10 Tweets

Here’s last weekend’s sermon in 10 Tweets, Marvels & Wonders: A Study in the Miracles of Jesus, “A Barricade of Backs" (Healing a Man Who Can’t Walk)

1/ They called an emergency meeting of the leadership to determine how to keep people OFF their property so their stuff wouldn’t get broken

2/ Churched-people are prone to erecting barricades to keep unchurched-people from coming to church or sticking with it once they’ve come.

3/ Listening to Jesus, they form what Buchanan calls “a barricade of backs.”

4/ It’s natural to huddle up with like-minded people. Huddling up is even good. God calls us to huddle up.

5/ If the team never breaks from the huddle, it never gets into the game. The ball is in play when the 4 men show up with their paralyzed pal

6/ Buchanan: "It's when we're more upset when stuff gets broken than excited when the broken are mended."

7/ It takes selflessness. The crowds are streaming to Jesus but these 4 guys go in the opposite direction to get their friend.

8/ They don’t let the religiously self-absorbed or the uncaring deter them from their assignment to bring lives to Christ.

9/ It takes faith. They do all this because they are convinced Jesus can help there friend.

10/ Not even God can forgive w/out exacting payment or absorbing the sin. Jesus forgave knowing that he would absorb this man’s sin on the cross

Behind the Scenes

Here are some of the behind that scenes happenings at Five Oaks:

// Road Tripping: That's what Dave Baar and I will be doing through central Cuba in late February with a Cuban pastor and a Willow Creek staffer, making contacts and preparing for this fall's Global Leadership Summit in Santa Clara. We'll be assembling a team for that in the not too distant future.

// Diapers Galore: We got a lot of them! Way to go, Five Oaks. Check out the ministry of New Life Family Services here.

// Thirty-three: That how many are registered for the Story of God course launching tonight! Usually have some walk-ins as well.