One More Thing

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend's coming and there are a few things I want to share with you.

The Weekend

We've been having so much fun showing those humorous Mother's Day photos that I became concerned this last weekend that new folks might not realize the real things are seriously good. Unfortunately, I didn't think of that until the last service. So I've included the picture from about three years ago above. Since my mom and my wife are in that picture, you better be careful cracking any jokes about it. Ha ha.

Besides the pictures this Mother's Day weekend, I'll be preaching about what we should pray for our kids as parents, as family members and as a church. There's nothing too small to pray about, but what should be our deepest, most urgent prayers? I can't wait to share what we can learn about this kind of prayer from Ephesians 3:14-21.

And to top off the weekend, 18 families are dedicating children this weekend! It's going to be lots of fun and a weekend to remember.

FYI

Scott Williams on "Kevin Durant NBA MVP Acceptance Speech – The Best Acceptance Speech In The History Of The Award"

By far the best acceptance speech in the history of the MVP Award. Kevin Durant started by thanking God, he displayed humility, he never focused on himself, he gave personal credit to every single team member and coach, he reflected on the past, he talked about hard work and sacrifice, he shared stories, he made a special note to talk about Westbrook, he gave his mother the credit due and he ended with thanking God last. God is Alpha and Omega.

John Stonestreet (BreakPoint) on "Heaven is for Real But It's Not the Whole Story: Why this World Matters"

The scripture clearly describes a place of refreshment—Jesus called it “paradise”—where the faithful departed are in His presence. As the Apostle Paul wrote, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, something I know to be true of my grandfather who recently passed. But the end, in the sense of the final fulfillment of history, is not an existence away from the earth; it’s a renewed heaven and a renewed earth. It’s where all things are made new again, as Jesus said in the book of Revelation.

One More Thing

We're remodeling our kitchen. For the last couple of weeks we've functioned with about a third of the kitchen torn out, and within in a week, we'll be without a kitchen for about a week and a half. What makes it a little more challenging is that our son Aaron and his wife are living with us for a month. It reminds me of when we moved here 17 years ago and several men from the church came over and did a bunch of work on our kitchen--tearing out a wall, refinishing the ceiling and a whole lot more.

The day they tore out the wall, one of the guys, Jim, got here early, and he told me his faith story. He was in college and two of his friends had become Christians, and they were trying to persuade him to investigate Christianity for himself. After several weeks of this, at lunch with one of these persistent guys, he heard about his need to be born again, to believe in Christ and commit his life to Christ.

The conversation took place at a restaurant, and sitting close by, within hearing distance, was one of the university professors. As the professor got up to leave, he came by the table, got a couple of inches away from the face of Jim’s friend and said, “Are you saved?,” in a mocking tone. This started a discussion between the professor and Jim’s buddy.

He said, "What struck me about the exchange was the darkness, the evil so evident in the tone, manner and spirit of the professor. For the first time I saw and acknowledged evil face-to-face. I'd always believed in God and good, but now I was faced with the reality of Satan and evil." That experience was a turning point in Jim’s spiritual journey. Soon after that he gave his life to Christ.

Next time you use the Light Station, try this: Pray that the person whom you're praying for see the darkness of the darkness and that God draw him or her toward his light. 

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14; ESV)

One More Thing

Hi Five Oakers, The weekend's coming and there are a few things I want to share with you:

The Weekend

We've got a beautiful Good Friday service planned and a powerful message to share. Come early for a seat!

Easter services will be incredible. I can't wait to share the sermon with you. It's called "What's Your Story?"

FYI

Jonathan Merritt on "A Thread Called Grace: How I came to stop hiding and face the biggest secret of my early life"

Have you ever had something in your life that you were afraid to say aloud to someone else? A struggle that you held beneath the surface and didn't want anyone to know? A secret that you packed in a box and swore never to open? I've carried mine since childhood. And when I woke on July 26, 2012, I had no idea it would be exposed, not just to my family and friends, but posted online for the world to see. As best I can remember, my secret began early when I was around the age of 7. That was how old I was when Michael, a much older boy who lived in a brick house near the front of our neighborhood, began to sexually abuse me.

Kenny Luck on "Sexual Atheism: Christian Dating Data Reveals a Deeper Spiritual Malaise"

The guy sitting across from me is a professing and practicing Christian. He drops by my office unannounced today to talk to me about his new online dating life. Specifically, he wants to talk about the over-willingness of Christian women he has encountered on several of his dates who want to jump right from a very public conversation and vanilla latte at Starbucks to very private whispers and physical exchanges between the sheets back at his place.

One More Thing

We had the memorial service for one of our members, Jeff VanSomeren, today. Jeff loved Christ and was amazed by grace. Jeff had a double lung transplant in 2006 and lived several years beyond what was expected. Even while gasping for air in the emergency room a few weeks ago he was sharing with me his amazement at God's great love for him and the grace he had shown him in the death of his Son.

I want to share what his son Alex, a senior in high school, posted on Facebook last Sunday soon after his father had passed away.

My father passed away about a 30 minutes ago this morning. We figured he wanted to help God celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter. My dad believes, and I hold this to be true as well, that on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode through the streets and was worshiped. Then, on Friday, Jesus was betrayed and killed for all our sins, and three days later He rose from the grave, despite our doubts. God knows we are not perfect and since the first time we, the human race, sinned, God put in a rescue mission to save all of us. My dad knew that he was not perfect and that no matter what he did, he could not get to Heaven alone by his good deeds. Our good acts are not a way to get to Heaven; our good acts should be a response to what God did on the cross for us. My dad, this morning, died a physical death, but he lives on with God and his dad, my grandfather, today not because my dad was good, in the eyes of man, but because trusted and believed God's rescue mission and asked God to have a personal relationship with himself. Thank you ALL for your support for my family and myself and, may God bless you all in everything you do.

We celebrate the resurrection this weekend. It's the resurrection that gives us hope and life. He is risen!