Outside the Box

Are you a person of routine? Most of us are. I know that I am. When my routine is off it seems to throw everything off and I have a hard time dealing with it. The thing is that many times we have become routine in church work as well. We like everything to remain the same and move as it has seen we first came in the church. So many people are hesitate about change, but the truth is that we in the church need to change. If we are going to be the church that God wants us to be, a church that can reach our world with His message then we have to change the way we do things.

  Now you maybe asking why do we need to change? Today less that 40% of Americans attend weekly worship on a regularly bases and out of that only 20% go to a protestant church. That means that 80% of Americans either do not attend church at all or they are of another faith. In the last ten years the average teenager that attends church has went down by half. At this moment in our country we have more people that know nothing about the Bible and Jesus than ever before in our history. Weather we want to admit it or not the church as a whole is in decline. If ever there was a time for change it is not.

 Now when I talk of change I am in know way talking about change the message or watering it down. The message can not and must not ever change. What can change though is the method by which we take that message to the world. The day of opening the front doors of the church and waiting for people to come in is over. Most people think nothing about attending church. We the church have to think “Outside of the Box”. We have to become innovative in our approach to spreading the Word of God. We have to allow the Spirit of God to make us creative so that we can take the gospel out and reach every generation.

  At South Decatur we are praying and seeking God for ways in which we can think Outside the Box. Working on ways in which we can become more relevant in an ever changing world. Through our Children’s Ministry and our Youth ministry we hope to reach a lost generation of children and young adults. Through our Music ministry we hope to become all things to all men and reach across generational lines to bring everyone into a mode of worship. There is a great challenge before the church and we have to step up to that challenge and do all that we can to make sure that everyone person is presented the gospel in way that they can receive it.

God of Creation

I was on vacation in Flordia last week with my family. One morning as I stood on the balcony of our seventeen floor condo I look out over the ocean and begin to think of how beautiful it was. I begin to think about what the land must have looked like before people came on the scene. I mean before malls, hotels, resturants, and all the other little shops that filled the beachfront. I mean have you ever just stepped back and look at the beautiful world that God created. I mean we celebrate the sixth chapel that was paint by Micheal Angelo but the great master piece of all times is the world that we live in. I mean it cause me to realize that God is not just strong and mighty but He is a God of beauty and creativity. Looking at the colors of the ocean, and the white sand that came to it, and all the tree that would have surrounded it. When you see it then you realize that God is an awesome God.

  Then I realized that God did all of this for us. So that we could enjoy the beauty of this world, and we could live in a glorious place and be surrounded by all of God’s creation. When you look at all that God has done it causes an awe to come over you, and you realize, He truly is a GREAT GOD.

Looking Too And Fro

2 Chronicles 16:9 says “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”

What an awesome thought that is to think that God is moving through out the world looking for people that He can show Himself to. I mean the God of the universe that made the stars, and the planets is looking for people that He can come to and reveal His glory to. The question we have to ask is what does it take for us to become that person that has a heart that is perfect toward him?

  Jesus said the congregation on the mount, “Those that hunger and thrist after righteousness shall be filled”. James said that if we “draw nigh unto God; He would draw nigh unto us”.In Exodus 33 we see where Moses is asking God to let him know Him in a greater way. In his hunger to know God more personally he provokes a response from God and God tells him there is a place beside me. David in Psalms 91 calls it a secret place where we dwell under the shadow of the almighty. The things is that when we are hungry for more of God then He always responses. Because the truth is that God wants to reveal Himself to His people. He longs to bless us and He longs to fellowship with us, but the problem is that we have lost our hunger to know Him. In a society where we have very little want we have come to be content with the little amount of God we know. The truth is that desperation is what brings us closer to God. When we are desperte to know Him and want nothing else then He will come to where we are and work on our behalf.

May we regain our hunger for God.

The Fight of a Life Time

Starting this Sunday (June 7) we will be going into a new series called “The Fight of Your Life”. For the next four weeks we will be dealing with the spiritual fights that we all have to face through out our life. Here are a looks at the topic for the next four weeks:

How to Fight the devil–This is a message that deal with the fact that there are going to be times when you are going to have to fight. And in order to do that then you need to know how to fight and what is expected of you. There is a way for the Christian to fight and win every single time.

Fight Night–What do you do during those seasons of life where it seems that you are fight against everything at once. Where nothign is going right, and everything is coming against you. You have to learn how to stay off the rope and protect yourself, and come out punching.

Street Fighting–Fighting the devil is done best in packs, and in this message we are going to learn the hard facts about how to survive a good old fashion street fight. Because the truth is the devil never fights fair and he never fights alone, so bring your boys and let’s get it on.

The Ultimate Fighter–This series is about being shape to fight. Preparation is the key to success and we have to be prepare for anything that the devil throws our way. The only way that we can do this is by making sure that we are training and that we are in top spiritual shape.

So come and be apart of the Fight Series. If you can’t make it then listen to each sermon at www.southdecaturchurch.com

Priorities

Let’s be honest for must of us we struggle with keeping our priorities in line. We want to, and we know what should be the most important things to us, but without knowing it other things in life come along and compete for our attention. Tonight we launch our series on “The Vow” and we begin with The Vow of Priorities.

  In our relationships we have to come to understand who is the one. For some people there spouse is the one. For others they lived a “Child Center Existence” and their children are number one. For some it is there career, they status in the community, or their hobbies. The truth is that there should only be one number one that is the Lord Jesus. The first command that He gave his people “You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3″. If our priorities are going to be right then we have to have God as the one.

 After that the bible teaches us that our spouse must be number two. After God we have to put our spouse and their needs as the second most important thing in our life. God tells Adam to “leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife”. Before marriage the Biblical order is God first, parents second but once we get married that shifts and our spouse becomes the most important personal relationship in our life. When this is the order of our life then things are working in a Godly way but when this priority is undone or messed up then life become our of order. More than half of marriage will not make it past the 15 years mark and the problem that all of them face is that one or both of those involved have their priorities mixed up.

  We must make that GOD IS NUMBER ONE AND OUR SPOUSE IS NUMBER TWO.

Check out the message for this at www.southdecaturchurch.comon our sermonflow page.

Such Power in the Blood

 Today most of us serve God in what is the modern church. Even in Pentecostal churches the church has become more mainstream, educated, refine, and has more resources. Nothing wrong with any of those things. But I fear that as we move forward, we are teaching people how to live a happier life and how to keep more money in their pocket, but are we failing to give them the power to overcome sin in their lives. Have we trained the power of the blood for the message of itching ears that keeps God people laughing powerlessly while the enemy takes more ground. Don’t get me wrong I have no axe to grind and believe that God’s church has many different ways in which it can reach people. My fear is that why we are working so hard to become relevant in this world that we have failed to preach the most powerful message we have.

  The Blood Code is a series of messages that centers in on the power that the blood of Jesus brings to our lives. In Leviticus 14 God gives Moses the plan for restoration of the leper, and it is through the blood. This is a shadow of how we as sinners come to know Jesus and are forgiven of our sins. In Genesis 4 God ask Cain where his brother Abel is and Cain replies “Am I my brother keeper”. God goes on to tell Cain that the “blood of Abel cries out”. I realized that the blood has a voice. The blood can speak and God hear what the blood says. As a matter of fact God only hear the voice of the Blood. The bible teaches us that the only prayer that God hears from a sinner is the prayer of repentance, in which the blood of Jesus cries out for them.

  When the Christian realizes that Blood Code is about the power that the blood has for our lives it causes them to understand that all the blessings, all the favor, and all the deliverance that comes in my life comes through the blood. Without the blood there would be no blessings, without the blood there could be no healing, without the blood there would be no need to preach the gospel, because only through the blood can people be saved. No matter how we preach it, we must realize that the blood is what gives us the power to overcome the things of this world. They say we have a bloody gospel and some think we should play down the blood but without the blood there would be no gospel.

YOU CAN HEAR THESE MESSAGES IN THERE FULNESS AT www.southdecaturchurch.com

God is Building Something

Yesterday was Groundbreaking here at South Decatur, and we had a great time. During the morning service we talked about the vision of building, and the purpose behind building our new Family Life Center. Then Sunday night we preached on building God a place to dwell within the church. There is nothing like seeing God bring things together. Weather it is a vision that the body has or weather it is a person’s life. When God shows up on the scene something awesome always happen. I just thank God that He is a loving God that delights in showing Himself to His people.

Progress is a Beautiful thing

I came to the church this morning and saw progress being made. Yes after more than two years in the planning, a lot of prayer, we are finally moving forward in building our Family Life Center. This is going to allow us to do so much more in ministry. At this point we are full in every class room and have even had to convert some office space into classrooms for some of our small groups. This new facility is going to allow us the space we need to see more people come to the Lord and be discipled in Jesus. We are so excited about what God is doing and what he is going to do in the future of South Decatur. Progress it is a beautiful thing.

Low Expectations

One of my favor verses can be found in the writings of the Apostle Paul when he is speaking to the church of Ephesus and he says ” Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Eph 3:20″. Though I love this verse I have to say that I do not believe that many people really grasp it today. For far too many in the church they come to God with low expectations. Feeling that if God will just give them a little push that is all they need, but the truth is that God is a God of great blessings and He is wanting to do so much more in our lives. He is a God of exceeding abundant blessings that do anything in our lives. The trouble is that far too few people even in church really have a hunger to seek after God even in their times of need. We seek out everything and every place else and then come to God as a last resort. If we only realized the great things that God wants to do in our lives, the great blessings that He longs to give us, the power that He has for us, then it would change everything about our life. God wants you blessed and all you have to do is seek Him.

Great Day In the Lord

Yesterday was a very good day here at South Decatur Church. It was Pastor’s Appreciation day and the congregation really showed us the love that they have for us. They invited without me knowing my father to come and preach the 10:45 service and he did a great job. The church was full and the Lord was moving and we really had a very special service. I am so excited about all that God is doing. We are just about finished with our Kid’s church and it look awesome. God is moving and that excites me.