Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. For many of us this means we get to travel, spend time with family and friends, eat plenty of food (always a little too much!), watch some lousy football (never a good game on Thanksgiving though), and but best of all… most of us get the day off from work!
But the purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday has never meant to include any of that stuff. The meaning is pretty obvious as it’s embedded in the actual word: the giving of thanks (to God).
If you grew up in America and passed 2nd grade, I’m sure you know the whole story behind the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving feast. I could easily bore you with troubling tales of how they barely survived disease and starvation. Despite all of that, they still established a yearly occasion to thank God for what He had done for them. Comparing ourselves to what they went through, we have a lot more to be thankful for!
Sometimes when we have it so good, we get upset at the little things that bother us. These little things turn into big things because they take us from what should be an attitude of thankfulness, to an attitude of loathing and worry.
In Philippians 4:4-9, Paul writes:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
You see, what is on our mind, often controls our heart. God knows this about us! It’s just how we as human beings operate. Which is why Paul writes to dwell on the “good things” and not the bad. Such words echo far into today’s perspective with everything that’s going on (or perhaps, “going wrong”).
Many people are out of work, struggling financially, in poor health, have lost loved ones, having relationship problems, you name it. Of course many of these are connected as work & finances can cause stress, leading to worsened health (mentally and physically), and strife between spouses/family members/friends. It can turn us ugly,selfish, and cold… which is what the enemy wants us to be like!
So, when we dwell (which means in loose terms, “it’s on our minds”, or to “think good and hard”) on something, it can weigh on us… or it can lift us up. If we were to reflect upon everything that God has done for us, rather than what hasn’t worked out, then thanksgiving comes much more naturally!
Therefore, if you think about the things of God and “good”, your attitude changes and you suddenly have a different perspective and approach towards everyday life. Your heart is more open to offering the proper thanks towards Almighty God who has blessed you in more ways than you’ll ever know in this life!
So take the time to thank God and make it a daily habit! Let praise be on your lips… not fear or doubt! Be sure to thank Him in all of your prayers! Make “thanksgiving” more than just a single day of the year! Let it be an attitude you carry with you so that others can see it!
This past month, it seems that I’ve gotten more “prayer requests” than ever before. Health, finances, stress, family issues, you name it!
But while I have been keeping up with them all, compiling quite a long list mind you, I recalled something me and Greg Dampier ran last year, the ePrayer Wall.
It was a message board for our friends and family at the time to share prayer requests, praise reports, testimonies, devotionals, etc. It’s such a great blessing to know that we could help others simply by keeping them in our prayers! It’s also such a blessing when the requests are fulfilled in some way and we get to rejoice with the person! The Christian world needs to be doing more of this!
Seeing the need for it today with our church, we have decided to bring back the forum as a simple way for our members (and believers everywhere) to share their requests in an open, friendly setting so others can know what they’re going through and what to pray for!
We read in James chapter 5 the power & importance of earnest prayer and for the act of praying for one another!
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
So don’t be bashful! Present your requests, praise reports, and your thoughts without fear of condemnation or embarrassment! Register at eprayerwall.heavenforum.com
However, if you ever feel the need to make a private request, you can email me at: chris@thelivingchurch.tv
Be blessed!
There was a reason why beaches along the east coast were empty of development for so long. Just 40 years ago, my dad lived around the outer banks of North Carolina. He told me that no one wanted the beachfront property and could’ve gone in with ten thousand dollars at the time, acquiring a few lots. Such land now is highly desired and fetches millions of dollars.
Part of the reason why it was so cheap at the time and no one had built on them, is that there was no way to predict a hurricane coming. When it did it came with very little warning and it could wipe everything out with ease.
Life’s disasters are a lot like that… they often come at you without notice and can potentially be devastating! Other times you may see the storm coming, but you feel there’s little you can do. In reality, we make the choice on how we deal with disasters.
Back when Hurricane Hugo hit, we had some family friends of ours that had a stilt house in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina right on the water. The week before the storm came through, they had just outfitted the place with brand new furniture.
Later, the storm swept the area and lifted the house off the ground, throwing it down the street in pieces. Nothing was salvageable!
Now they could have thrown their arms in the air and said “why bother”, taken the insurance money and build somewhere “safer” (much like we do as believers), knowing full well the dangers of living on the coast. Instead, they built the house back even better than it was before on the same lot.
You see, fear of more danger, hardships, and troubles often prevents us from being rebuilt! Adversity is a time for us to become stronger and better in God’s eyes!
No, God is not our “insurance” that comes through, bails us out when we’ve lost it all. Even better, He’s the contractor in waiting, that’s already been paid to rebuild! It’s just a matter of if we’ll let Him do the job He knows how to do, or are we going to pack up, head elsewhere, and try to do it ourselves? (which is shoddy work!)
We know that through this life, storms will come at us… especially as Christian believers. That’s like having beachfront property! Beachfront property is nice, beautiful, and is something to brag about. Yet, it also comes with it’s dangers. Most typically this involves facing the storms that can potentially wreck everything! More important than any of this, is that it’s where God wants us to be!
When you become a believer in Jesus Christ, some may hold the idea that their troubles are now gone and life is going to be all “peachy-keen”. Truth is, as a Christian you are not escaping trouble… you often have to face it!
Why? The enemy does not want us “happy and healthy and prospering” and he’ll throw all the storms he’s got at us to discourage us. Discouragement then leads to doubt and the dilution of our faith in God.
If we were to simply chicken out and run from danger, it’s just like running away from God! The troubles that come at us are opportunities to grow, not to mention be used by the Lord to bless others and ourselves!
The problem is, our carnal eyes simply don’t always view it this way. Instead we only see what’s in front of us and that might look a lot like impending doom with no end to it (which is what the enemy wants us to think!).
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34,
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
When we possess fear for what might happen, we are unknowingly putting a hold on the rebuilding process God can start at anytime. During tough times such as these, know that no matter what happens in your life, it won’t demolish you for good unless you let it!
You can be renewed and built stronger than before… and God can still get the glory, honor, and praise for it!
Amen!
http://www.significantchurch.com
Heather and I just returned from Kentucky where we attended a conference hosted by Victory Christian Fellowship located in the gigantic metropolis of Somerset.
Actually, Somerset is just a city of 12,000 or so, much like Hartsville, SC. In fact, most of the churches represented at this conference were from smaller cities/rural counties, yet had thriving churches in both spirit and in number! Very encouraging to see!
That’s what Significant Church is about… being a close-knit network of life-giving, non-denominational churches in “micropolitan” areas (again, smaller cities/counties) that want to approach ministry a little differently. An observer would see that “this ain’t your grandmother’s church” and is in fact challenging the religious establishment in a productive way. The fruits of this are church members that now have a “home” and a purpose to live out the Gospel in every facet of their lives.
We had the pleasure of listening to Pastors Jim Graff and David Swann who both “head up” Significant Church Network. They were approachable (which is a rare trait for leaders of that sort) and down-to-earth, yet had a deep passion for the lost and seeing their lives turned around towards God! We were also fortunate to hear from other pastors in the Kentucky area that were doing AWESOME things and changing their communities for the better (for Christ!).
Needless to say, this is a great fit for The Living Church and I’m looking forward to seeing this relationship grow even bigger! One of the things we set out to do in planting TLC was to establish good working partnerships with other churches and hope to find a group such as this to fellowship with. Such a blessing to know this organization exists for a church like ours!
Much thanks goes out to Pastor Jerry and Melanie Stone from Life Church Charlotte who told us about Significant Church. They have been great friends to TLC and have blessed us in more ways than one. They feel so strongly about Significant Church that they will be leaving their current ministry to work with them as church planting consultants. Praise God!
Exciting days are ahead with TLC and Hartsville! We’re thankful to the Lord for guiding us along the journey!
In such turbulent times as these, the promotion of “peace” gets bandied about quite a bit. “Financial peace”, “world peace”, “inner peace”, “peace in the middle east”, so-on-and-so-forth. But do we ever really ask ourselves is any of it obtainable? If it is, does it last?
Today I’ll share about the peace I’ve found to be the only real kind out there…
Romans 5:1-8 says:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I chose this particular passage because it demonstrates that peace is not the absence of trouble, but rather the character and strength to deal with it! It is our faith in Jesus Christ that grants us such peace!
This is far different than the kind of peace the world offers! The peace the world knows is temporary… whether it’s peace treaties that never hold up over time, or the “clarity” that eastern religions offer but cannot be sustained.
Jesus said in John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
You would be surprised at the amount of people that NEED TO HEAR this! They worry day-to-day about things that, when put into perspective, are trivial in God’s eyes!
Then there are those that try to make their own kind of peace by building up possessions or accomplishments, when in reality they’re just building up walls to block out their junk!
And of course we also have many who will drown out their sorrows with their cheap vices and petty hopes. This is just as temporary, and just as costly!
Wow… there’s a much better way to live!
Let’s look at God’s kind of peace:
Isaiah 26:3-4 tells us:
He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord! Trust in the Lord God always, for in the Lord Jehovah is your everlasting strength.
It is so much easier to live in humble submission to God and the peace He freely gives us! Why do we even bother fighting it? The thing to remember is that true peace is unobtainable through OUR MEANS!
I am thankful for a God who LOVES ME and wants me to live with peace and joy each and every day of my life. It won’t mean I’ll be without challenges, but instead I’ll know I have Him to empower me to face them head-on!
Remember that satan will ALWAYS be wanting to keep us down and feeling down. It is up to us to decide who to believe about ourselves… the enemy or God Almighty!
Tell someone you know that needs to hear this: that GOD LOVES THEM and that you want them to experience the peace that Jesus freely gives!
Be blessed!
Isn’t it awesome when God makes something from nothing? That’s what happened with this church in a mere 9 months (I’ll spare you the “childbirth” metaphor). It went from a vision that He gave me back in December, to an actual church with real people. Praise the Lord!
I don’t like to throw out attendance numbers all that often, but we did approach the triple digit mark on Sunday! What a wonderful feeling it is to know there are folks out there in this area that have been looking for something like this and have now found it!
Our worship team was awesome on Sunday… really, they were! Greg Dampier has done a heck-of-a job putting together talented individuals that want to serve God with their gifts. My message seemed to be well-received, and I think my illustration with those nice looking CJ’s Bakery cakes certainly didn’t hurt. The setup crew has their routine down, as does our children’s pastor Bethany Strand. Everything seemed to go smoothly, at least for a first official service!
Much thanks goes to Nathan Cline and his team from REVO Church, an upcoming church plant in Winston-Salem, NC, who came down and pitched in behind the scenes with anything they could get theirs hands on. Such a servant’s attitude is something I full appreciate! We also had a team from Life Church Charlotte help out! Everyone was happy to help and that’s good to have for a church launch! Another thanks goes out to David Maisel and the crew at Bojangles of Hartsville for providing the food for the lunch after service! Their chicken, biscuits, and dirty rice was delicious as always.
However, despite how well things went, we know there’s so much more ahead! As the closing song that our worship team did on Sunday says, “Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city…” God is up to something and we’re excited to be a part of it! Use us, Lord!
Wow… time flies when you’re following God (and having fun in the process)! I am so very thankful for everything God (and His people) has done to help make this a reality!
The Living Church’s “launch” (first official worship service) is this Sunday, September 27th, 11:00 am at the Center Theater (212 N. 5th St.) located in downtown Hartsville. Bring your family and friends for what will be a great worship service and time of fellowship!
And don’t forget, Bojangles of Hartsville is providing a FREE lunch for everyone in attendance!
There are times where an inconvenience can turn itself into an advantage. Kind of like being held up in traffic on the way to work, while your favorite song is on the radio. Or when the drive-thru burger joint gets your order wrong, but you got twice as much food.
This is where we stand as a church stand this weekend, as the “Dixie Swim Club” play is performing at the Center Theater, booked solid through Sunday afternoon. We have scheduled our third preview service to fall on Monday night, the 21st, at 7:00 pm.
Now many would say that can create problems, and in some ways it does. If someone who hasn’t read this blog, the church website, my Facebook, their email, checked their voice messages, etc. it’s entirely possible for them to show up Sunday morning and think our third preview service was cancelled. That would stink!
At the same time, this gives other people the opportunity to check us out. Maybe they were out of town the previous two Sundays, or perhaps they’re just not the “morning type”. Regardless of where they’re at Sunday morning, Monday night will be there for such visitors.
This also gives us some extra momentum heading into our launch on Sunday, September 27th! This service will be fresh in everyone’s minds going into work/school the next morning. That translates into more “P.R.” or “word-of-mouth”. This won’t be the only time this happens, although we have 90% of Sundays booked for the next year or two.
We hope you can make it out and be sure to bring your family & friends! Keep praying with us as we get this off the ground!
Gettting Our Act Together (TLC’s First Preview Service this Sunday!)
“Getting your act together” is a phrase that one could use with many applications of life… an addiction, your career, education, relationships, etc. In this case, it’s just us as a church fine-tuning our worship service in preparation for “the launch” (our ‘grand opening’) on September 27th.
The worship band, lights/sound, greeting team, children’s ministry, setup/teardown, and the message, all have to be coordinated and made into a habitual process. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit lends us a hand by being the glue that holds it all in place! We may not have everything down-pat this Sunday, but we believe God will still be able to use us.
While this first preview service isn’t going to be most everybody’s first impression of the church, but it will be for the early core team members and for the lucky ones (the curious public and otherwise) who get to witness a church in it’s infancy. In anything’s early stage of development, you stress the basics and the outline for the future.
This early stage is both beautiful and important… beautiful like a child’s first few years because you see innocence and hope to the core, while it’s growing into the mature adult they’re intended to be. Important because what happens in this period can affect it, beneficially or detrimentally, for the rest of it’s life. That’s where this whole “vision-casting” part comes into play.
This first group of people that grabs hold of the vision we have been given for this church (and on a greater scale, Hartsville and the Pee Dee region), will be most obviously vital in making this effort a success. If they catch it, I’m a visionary sent by God and they’ll “jump on-board” to help see this vision through. If not, I’m just another guy at this new church trying to be different and they end up going elsewhere, or worse, nowhere. By all indications so far however, people have bought what we’re selling and recognize the need for us being here!
It’s an exciting time, simply to know that it will kick off a movement in Hartsville changing lives for the better, forever, and for Christ! So if you’re near the Hartsville, SC area this Sunday… by all means, come join us and experience something that will seem a little out-of-place, but in the end should have been here long ago.
I was asked the other week by Jeff and Oneida Martin, owners of the Southern Candy Kitchen here in Hartsville, to be a guest judge tonight for “Hartsville Idol”. Although just a couple months in existence, this has really turned into a great event, pulling in up to 1,000 in attendance each week!
People have been telling me how it’s a great way to promote the church (and I agree). With that, comes with the recommendation I should tone down any critiques I might have of the 32 contestants that I’ll have the joy (or otherwise) of hearing. I think the thought there is, “Nobody wants to go to a church with a mean preacher!” So, I guess I’ll have to hide my honesty somehow behind a smile and a “bless your heart” attitude (which is common among church circles here in the south!)
With that said, I’ll do my best to give my an encouraging word of advice to them all, because a tone-deaf singer today can always turn into a talented one tomorrow. That gap is made up by giving them the confidence to perfect their craft! However, an encouraging word should be balanced with helpful hints that will aid in their growth.
Regardless, it should be a fun (and interesting) night for all! Come on out and bring the family!
Located at Burry Park (behind Fairfield Inn and Applebee’s) in downtown Hartsville. Starts at 7:00 pm, but get there early to grab a ballot for voting!
