New Day in Haiti

On May 1st, at New Day we are hosting an event called 'New Day in Haiti' Only 6 weeks ago Haiti experienced a catastrophic earthquake that left 100,000+ dead, and 1,000,000's more helpless, homeless and hungry. Haiti may not be on the front page of the paper anymore, but Haiti and her people our still on our hearts and minds. We want to do our part to help bring healing to Haiti in the name of Jesus. 'New Day in Haiti' is a bagging event, which means from 9 am-1pm we will be bagging some meals to send to the children of Haiti. When I say 'some meals' I mean 150,000 meals. 150,000! That was not a typo...so we need your help. It will take 400 volunteers to make this event a success. If you have not done so already please get your tickets purchased ASAP! It is $30 per person, or $75 for a family of three or more. You can purchase tickets on Sunday mornings at a station in the back of the worship room, Monday-Friday in the church office, or log on to our event website newdayinhaiti.com. Also, if you would be interested in being a financial sponsor, either personally or corporately, please contact Allen Zeck in the church office at 625-4947. I hope you choose to make this event a priority, you will not want to miss it.

Super Bowl Prediction

Saints 31

Colts 28

American Idols

Over the last several weeks as a church we have been taking an up close look at idols that we are prone to worship, especially living in 21st century America.

First, we talked about the idol of success. Sadly, many of us spend a good portion of our lives doing whatever it takes to make it to the next rung of the proverbial ladder of life. We are trained to believe that the grass is always greener just one rung up...so we work overtime, get additional degrees, spend time away from the family, cut corners, compromise integrity...whatever it takes to make it to the next rung. The problem with this scenario is that there is always going to be 'one rung higher', so the pursuit is a futile. As a follower of Jesus our purpose in life is not about climbing one rung higher, we are called to come down from the ladder and serve the least and the lost.

Next, we talked about the idol of vanity. From an early age we are wired to be consumed/obsessed with external appearance. For many people what they see in the mirror is what determines their value and worth. What they see in the mirror dictates the direction and purpose for their lives. The mirror seduces us into believe the 'little more' lie. Take an inventory of the thoughts that go through your mind when you are standing in front of a mirror and if the truth is told many of them begin with 'If only I were a little more...' If only I were a little more petite. If only I were a little more muscular. If only my complexion was a little more clear. If only I were a little more... Everyone can fill in the blanks, but we are all prone to believe 'If only I was a little more, then I would be happy/content/satisfied.' The 'little more' lie is so deceptive because a 'little more' seems so achievable. However, just like tomorrow never comes a little more is never enough when it comes to vanity. We would be more content/stable/satisfied if we spent less time standing in front of the mirror of vanity and more time gazing into the mirror of the Bible.

Last, we discussed the idol of sex. All other idols stand in the shadow of the idol of sex. US News and World Reports states that over 8 billion dollars a year are spent on pornographic material in the United States alone. Sex, which was originally a fine gift of God, has become a cheap substitute for God. Everywhere you look in our culture you will see the devastating effects that the obsession with sex has had on individuals/couples/families.

My hope is that after our honest discussion about sexual sin today that men and women will decide to seek help to conquer their addictions and struggles. If you have or are currently struggling with a pornographic addiction I encourage you to check out xxxchurch.com When you are typing that in the computer be sure you do so accurately.

May we be a generation who will bow down and worship God and God alone.

One Big Mistake

My wife and I are in Louisville, Kentucky visiting her parents. First night of the trip Alex was going to attend a women's aerobic fitness class. I had planned to relax at a coffee shop until the class was over. The night took a turn for the worse when on the way to the gym I jokingly said I would take the class with her. She said, 'Really?' I recognized this as a chance to win some serious brownie points and so I said, 'Of course. I would be glad to.' In my mind I was a little nervous because the name of the class was Bootcamp, but I figured it was a class for middle-aged women surely I would be able to do it. She asked, 'Do you think you can do it.' My pride swelled up and I said, 'By the end I will be teaching the class.' We agreed that as long as at least one other guy showed up I would participate in the class. Fortunately for me the room was full of ladies and so I began to walk away to read my book...that is when the 'one other man' walked into the room. There was no way out of it.

About 30 seconds into the 75 minute class I realized I was in big trouble. Big exercise balls, women lifting heavier weights than me, exercise moves that required much more coordination than I am capable of...not a good combination. The room was covered with mirrors on all sides, so there was going to be no sneaking out. Trust me, I looked for every way imaginable to try to escape the torture. At one point my heart was pounding out of my chest, my face was as white as Casper and so I leaned over and said, 'Alex you don't mind if I stop early right?' She smiled and said, 'That is fine...as long as you don' t mind being a quitter.'

After 75 minutes of cramps and wheezing the nightmare finally ended. I can confidently say that was the first and LAST Bootcamp aerobics class I will ever attend.

We have lost a good one...

As you know by now Craig Crynes, who has been serving as Worship Minister at New Day for 2.5 years, has officially moved to Dallas, Texas. He and his wife Stephanie will definitely be missed. They were very gifted musically, but much more significantly they were serious about following Jesus and helping others to do the same. We love you, we will miss you and we wish the very best for your growing family as you transition into this new phase of life.

Advent Conspiracy

This year as a community of believers we are setting out to restore the scandal of Christmas by replacing consumption with compassion. We discussed this last Sunday how the 'song of compassion has been drowned out by the chaos of consumption.' Sad, but true. Christmas is now all about Presents, instead of The Presence. So again, we have set out this year to steal back the meaning and the scandal of Christmas.

Here is the challenge: Buy one less gift this year, set that money aside, and give it to our special offering we are taking on Christmas Eve. Every penny of that offering is going to partner with Living Water International to dig a clean, water well in the country of India. Tens of thousands of men, women and children die every year simply because they have no clean drinking water. We are going to do our part to change that this year by building this well. It is estimated that it would take nearly 10 Billion dollars to provide clean, safe drinking water for every person living on the face of planet Earth, and yet every year in America alone we spend some 450 Billion dollars on Christmas presents that we will be bored with by summer. It is time to re-prioritize our resources don't you think?

I dream of the day when thousands of miles away, in a remote village in the country of India, there will be a group of people gathered around the village. In the midst of conversation someone will ask, 'Who dug this well? Who gave us this water?' Maybe, just maybe someone will say, 'Jesus dug this well. Jesus gave us this water'...and it will be because one small church, in one remote town in Florida decided they could survive with a few less PRESENTS, so they could share the PRESENCE OF GOD.

Will you be a part of the conspiracy?

Day of Repentance

One preacher said, 'We scream grace, but whisper repentance.' Unfortunately that is an accurate diagnosis of the church today. Grace is an easy message to share; repentance not so much. As a result repentance doesn't get much press in the church, especially from the platform. We are doing a series of messages through the 7 letters to the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3. I couldn't help but recognize this week that in 5 of the 7 letters Jesus mentions the need for the church to repent of their ways. Repentance apparently is held in high esteem by Jesus.

This week we had a 10 minute time of repentance during our worship service. Though it was a bit of an uncomfortable experience, it was one of the most powerful experiences I have been a part of as a preaching minister. Surely Jesus was pleased to see 500 people repent of their ways. My prayer is that every individual who repented this weekend will follow it up with intentional life change.

As we seek to transform our world with the story of Jesus may repentance never again be forgotten.