In today's culture, it is easy to lose focus on the things worth fighting for in our lives. The Bible teaches us to honor God. The reason our culture is dishonoring is because people aren't honoring God. The Bible teaches us to "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10 (ESV) It is pretty easy to lose the virtue of honor. The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…” Isaiah 29:13

 Join us this Sunday, July 11th, as we start a new teaching series on the Forgotten Virtues of honor, integrity, loyalty, purity and gratitude. 

On Easter Sunday we started a new teaching series entitled- Supernatural. We are learning about the authority that God has given us over the powers of darkness. We are learning that their is more to this life the what we see.  I am looking forward to this series for many reasons. But the #1 reason -- FLASH MOBS. We are designed by God to be a part of the supernatural through serving. During the next six weeks we will be flash mobbing people with a purpose! A flash mob is when a group of people (usually organized through the internet) show up in a public place, do something random or crazy, and then disappear. We are doing flash mobs with purpose.

Our first mob descended upon the Central Oregon Teen Challenge ministry. They focus on leading people out of addictions through the power of Jesus Christ. At 4:59pm last Friday, there were 150+ people parked all over the neighborhood near the COTC house. When the horn blew, we all mobbed their front yard. They thought they were being rioted! When in fact, they were being blessed. Each mobber placed a $5 bill in a container and then we all disappeared. Awesome fun! Check out our video from Friday night.

We had an awesome weekend at Mission Church! We started a new series called - Supernatural.

       We are believing God for the Supernatural to take place. I also love that this series runs simultaneously with the 50 day journey to Pentecost..the descent of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.  Here are some thoughts from the weekend message:

On Monday evening, I had the opportunity to participate in a Seder dinner...Messianic style:) For those of you unfamiliar with a Seder/Passover meal, let me offer a brief description:

The Passover is the Old Testament feast that celebrates and remembers God's liberation of Israel from Egypt. After Joseph saved Egypt from starvation (Genesis 41), the Israelites lived in Egypt as guests. Eventually, the Egyptians forgot about Joseph and enslaved the Israelites for about 400 years. Overburden with work and mistreatment, the Israelites suffered a great deal and called out to the Lord. God responded to their cry and raised a great leader, Moses, who challenged the Pharaoh and Egypt's power. The book of Exodus explains how God freed His people from Egypt. Because of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, God punished Egypt with ten plagues (Exodus 7-11). During the last plague, God killed all the first-borns-humans and animals-in the land of Egypt. 
God have his people a way to escape the destruction: the blood of a perfect lamb could take the place of the first-born in the family. God gave Moses specific instructions to follow the night that God's punishment passed over the Israelite homes (Exodus 12). The were to sacrifice a perfect lamb and mark their door frames, make unleavened bread, and gather bitter herbs. The Israelites at this meal standing up, ready to leave Egypt at any moment. This celebration is now called the Passover because God "passed over" the homes marked with the lamb's blood. The Passover feast was to be repeated throughout generations as a memorial forever. 

I find this incredibly meaningful as I celebrate the death and resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Check out the significance of the Passover meal with the events of Holy Week:

•  Exodus 12:1-2 - The feast marked a new year, a new beginning for the Israelites. In Christ, every believer is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old is gone and the new has come!
• Exodus 12:5 - A male lamb in its first year was taken into the home on the tenth of Nisan (the first month of the Jewish calendar). While in the home, it was closely inspected to see if there were any blemishes or disfigurements. If it was without defect, it was then sacrificed on the fourteenth of Nisan. Jesus Christ was closely inspected by: Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas. They could find no fault in Him. Christ was the "lamb without blemish or defect.
• Exodus 12:6 - The "whole community" of God's people was required to participate in the sacrifice. Accepting Christ's sacrifice is required for all who want to be part of God's community. (Romans 3:21-26)
• Exodus 12:7, 12-22 - The blood of the sacrificed lamb was applied to the doorframe-the lintel and side posts. Because of the covering of blood, the house was spared from God's plague. Christ shed his blood to rescue His people. We need to be covered, justified by the blood of the Lamb to be rescued from condemnation (Romans 3:25; 5:9). Christ is the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
• Exodus 12:14 - The Passover was to be kept as a remembrance forever. During the Last Supper, Jesus refers to the bread as "my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19
• Exodus 12:46 - God commanded Israel not to break any bones of the sacrificed lamb. To speed up Jesus' death, the Roman soldiers were going to break his legs. However, Jesus was already dead, so his bones remained unbroken (John 19:32-33)

I am always excited to share in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May this Holy Week lead you deeper in the adventure, joy and abundance that Jesus Christ has for you!!

I am reading Real Christianity by William Wilberforce. It was originally published in 1797. I am challenged by this thoughtful and passionate Christ follower whose Biblical worldview and dependence on the Holy Spirit empowered him to champion the abolition of slavery. 

I will most likely write more as I finish this book. But I keep asking myself as I read about this Christian leader who finished well -- What is possible with God? It brings me back to a quote that I have been wrestling with by Francis Chan..."I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit." My heart cry, my desire, my passion is to experience the adventure that God has for my life. I don't want to settle for mediocrity and I don't want to sink into comfort. The solution for all that is broken in our world is Jesus. From health care reform to human trafficking, the hope is Jesus Christ.
I want to pursue the One Hope, the One Truth, the One Way, the One Life. I know that it can only be found in Jesus Christ. As we approach the Easter/Holy Week season, may we all pursue the ONE who can change it all, heal our nation, set the captives free and heal the broken hearted. He is the risen Savior and His Name is Jesus. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to anyone who believes and calls on His Name!

The night before a worship service I am excited!
I am expectant!
I am anxious, curious, hopeful.
I am sometimes stressed but usually prepared.
I am always desiring.
I want creativity, more of the Spirit, more direction and more wisdom from You, Lord. My heart longs for You, God.
My life is in Your hands.
Less of me and more of You, Jesus.

The Lord responds,
"I am holy. I am faithful. I am life and breath and peace. I am the Author and Creator. I am all you'll ever need. I am listening. I hear your cry and I am there to meet the need. I am more than you expected so sleep and wake Redeemed.

Based on a recent blog post by Chris Guillebeau.

I think it is good idea to ask yourself questions. Most people know that I highly value strategy. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18). If you have a strategy for your life, a life development plan, you are constantly evaluating your goals. The best way to update goals is to ask yourself questions. This is how you do it.

First, get by yourself, sit yourself down in one of your favorite places. Get coffee or your drink of choice. Turn off your cell phone, your social networks, the distractions and take it seriously. (Wouldn’t you take another interview seriously?)

I love the story of Moses. God calls Moses to meet the needs of His people. Moses responds with doubt, questions and uncertainty. But he soon realizes that God's call has very little to do with his doubt. God's call is always related to the cry of His people (everyone that walks the face of the earth). God hears our cry and meets our need. 

“The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” Exodus 2:23-25

We are called to community! There is no way around it. Jesus said, "you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. Luke 14

A disciple of Jesus breaks bread. Every day [the disciples] continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes...Acts 2:46  Breaking bread requires commitment. Sometimes it requires extreme commitment. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...Acts 2:42

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20

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Western Christian churches today mark Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, the traditional 40-day period of fasting, prayer and penitence before Easter.

To observe the day, many Christian churches hold services during which the foreheads of the faithful are marked with the sign of the cross with ashes made from last year's Palm Sunday branches as a sign of repentance and reminder of mortality.

When God has placed a dream inside you that only He can make possible, you need to FAST and PRAY. Jesus fasted in the desert. He was tempted by the same voice that had so cunningly whispered to Eve. Yet Jesus responded, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) The Word of God sustained Him through forty days and nights without food. The Son of God fasted because He knew there were supernatural things that could only be released that way. How much more should fasting be a common practice in our lives?

I want to encourage you to commit to Biblical fasting as we continue in the prayer series.  When you obey the Lord, He will reward you!

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew5:6) We are currently in a prayer series at Mission Church. It involves corporate times of prayer, fasting and diving deep into the Word of God. My wife (Heather) and I did a 21 day fast leading into Sunday's message on fasting. The Lord is faithful and fulfills all His promises. Matthew 5:6 is now a promise fulfilled in my life. The promises of God are true. He desires to fill us. When you hunger for God, He WILL fill you.

There is power when God's people pray--
"Is any one of your in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sings songs of praise. 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. 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. 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" (James 5:13-16 NIV)