This summer our kids will continue to learn more about the Bible through a series called “What’s In The Bible?” It’s a fun curriculum from the creator of the VeggieTales. So, even though AWANA is over for the school year, please continue to join us on Wednesday nights at 7:00pm throughout the summer.
Click here for more information about the exciting “What’s In The Bible?” curriculum.
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
This is a stretch to be sure, but this could also be taken to refer to a church service or body of believers. “Deep calls to deep” …in other words, in a river, “depths” of many rivers converge into one, until they all fall together off the edge of a cliff, making the resonant chorus that is a waterfall. The many rivers must all converge and go in the same direction, they must all take the plunge together as well. Then at the base of the waterfall, they achieve their greatest power and beauty, as “deep calls to deep.” God’s presence and power will be strikingly absent unless our churches accomplish three things. One, our rivers must converge. We have to have the same mission and be going the same direction. Two, “deep” must call to “deep.” God didn’t say “shallow calls to shallow.” We have to get in on each others lives, on the depths, really understanding who we are, connecting with, and praying for one another. Finally, we must all take the plunge together. All the rivers of the waterfall have to dive together, take the leap of faith together, in order for the waterfall to achieve maximum force. If a river cuts out early, it’s taking some force with it (not to mention other rivers). Our churches must be defined by missional agreement, true love, and risk taking faith. Only then will we begin to hear the depth of God himself in our choruses.
(This reflection was written by Chris Coultas, Worship Leader of the 10:0am Service)
On April 20 & 21, 2012, a bus full of men from our church attended the 2012 Man Up Men’s Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference featured powerful and insightful messages from Jerry Thorpe & Jim Groves.
Our guys had a great time getting to know each other better and learning more about how to be the men that God has called them to be.
If you would like to review the notes from the conference, please click the links below. These notes were compiled by one of our pastors. They may be hard to follow, but feel free to browse them for insights. Especially, check out the “Notes & Quotes” section at the bottom of each entry.
Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 1
Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 2
Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 3
Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 4
Man Up Men’s Conference – Session 5
PS: Thanks to everyone who prayed for our safety and our growth while we were away!
If you are in the Sanford-Orlando area, check out WTLN 950 on the AM dial today at 2:00pm. They will be airing an interview and a message from Pastor Williams. Pretty cool, huh?
You can also visit WTLN on the web at http://www.wtln.com
Tell your friends and family about this by Faceboook, Twitter, and text!
We invite you to take part in this year’s Missions Emphasis Weekend. It’s this coming week! Our special missionary guest for the weekend is Nathan Foltz, missionary to Tanzania. Here are some of the events that we encourage you to be a part of during the weekend:
- International Dinner 6:45pm on Friday Night (March 30)
Pick an international region and bring an international food to share.
- Ladies Luncheon (Patio Grill) 11:30am on Saturday (March 31)
- Men’s BBQ (Shane Stewart’s House) 5:00pm on Saturday (March 31)
This will be held at 250 Art Lane, Sanford, FL 32773
The church will provide the meant. Men should bring sides & drinks.
- Faith Promise Commitment Sunday Sunday Morning (April 1)
Did you know that we meet here at the church during the week for Small Group Bible Studies? We meet together for learning and mutual encouragement. Click on the link below to see a full listing of the Small Group Bible Study Opportunities that are available this Spring, and then plan to join us this week. It’s a excellent way to connect with other Christ-followers & share life together.
Click here to see the list of Small Group Opportunities
Most of these Bible Studies will run through May. Then, they will break for the summer.
That was the header for an awesome passage in 1 Chronicles 23. Starting in verse 24, we see how the Levites get their roles and responsibilities massively restructured. Before this shift, the Levites were responsible for carrying the ark of the covenant – the seat of the physical representation of God.
Think of the times you’ve felt the closest you’ve ever felt with God, and how rare those “super close” times tend to be. Now, imagine what an amazing responsibility it must have been, to be a Levite tasked with carrying the ark of the covenant – to have the physical presence of God at arm’s length.
In this 1 Chronicles passage, however, the Levites get their “duties revised.” I love this header because it’s so counterintuitive to what our modern reaction would be. The Levites had to shift from this awesome resposibility and physical closeness to God, to essentially becoming assistants to the priests and the custodial crew to make sure the Temple services went off without a hitch.
How could this header not be “The Levites get a demotion,” or the “The Levites get demoted and then revolt?” Why does the Bible not record the Levites letting out a collective groan upon hearing the news, especially given the Israelites’ penchant for complaining? I think it’s because the Levites weren’t motivated by personal gratification but rather divine mandate. They didn’t see themselves as having a job that was comprised of specific tasks, but rather as being privileged to contribute anything to a higher purpose. Rather than looking at what they were doing, they were focused on what they were achieving.
That is so key in our personal, professional, and spiritual lives. Look for the “why,” search for the end goal, find the glorification of God in who you are, not what you are doing. Tasks are more volatile than personhood. You may have a job or position one day, and be out of it the next. But your heart, soul, mind, and strength are things you can always give to God, regardless of circumstances. If you can find a way to praise God with your whole person, your personality, your intentions, and your passion, as opposed to the various tasks that happen to fill up the minutes and hours of your days and weeks, that is when you will be truly fulfilled.
(This essay was written by Chris Coultas, Worship Leader of the 10:0am Service)
This past week, Pastor Williams shared a message entitled “Noah & Sons.” It’s the latest message in our Hall of Fame series based on Hebrews 11. Noah was a man of tremendous faith in challenging days. It had never rained before (and probably never flooded, either), and yet God tells him that it’s going to rain and the whole earth will be covered in water. God tells Noah to build an enormous ship big enough to hold his entire family and the animals that would be needed to replenish the earth. It takes Noah 100 years to build this boat! For years, he is mocked and laughed at, yet he continues to demonstrate great faith in God…faith worth emulating.
Today, many of us may still wonder how all of those animals fit inside the boat. It’s questions like this that cause us to be a little hesitant to accept the biblical story as accurate. But, simple science and simple math reveal how this is possible. You can believe that the story is true…and therefore, that the Bible is true!
The month of October has been set aside annually for several causes and programs, and we just wanted to remind you about them as we continue on through the month. Perhaps, God is even challenging you to take action and get involved. October is…
It’s football season, so I think it’s very appropriate to talk about passion and excitement. Real fans wildly cheer their team’s victories, and occasionally, deeply mourn their losses. Do you identify with that, or are their other things that light you up? What do you get really fired up over, what excites you, what causes emotion to burn deep into your being?
Now another question, what are your most intense emotions. Really think about it – when you have an intense emotional reaction to something, what are you typically feeling. Chances are, the most common and intense emotions we experience are sadness, anger, or joy.
What about regret and remorse? More than likely, it’s been a while since you’ve truly allowed yourself to experience these emotions. Our culture idolizes personal happiness, glorifies anger and rage, and romanticizes sadness, so it’s “acceptable” to experience these emotions. Shame, guilt, regret, and remorse are the red-headed stepchildren in our culture’s collective bank of emotions. We live in a society of “no regrets.” We say it is meaningless to live in the past, and “What’s done is done.”
Yet when we embrace this mindset, we abandon the gravity of sin and forget the holiness of God. Furthermore, this nullifies the grace of God and downplays the sacrifice of Christ. When we reject remorse, we silence our consciences and the Holy Spirit within us.
When was the last time you wept over your brokenness? When was the last time you looked back on your day and realized you had abandoned God, that you had ignored His calling and thumbed your nose at His command? When was the last time you felt sadness wash over you because you disappointed God? The Bible records one particularly poignant story of two men who blatantly abandonded, betrayed, and rejected God. Their response was not to “forgive themselves” and move on immediately. Both men had intensely sorrowful reactions when they realized what they had done. Why do we not call all of our sins “betraying God’s grace?” Was it not our sins that put Christ on the cross?
Some may say this is a negative view of God – that He is full of love, grace, and is “the God of second chances.” These would say that we need to bask in the grace of God and freely accept it. Those statements are true – God is like that. Yet sin is sin, and after all He has done for us, is it not the height of arrogance to vaccilate freely between accepting the love of God while ignoring the will of God?
Some may say this is a dangerous approach to considering sin – that we as a society are prone to depression, and overemphasizing our faults and flaws would be extremely detrimental. This is also true. Yet God has left us with an appropriate way to deal with our own sin. Returning to the story I referenced earlier, who were these two men who abandoned God? Judas and Peter. Both men realized they had betrayed Jesus in their own ways. Judas felt sorrow and disgust at himself, and tried to erase his actions and distance himself from them – eventually his sorrow led him to commit suicide. Peter also betrayed Christ, and “wept bitterly” when he realized what he had done. Yet he stuck around long enough to run back to Christ with passion and humility when given the opportunity.
2 Corinthians 7:8-13 talks about a “godly sorrow” that yields repentance. God is not in the business of inducing depression. Longstanding shame and guilt only neutralizes us and makes us impotent for the Kingdom of God. Rather, God sends the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, to induce remorse, so that we would acknowledge our wickedness (incidentally, calling all our wrongdoing “wickedness” greatly increases its perceived severity) and turn from our ways (i.e., “repent”) towards a closer relationship with God.
David asked God to create a “new heart” in him after he abandoned the ways of God in favor of murder, sexual immorality, and passion (Psalm 51). In fact, the psalms are filled with the remorse of a man who would turn to God and run away from Him. Would that God would soften our hearts again, and give us a sensitivity towards our own sin, and passion for personal holiness.
(This essay was written by Chris Coultas, worship leader of our 10am Worship Service)
Sunday: 10:00 am
Sunday: 10:00 am
Sunday: 11:00 am