Fathers Of The Faith

Yesterday I attended a "Fathers Of The Faith" conference where we all sat in a ballroom at a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh and had a conversation with what many consider fathers of our faith. There were only two fathers who attended yesterday. Henry Blackaby and John Perkins. Both excellent authors and powerful communicators. There were several truths I took away from the conference but the one thing God specifically gave me was that pastors should write when they feel God leading them into a truth from His Word. God's word is the most important book you could ever read. It tells you who God is! If you love action and adventure, the Bible is for you. If you are a romantic, the Bible is for you. The Bible is for all people because God's Word is unique in that the God of the universe fashioned it for all people. God is the only author who could do this because He alone is our creator. He knows exactly what will catch our attention. But more than that, God loves us and gave us His Word as a gift.

Pastors aren't the only ones who should write! If God is giving you an insight into His Word YOU should write about it! Then share it so we can grow from it as well!

So my goal here is to write an insight from God's Word that I feel He is laying on my heart-Once a week. I hope many of you will come and read as we dive into truth. And just like Jesus said, the truth will make you free...if you will accept it into your life!

-Brad

What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

Last night at youth group we ended our series on "What It Means to be a Christian". We went through five passages from God's word that teach what a Christian is.

1. Romans 3:23 : For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Christians realize that they are sinners just like everyone else. Some Christians forget that they are sinners but those who truly follow after Jesus know they they are the worst sinners who have been set free by Jesus! There's no difference, EVERYONE who was born on this earth is a sinner. We are born into the sinful nature of man. Therefore we are condemned to Hell because of sin...but wait there is HOPE!

2. Ephesians 2:8-9: 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Because of sin we are condemned but God, because of his love for us, sent Jesus to bear our sin on the cross. There is nothing we can do. We can't earn our way into heaven. Only God can make us right with Him through Jesus. God came and gave us an undeserved gift-Salvation through Jesus. That's called GRACE!

3. John 14:6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the ONLY WAY to be made right with God. There is no other way. The world teaches that there are many ways to connect to "god". But the Bible teaches us that Jesus is the only way to be connected to the ONE TRUE GOD, our Creator! Jesus Himself, fully God and fully man, said that HE was the ONLY WAY! You can't earn your salvation. You can't be accepted because your mom was "religious". You can't get in because you are "good person". JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY!

4. Luke 13:3: I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Unless we first agree with God and admit that we are sinners we can't be accepted into God's family. We must first agree with God that we are a sinful. Did anyone ever have to teach you how to lie? No it is our sinful nature that teaches us to live in sin. Then we must repent of that sin and turn away from it. We must turn 180 degrees away from our sin and ask Jesus to forgive us for it. He will forgive us. 1 John 1:9 says If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. So even when we fall back into sin, we can still repent and God will be faithful to forgive us if we truly repent. We must not live in sin even though God will forgive us. We must strive to be like Jesus who was perfect. That is why we need him. He lived a perfect sinless life and He imparts that life to us when we simply, BELIEVE!

5. John 1:12: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. When we simply believe in Jesus, that God sent Him to the earth to live a perfect life, go to the cross and bear our sin and shame through his death, and then be raised from the dead demonstrating the power of God to break the bondage of sin and death and offer new life to anyone who will believe, God credits that "faith" as righteousness and we are accepted into His family! When we put our faith in Jesus God doesn't see our sin anymore, He sees His son and credits Jesus' righteousness to US! Praise God!

That's what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is a person who puts Jesus Christ first in their life by admitting they are a sinner, putting their faith in Jesus Christ through the grace of God, realizing Jesus is the ONLY way to be connected to God, and repenting of their sin turning 180 degrees away from it turning to Jesus for direction. That person is then given the righteousness of Jesus through their faith and they become a Child of God.

If you want to become a Christian you simply need to do four things. I call this the ABC's of being made right with God and becoming a follower of Jesus!

1. Admit and Agree with God that you are a sinner.

2. Believe that Jesus came to this earth both fully man and fully God, went to the cross and took your sin and shame upon Himself and forgave that sin through he shedding of his innocent, sinless blood and was raised on the third day overcoming the power of sin, death. When you believe this you become a child of God and have an inheritance as that child of God-Eternity in heaven with God!

3. Confess your sins to God and turn 180 degrees away from it. Walk in the light of Jesus. When you fall down and sin again, repent and and move on. God will forgive you every time.

4 Commit to following God. Read His word, pray, spend time with God. He made you to know Him so spend time with Him. Commit to following after Him and do what His word says...if you do, you will know what it means to live your life in true freedom. You will also experience God's blessing that follows all those who obey Him!

I'm looking forward to our next series called "Hope, When Life Hurts Most."

Production

Just met with a new friend about an in-house production we are doing at New Life for a really powerful relationship series in the fall. I am so pumped to work with my new friend who used to live in LA authoring DVD's for us so we could watch them at home! He also made a feature film and several short films...so I am pretty stoked he is working with us on this project! It will be completey shot in HD and it is going to be powerful. If you are interested in getting a copy let me know! We won't be releasing the resource until after it has been tested at New Life this fall! It will be availalbe after that! Keep watching for more updates as we begin work on the production...we may post some bloopers up as well! The project is called: "Building Relationships That Last". See you soon!

NEW TESTAMENT CHALLENGE BEGINS THIS WEEK!

I am so pumped up! This week we begin our adventure in the New Testament. If you come all 9 weeks of the NTC you will have read through the whole new testament assuming you do the daily readings for the 63 days of our challenge. We also begin our small groups next week! So excited! See you at New Life this week and for the next 9 weeks! Keep checking out our facebook page, tweets and Pastor Chris's blog for daily updates!

Peace.

PUMPED UP!

Tonight at youth group we are continuing in our series entitled: "What Is A Christian?" So many times I think we forget what it really means to be a Christian...It's simple really: A christian is one who follows Jesus Christ! We are going in depth into five verses that lead us to the cross and to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins so that we can live free for Him every day. I am really pumped to see what God teaches us tonight as we talk about sin and it's grip on man. However, if Jesus is in our heart there is no longer a grip of sin, only a grip of grace!

So pumped...

Moved...

God has really touched my heart through the writing of a man named Oswald Chambers. Many of you probably know him for his writings in "My Utmost for His Highest" and today God touched me through the daily reading for December 29. Wow. This is something I have really been working through in my life right now. What about you?

When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must "walk in the light" of that vision ( 1 John 1:7 ). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t "walk in the light" of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the "heavenly vision" ( Acts 26:19 ) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, "Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?" You have to "walk in the light" of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the "heavenly vision," do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— ". . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" ( Luke 12:15 ). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.

Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.

Wow.

I Will Not Be Silent...NO!

So, I was reading through the Christmas story in Luke 1 and 2. (Well I guess the real Christmas story isn't in Luke 1 but the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah are there.  Elizabeth and Zechariah are the parents of John the Baptist whom God gave the honor of preparing the way for Jesus here on this earth!  Man...what an awesome thing to be blessed with that kind of honor! 

Before John was born though, his father Zechariah had a prophecy that he shared.  He began to speak of the coming of Jesus and what that would mean for mankind!  But in his prophecy he said one thing that really stands out to me:  "We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live." Luke 1:74-75

It's pretty awesome that we who know Jesus have been rescued from our enemies (sin and death) and we can serve God without fear because Jesus overcame death and sin and now offers forgiveness and eternal life in heaven for all who believe!  There is nothing to fear in Jesus because Jesus has overcome fear for us.  Jesus has become our righteousness because He lived a perfect life.  So the prophecy Zechariah gave about Jesus is truth that we can stand on!  Jesus connects us to God and allows us to serve Him without fear and with holiness that Jesus covers us with when we believe and call on His name!  Not just for today and tomorrow but for as long as we live!!!!  That is a blessing that I praise God for!  I do not have to fear coming before God because when God sees me, he actually sees Jesus' righteousness!  All because I believe.

So here is my question:  Since we have been rescued from our enemies and can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live, what is holding YOU back? 

Jesus is for ALL who will believe, not just for some... Are you ready to be set free today?  Are you ready to tell others about a God who loves and has given it all for them?  Are you ready to tell them without fear...because God is in control and we have overcome all fear through Jesus... Are you ready to enter heaven with friends of yours that are in heaven because of you?  Are you ready?

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The Emerging Church or Jesus' Church?

Mark Driscoll really hit the nail on the head with this video.  I know there is a lot of question about the "emerging church" out there and this video is just an amazing resource of information from a guy who was there since the beginning.  Mark states exactly what I know about the emerging church and he is in the same place I am.  I really appreciate his careful preparation and teaching about a subject that is very controversial for the Big "C" church!

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A Thought From The Movie 300

In the movie 300 King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) says something that I find pretty interesting. He was leaving to fight a war against Xerxes, a Persian, for the freedom of Sparta and Greece, when on his way to battle was met by some Arcadian soldiers. The leader of the Arcadians said that they had come to fight alongside Leonidas and the Spartans for the freedom of Greece. Leonidas looks over the large group of soldiers and asks one of them, "Soldier, what is your occupation?" The soldier responds "I am a potter." He asks yet another "Soldier what is your occupation?" He responds "A sculptor." And one more Leonidas asks "Soldier what is your occupation?" "A blacksmith, sir." The solider responds. Leonidas looks at the leader of the Arcadians and says "It seems, today, that I have brought more soldiers than you!" Leonidas had 300 soldiers that had trained for their whole life to be warriors. He knew that his group of men could out fight the 1000's of men the Arcadians brought.

I thought that was an interesting scene because I have been thinking a lot lately about focus. When we focus on one thing or a very small number of things in our lives we will find our lives to be very successful in those areas. As a follower of Jesus, I have been given spiritual gifts and if I don't develop those specific gifts and use them for Jesus then I am not going to be the most effective I can be. I have a gift that someone else doesn't have. Others have gifts that I don't have. That is what makes the body of Christ, the church, so powerful. Each of us contributes to the body in specific ways that no other person can contribute. So wherever God has you right now, use the spiritual gifts He has given you to bring glory to God and advance His kingdom! When we focus on what God has given us right now, I believe He will honor that and begin to open new doors for us to focus and serve. Even in ways we might not think or imagine!

Just a thought.

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For Those Of You Who Think the Bible Is Boring

For those of you who think there is nothing at all exciting in the Bible, check this passage out from 2 Kings 9:30-37.

The Death of Jezebel An Evil Queen

   

   ³⁰ When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. ³¹ When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, “Have you come in peace, you murderer? You’re just like Zimri, who murdered his master!”^[a]

   ³² Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³ “Throw her down!” Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves.

   ³⁴ Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said, “Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her feet, and her hands.

   ³⁶ When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, “This fulfills the message from the Lord, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: ‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s body. ³⁷ Her remains will be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her.’”

God said that her body would be like crap on the ground!!!  All because she lived an evil life, promoted evil through her actions, and openly tried to destroy God's followers!  God is so Holy that he can't even be in the presence of sin let alone put up with it.  PRAISE GOD FOR JESUS!  Because with out his sacrifice on the cross and forgiveness of my (and anyone believes in Him and calls on the name of the Lord) sin, I would be like crap laying on the ground too!!!!

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Big Daddy Weave Rocks

Sam and I went to a concert tonight featuring Francesca Batistelli, Big Daddy Weave, and Newsong.  Man, Big Daddy Weave rocks.  I have always known that, but hearing them live for the first time was amazing.  I got to talk to Mike Weaver (Big Daddy Weave) after the show.  What an awesome, laid back dude.  He loves Jesus and his song writing is absolutely God driven.  The Spirit of God is on this man and his band.  I also talked to his brother Jay Weaver.  Jay and I and my wife all talked for about 20 minutes or so.  5 minutes on the music business and 15 minutes on Disney World.  Turns out, He loves Disney as much as Sam and I do.  (And that is a lot!) Every time he gets a chance he takes his family and goes.  Jay was awesome to talk to.  Calm and laid back just like his brother...Jay is the bass player in the band, and man he is tight.  The whole band rocks.  They are so tight, and yet they live several hours from each other except for two of them.  That brings back memories of life on the road for rehearsal with LJ.  It was really great to talk to them and get to know them.  Big Daddy Weave has been one of my favorite bands of all times.  I can't wait to see them and talk to them again.  PS...They are awesome worship leaders.  I was a bit disappointed, though, that they only had 6 songs in the entire show... :(  I want to see them lead a whole worship concert!  Ok I am done.  Big Daddy Weave's Website  (More to come tomorrow on their recording techniques...very interesting...gives me much hope!

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Trying Flock

 I have been thinking there was a really good aggregator out there that could bring together all the social media applications into one bright and shiny program.  So, I began the search.  I came across flock, created by Mozilla (Firefox), which seems to be pretty neat!  In fact, I am writing this blog right in the Blog editor from the browser.  This is really cool.  Flock let's you update Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and any RSS feeds you may have all from one place, all while surfing the web.  Pretty cool.  I haven't used it enough yet to say whether it is stable but so far it is really impressive.  More to come as I get familiar with Flock.  You can download it here!

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TOBY TO THE MIZACC!

Tonight we are taking students to go see TOBYMAC AND RELIANT K! WOOT! WOOT! We are going to have such a blast! Maybe we'll see you there!

New Blog Style, New Post

So here we go on a new blog adventure. I am going to attempt to blog consistantly this time around and I am going to focus on truth as the driving force of the media you will find on this page. Like it or not, it doesn't matter what you believe...it matters what's true. Think about that for a minute. More to come later!

It Has Been A While

I know it has been quite a while since I blogged! Life has been crazy busy lately, but I thank God for each and every step! I just got back from a Mission Trip to Guadalupe, Mexico! We worked at Tapestries of Life. Tapestries has been been building an orphanage in the Chihuahua Desert for 10+ years, completely built by the church! I am so pumped that God allowed me to be apart of that! How awesome that is! I will blog more about the trip later this week! God is so good! It was amazing to see his awesome power put an amazing building, but more than that ministry, in the middle of the desert! Wow!

Praise God!

Update!

Our fears have been relieved by Jesus and He alone! My father doesn't have cancer in his brain! The doctor's actually said that the area where he thought the cancer would be was actually smaller than normal, which is a good thing!!!! Praise Jesus! I know there was a lot of prayer going up for my Dad and I am so thankful to God for hearing those prayers and touching my father.

You see, here is the miracle: My Dad's grandfather died from a brain tumor that metastasized. My Dad's dad died from a brain tumor that metastasized to his lungs. So the next logical step to think was that my Dad had a brain tumor that was metastasized or metastasizing! But praise God nothing was found in that area! That is a good thing! The doctors are still looking for reasons why some of the levels in my Dad's blood are low, but we trust that it will be an easy find and fix because God has touched my Dad.

God is good...all the time. Aww Yeah!!!!!!!!!!

Please Pray for my Dad!

Please pray for my father who is going to get test results tomorrow about whether or not he has a tumor in his brain and if so if it is malignant or benign.  Pray that 1st there is no tumor because God has removed it through his mighty power.  Pray 2nd that if that is not God's will that the tumor will be benign and able to be removed quickly and easily!  I believe that God can heal my father.  I believe that if it is His will, He will do it.  Show your glory Lord!  In Jesus name.  

Thank you to all who have been and will continue to pray!

Brad

So Happy!

Hi everyone!

I am so happy to be back and ready to roll! God is doing awesome things at New Life and at Relevant and I am pumped for what He is going to do! I will be back to blogging regularly as I now have time to do so. I need to always make sure I listen to God and what He wants for me. Not what I "think" He wants for me. How do you do that? Prayer and reading His word. As well as WAITING on Him to answer. I will no longer rush into "opportunities" without really seeking His direction!

God is astonishing.

More posts coming soon!

Ready For A Challenge?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506849,00.html

Click the link above to read a study that was just completed that researched the faith base of American culture. Many people do not believe in anything! And those who do believe in something do not believe in a God who cares about them and their needs, just some "higher power". How lost are we going to remain? The Barna group just published a very discouraging number regarding those who hold a Biblical worldview. The story was introduced with this paragraph:

If Jesus were to ask, “Who do you say I am,” the question He famously asked his disciple Peter, He would be disappointed by some of the answers He’d receive from contemporary Americans.

The number of those who were found to hold a Biblical worldview in the total number of adults being represented in America is a startling 9%. HELLO??? That should be like a huge smack in the face! It is no wonder the US is experiencing distress, anxiety, and failure. When God is not at the center, there can only be chaos and confusion! If Jesus were to come back right now, I feel that he might say "Hey Church, wake up and do your freaking job!" Just as his disciples fell asleep at the watch, I sense that the church, at large, has fallen asleep at the wheel and is about to crash!

We need to wake up and walk with God putting Him first and watch what He does on our behalf. God will never live among people who reject Him and will never bless those who turn their face away from Him. If we (the church) would wake up and follow the direction of God's leading, you would not believe how much the economy would grow. You would not believe how victorious, in all areas, we would be. Most importanlty you couldn't stop the amount of people being saved from Hell because God would be the one working among us!

Where God leads, we need to follow. When God directs, we need to listen. When God calls, we need to act. I believe that God is calling right now... what will your response be?

It starts with each of us. If we truly believe that God sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins, are forgiven through the His blood shed on the cross, and have the promise of eternal life with God in Heaven through the perfect life Jesus lived then we should desire to live for God for what He has done for us! Let's get real in our relationship with Him. Put Him first in all we do. Let Him lead. After all, he was the one who designed and created everything, including financial systems. Wherever God's people live for Him there is peace and order. Wherever they shy away there is pain and loss. Let us live for God. Let us put Him first. Let the church change that 9% to 100%. Let the church rise up and reach those who have not heard of the saving grace of Jesus. Let the church do its job. When that happens look what the blessing will be:

Leviticus 26:3-9 (NLT)
3 “If you follow me and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land.
6 “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. 7 In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword.
9 “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. 10 You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! 11 I will live among you, and I will not despise you. 12 I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.

We will need to pray for even more workers to go out into the world!!!! So let us rise up and follow our great and glorious God. He is calling...what will your response be?

Planing Retreat Day 3

I know, I know...what happened to day 2... well, so much amazing planning happened that I was so beat to update you all. This has been an amazing time of planning, site development, and awesome fellowship together! I have learned so much that I didn't know about each staff member and it has just been an amazing time of challenge to determine God's direction for our church!!! What an awesome experience this has been. I can't thank God enough for this opportunity to be serving at New Life right here and right now!

There has been so much planning and strategic vision casting for the future of New Life that to write it all down on here would take up 10 pages (and we aren't even close to done)! Praise God for his amazing leadership this week. Thanks for praying and keep praying as we continue to plan and develop the plans of our mission strategy and short, mid and long term goals and objectives!

Today we developed the rough draft of our site plan, building plan, and outside design of the building. Praise God. This building has no wasted space and it will be the most amazing tool God could ever possibly allow us to develop to reach the Saxonburg and region for Jesus! I can't wait for you all to see what has been developed. (Pat Morgan was our architect and he was the most humble and amazing man I could have ever expected to work with. He has designed so many churches and today he helped us to make our building the most efficient and effective it could be! What an amazing dude. He is going to Juarez tomorrow on a mission trip so please pray for his safety, especially now as Juarez is very volatile with drug wars!)

This is ridiculously awesome!

Peace.