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Recap of NOVO 2020

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Last week, I had the privilege of attending the NOVO Renewal Experience at the Austin Stone in Austin, TX. It’s difficult to recount the meaning of times like this in the life of a busy pastor, but I’ll try.

First of all, what a blessing to be with the body at the Austin Stone. Long have I admired Matt Carter and his leadership. Aaron Ivey and their worship team have served me at various conferences and camps. The day began with this team shepherding us into the day. I was a guest to a gathering of their staff. And, both Matt and Aaron created an environment that was conducive to retreating to be with the Lord.

Ray Ortlund spoke in the AM on enduring faithfully to the end in ministry (from 2 Timothy 4:1-5). Among many other lessons, I walked away encouraged to live and lead out of a gentle courage, so embodied by Ray. And, hearing Ray, who is one of my heroes, in a live setting like this, was a blessing.

In the afternoon, Ray, Matt, and Aaron walked us through a smaller group time of Q and A, where we peppered them with questions. There were so many practical issues related to ministry that were developed throughout this time. One lesson I pulled from it was a reminder to work on the culture of our churches.

Finally, that night, Ray and his wife Jani gave a talk on staying faithful for the long haul (related to marriage). There were so many small takeaways related to caring for your spouse and not letting time, kids, or others interrupt this.

I came into this pretty drained and empty in the tank. And, I genuinely walked away refreshed by the fellowship, the Word, and the singing. What a great time. I’m grateful to so many who enabled this to be a blessing for me.

Weekend Recap – Recovering Balance

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My 2/16/2020 sermon at Crestview, Recovering Balance (2 Samuel 15), is now online. This sermon continued to dig into the story of Absalom and his coup of David’s attempt. I made attempts to apply these principles to our lives while keeping sight of the overarching Biblical storyline in view. I hope this sermon could bring you some encouragement and help you live what you believe. This would be especially helpful if you are going through struggles and need encouragement.

Weekend Recap – Deceptive Schemes

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My 2/9/2020 AM sermon at Crestview, Deceptive Schemes (2 Samuel 14), is now online. Chapter 14 is really a transition out of 13 into 15 (obviously). The challenge related to what could be applied and what related to David’s story (and the building of Absalom’s character). In the end, I dug into the schemes and deception that Joab and Absalom engaged in to get their respective ways. I hope it encourages you.

Weekend Recap – Sin’s Consequences

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My 2/2/2020 AM sermon at Crestview entitled Consequences of Sin (2 Samuel 13) is now online. This might be one of the most difficult passages I’ve had to handle in my years of ministry. I handled it because we are committed to God’s Word and the assurance we have that all of Scripture is profitable. In particular, this passage helped unfold some consequences of David’s sin with Bathsheba. Being able to consider what this means for our lives, while at the same helping see how this section fits with the overall story of David and the Bible is how I tried to proceed. I hope there’s something here for your encouragement.

Weekend Recap – Restoring Grace

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My 1/26/2020 AM sermon at Crestview, Restoring Grace (2 Samuel 12 and Psalm 51), is now online. This sermon dug into how God brought David back to Himself after the sin of 2 Samuel 11. Specifically, God’s grace expresses His displeasure of sin, causes us to own our sin, restores us to service, and provokes honest worship. I hope there’s some encouragement for you in these words.

New Project from Billy and Cindy Foote – World Burning Down

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I have a long history with and love for Billy and Cindy Foote. They are probably most known for songs like You Are My King and Sing To The King. In the early 2000s, we were privileged to do many camps with them. And, Billy’s latest project is straight fire and by that, I mean straight prophetic awesomeness about the mess the church has become in the West. From the focus on money to celebrity culture, to doing all kinds of things under the guise of “church,” Billy tries to use his music to help draw us back to a wiser, Biblical way.

This project has 6 tracks:

  1. All The Wolves
  2. The Church
  3. The Things He Could Have Done
  4. Sunday Morning Show
  5. World Burning Down
  6. Dear Ordinary Pastor

(Links are to some lyric videos so you can get a sense of the “heaviness” of this project)

You can get it where you download/purchase digital music: Apple/iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or Amazon Music.

Please check out and support this new project. I would highly recommend it.

Weekend Recap – Displeasing the Lord

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My 1/19/20 AM sermon at Crestview Bible Church entitled Displeasing the Lord (2 Samuel 11) is now online. This sermon dug into the famous narrative of David and Bathsheba. Some call this David’s great sin. In this sermon, I tried to show how the downward spiral into sin happens. So, this was a heavy sermon (since we all sin). I hope this sermon provides some grace for you.

Weekend Recap – Red Letters Everywhere

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Like I mentioned last week, at Crestview, one of the helpful rhythms we have relates to starting the year with a Week of Prayer. On the heels of this week highlighting how we speak to God, we typically follow up with a sermon on how God speaks to us or the importance of the Bible. This is meant to rekindle joy and that some will engage in Bible intake with more regularity.

This year, my friend Kole Farney gave these two messages and they were so helpful. Yesterday, January 12, 2020, Kole’s sermon was entitled Red Letters Everywhere: Bible Reading As Listening to Jesus. He made the case from John’s Gospel that anytime we open up our Bibles and read, we are reading Jesus’ words. What a blessing to be able to start the year in this way. I hope you’ll engage with Kole’s sermon and find grace as you live this year.

Some resources Kole mentioned were:

The Dwell Bible App (the audio Bible app many use)

I love some Bible reading plans, too:

Don Whitney’s Check Off Sheet

The Bible Eater Plan

The Discipleship Journal Plan

Week of Prayer 2020

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Each year, our church begins with a Week of Prayer. It’s our way of saying, there are some basics that we constantly need to be reminded of. It’s the equivalent of helping your teenager remember to tidy up their room. Prayer is so essential to the life of the church because the posture of prayer is the essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Prayer is saying, “I’m not God and I can’t fix this, help me.” So, each year, around the start of the year, we begin with this rhythm.

This year, I asked my friend, Kole Farney, to serve us with a sermon on prayer. He chose Psalm 130 as his text and help us understand something about how needy we are and who God is. I hope you’ll listen to his sermon Wait for the Lord.

Kole also wrote a week of prayer devotional for our body. It’s so encouraging. Why don’t you take some time this week and join us in admitting that we can’t fix anything and we need God? You’ll find Him ready to draw near to you as you draw near to Him.

Weekend Recap – On Kings and Kingdoms

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My 12/29/19 AM sermon, On Kings and Kingdoms (Reviewing 2019), dug into many of the truths we looked at in 2019 and even back into the previous decade at Crestview. The sermon itself helped remind us how earthly leaders will often disappoint, they can be so promising, but only Jesus fulfills what we truly long for and deeply need. Therefore, we should labor to trust Him. I hope all of this encourages you as we wrap up this year.