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Weekend Preview – Church Series

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This coming Sunday, Lord-willing, at Crestview, we’ll begin a new series on The Church: God’s Plan.  Here’s the logo hot off the press.  Some thoughts from the designer:

  1. Christ is at the center of the church.  He founded her and is the goal of the church.  So, you can see the cross over the circle.
  2. The church is made up of all kinds of people.  The children’s song Jesus Loves The Little Children, speaks of “red and yellow, black and white” being precious in God’s sight.  This logo incorporates those colors to remind us that it’s all kinds of people.
  3. The church is global.  You can see the world hovering in the background.  This reminds us that the world is not only the mission of the church but also composes her.

So, I hope you’ll come this Sunday and hear how the church is God’s plan for displaying His glory in the world as this series kicks off from Ephesians 2:18-22.  Hop you have a great weekend.

The Devil’s Advocate

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I’ve struggled a lot with those who like the play “the Devil’s advocate” because I’ve often interpreted this way of thinking to be anti-progress.  It’s felt more like an effort to squelch discussion rather than further the group.  But, I’ve been working on this.  Many years ago (now) I identified this as a trigger for me and have worked on how to respond to this way of thinking and use it to make progress.

I was helped, most recently, by Eric Geiger’s post 3 Better Alternatives to Playing “Devil’s Advocate”.  In particular, he urged these three alternatives to taking up the mantle of “the Devil’s Advocate”:

  1. Anthropologist – thinking about how real people will be impacted.  Take the discussion from heady, ethereal realms to the ground floor, boots on the ground, impact.
  2. Experimenter – consider how something could be tried on a small scale before you explain all the reasons it will fail
  3. Hurdler – quickly recognizing challenges that changes may pose and considering how they can be cleared for the good of the organization

You might drift into the devil’s advocacy.  If that’s how you’re wired, consider these approaches for the good of those you are seeking to serve.

Drops of Jupiter

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So Winter Storm Jupiter has come and gone here in Central KS.  It certainly affected a lot of things over the weekend.  Power was lost in certain places, snow, and travel difficulties happened.  We even cancelled services on Saturday so that our people wouldn’t feel compelled to get out in the middle of the mess.  In some ways, the storm under-delivered.  But, the storm brought all kinds of benefits to me:

  1. I enjoyed my first Sunday out since the middle of June.  That’s right.  It’s been a long stretch of ministry on Sundays happening.  And, being able to step away for a weekend proved fairly refreshing.
  2. We had some good family time at home.  Now, there was no big agenda.  Kids played on devices, watched movies, and read. We got out in the afternoon a bit to drive around and see how things were.  So, that was a fun family time.
  3. All things considered we made the best decision.  I tend to beat myself up at times when a decision is made and can be second-guessed in hindsight, but the reality is that we were warned and asked to not travel unless it was necessary.  The storm could have packed a wallop that would have been problematic for us.  Using that data, we stepped into a decision with all the info we had to serve our people in the best way.  And, it was good.

I hope you survived the weekend.  And, I hope now that it’s ended, you can take time to consider ways that God extended kindness to you through it.  Have a great week.

Master Your Smartphone

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I love technology stuffs.  Life is a lot simpler because smartphones exist.  It’s part of the world we live in.  However, many are ruled by their devices and not ruling their devices.  Recently, Tony Reinke (who has a forthcoming book on 12 Ways Your Smartphone Is Changing You) gave these 5 tweets on smartphone tips he finds helpful (and they helped me, so I’m trying to help you).

  1. Remember smartphones boost productivity, and too much smartphone time kills it. Find your sweet spot on the bell curve (and stay there).
  2. Disable all non-essential push notifications. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email. You can check in when it’s convenient.
  3. Delete apps for everything you can do faster and easier from your computer. For fun, disable email on your phone for one week.
  4. At your computer, batch-check social media (like with email). Try not to swan dive into a stream-based social media site alone.
  5. Master of your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” features. Set quiet hours from between 1hr before bed and through the end of your morning devos.

Hope these prove helpful as you navigate your mastering of your devices.

Weekend Recap – Meditate

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My 1/8/17AM sermon from Crestview Bible Church entitled Meditate is now online.  The sermon wrapped up our church’s Week of Prayer by encouraging people to be those who take in God’s Word.  Specifically, I reminded my listeners that reading God’s Word doesn’t make you a believer in Jesus, you should probably slow down and meditate more, as well as showing how the Bible’s end game is equipping us for good works.

We had Small Group last night and used Paul Tripp’s article 5 Reasons to Read the Bible in 2017 in our discussion.  I hope your Sunday was profitable.

Gospel Friday – Snow

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I love winter.  It’s easily my favorite season because it has Christmas and snow.  Therefore, I thought I’d use the January momentum to remind you of how pure white Jesus has made you.  He offers free and full forgiveness.  Praise Him today for forgiving sin and though your sins were as scarlet, He’s made them white as snow.

Weekend Preview – Into Word 2017

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At Crestview, our rhythm is to follow up our Week of Prayer with a sermon related to the importance of the intake of God’s Word.  So, this coming Sunday, my sermon will encourage us to meditate on God’s Word.  Somewhat related to this rhythm is new Sunday School classes kicking off.  Tom Dixon will be leading the adult class on Theology Proper.  We have new curriculum rolling out for students, as well.

Some other tools our body finds helpful are:

The Bible Eater Plan

The Discipleship Journal Reading Plan

Don Whitney’s Bible Reading Record

Tabletalk Magazine

New Song for January 2017 – All Glory Be To Christ

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Our new song at Crestview for January 2017 is All Glory Be To Christ.  Here’s a video…

Here’s the awesome lyrics to this song:

Verse 1
Should nothing of our efforts stand, no legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house in vain, its builders strive
To you who boast tomorrow’s gain, tell me what is your life
Amist that vanishes at dawn, all glory be to Christ
Chorus 1
All glory be to Christ our King, all glory be to Christ
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing, all glory be to Christ
Verse 2
His will be done, His kingdom come, on earth as is above
Who is Himself our daily bread, praise Him the Lord of love
Let living water satisfy the thirsty without price
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, all glory be to Christ
Chorus 2
All glory be to Christ our King, all glory be to Christ
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing, all glory be to Christ
Verse 3
When on that day the Great I am, the faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain, is making all things new
Behold our God shall live with us, and be our steadfast light
And we shall e’re His people be, all glory be to Christ
Chorus 3
All glory be to Christ our King, all glory be to Christ
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing, all glory be to Christ
CCLI Song # 7008232
Dustin Kensrue
2012 We Are Younger We Are Faster Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc)

Weekend Recap – Week of Prayer Kickoff

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My 1/1/17 sermon at Crestview entitled Constant in Prayer is now online.  Prayer, even your devotion to prayer, isn’t enough to make you a Christian, after all, we’re not saved by works, otherwise we’d boast (Ephesians 2:9).  But, those who are new creations in Jesus are characterized by a devotion to prayer.  In this sermon, I sought to showcase this idea and remind my hearers that it is a commitment to which we must give ourselves.  I hope it proves helpful.

Gospel Friday – New Creations in Christ

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New Year.  Newness.  Freshness.

Hear the amazing news of what is yours in Jesus:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

So, if you are a believer, all of this newness, freshness, life, and vitality is yours because of Jesus.  You are in Him and with Him the old has passed away; the New defines you.