or are we all just puppets on a string? Can God know the future without controlling the future? Enter #theologythursday The word today is Foreknowledge – It means “To know beforehand” God is all-knowing. He knows everything before it ever…is a thing. I like to think of this way… When God makes a promise, he already kept it! Some examples of Foreknowledge are: -when God promised [...]
Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may make it known as I should. The 4 legs of ministry: Prayer (Devotion) Thanksgiving Proclamation Prayer (For Leadership) Healthy [...]
Worship Transition Lyric: Oh the chains are released, I can sing, "I am free" Yet not I, but through Christ in me Abba: Father Alpha and Omega: The Beginning and End El Elyon: The God Most High El Shaddai: God Almighty Jehovah-Jireh: The LORD Our Provider Jehovah-Rapha: The LORD Our Healer El Roi: The God Who Sees Me - Hagar God has a way of [...]
Introduction Introduce my Family <family photo> Our Story Jennifer and I met when we were teenagers Then we went our own ways in our twenties We both got married and got divorced Jennifer raised Aubrey by herself - there was no co-parenting happening. When we started seeing other again it was INSTANT Family. Aubrey made me a Dad. Elijah made me tired. Levi made [...]
Intro There are some areas of my day to day life that I feel most challenged, ill equipped, and incompetent I’m completely out of my league… Parenting - Nothing has challenged me more. A friend of mine was texting me the other day and I was sharing some of my struggles and insecurities, and he said, “if you were the perfect father, your kids wouldn’t [...]
Intro Walking Together Came home the other day, saw Jennifer and Elijah walking. Stopped the car, and just walked with them. What a joy it was to walk with them. Best part of my day. When you are walking with someone, it’s usually intentional. Unless you are an old mall walker, its highly unlikely that you’ll accidentally walk with someone you don’t know (or want [...]
Colossians 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together [...]
Do you ever get to the end of a hectic Christmas season and say to yourself “next year will be different – enough of the busyness and unnecessary holiday hustle – next year we are going to keep the main thing the main thing”? This year you can keep that promise. If you are anything like me, you want to make sure you 1) actually [...]
When I was a kid, I lived at the Falcon Children’s Home for 6 years. Each year, during the holidays, all of us kids were asked to turn in a Christmas list. Often my list included things that I needed like clothes, school supplies or other items. Depending on the number of sponsors that year, our gift list would range from 5-15 items. We were usually instructed [...]
A Maturing Disciple Is Established In God’s Word. A mature disciple allows Gods word to train their thinking, inform their habits, & completely shape their life. He Reads His Bible She examines the scriptures. It’s amazing how many people want to hear God’s voice, but never read God’s word. We can never become more like Jesus if we don’t understand WHO He is. And we [...]
Confession: I used to download & re-preach sermons written by other people. I’ve bought them from Northpoint. I’ve downloaded free sermons from open.church or church of the highlands, I’ve stolen from celebrity preachers, and I’ve even borrowed my Dad’s sermon notes. Early on as a church planter, I was taught to do this by other preachers. They’d say “you’re busy and have no time [...]
This is part 2 of “What makes a mature disciple?” A Maturing Disciple follows Jesus UNCONDITIONALLY. Everything around you can change, but it won’t change you following Jesus. It doesn’t matter if the Bible is taught according to your learning style, it doesn’t matter if the church seats are uncomfortable, or if the church you are part of is aligned with the latest trends. More [...]
What makes a mature disciple? Previously I wrote some thoughts about how we tend to build the church on little rocks, neglecting the big rock that Jesus intended. This leads to a lack of maturity in our relationship with Jesus. In the next few blog posts I will share some thoughts about what it is that makes a mature disciple. A Mature Disciple Loves Jesus, [...]
"Could I be wrong about the church?" I started asking myself this question a lot last year. Here's some context. Being a pastors kid (pk) comes with a lot of baggage that you wouldn’t expect. Every PK has a different experience, but I think one thing that’s true for all PK’s is that, because of our proximity to the church, we can easily become [...]
If you own or are starting a business in Holly Springs, NC, then you might be encouraged by these thoughts. First, let me introduce myself. I’m Bill. A few years ago we started a new Church in the town of Holly Springs called “Oasis” and as a local startup ourself, I just want to come out and say…. I’m FOR you. (Of course - [...]
Sometimes I look back at various seasons, situations or circumstances in my life where I've missed an opportunity, dropped the ball, or just completely flunked. As a leader in a local church setting, it's uncomfortable to talk about failure, but failure is part of this game. For most of you, church is just a small part of your leadership life. You lead at work, at [...]
A few weeks ago I opened up about some of my own fears & insecurities in front of a group of pastors. I was originally supposed to be the one at the table with all the answers, but they quickly realized I only had questions After our time together I got a phone call from one of the more “successful” people in the room who [...]
