New Space - New Sermon Series

Happy Friday – This has been a great week. Easter Sunday was quite possibly our best service ever. I have heard so many people comment on the impact of attaching our “sins” to the cross, the music, the readings, the space the message of the Resurrection, etc. We are at the edge of EXTREMELY exciting times at New Life. We have some pictures from Easter Sunday online!

So yesterday, I was driving to the office and had a jelly filled doughnut. I was eating in my car (JUDGE NOT), I had some freshly brewed coffee in the cup holder, and my mind was racing all over the place. I took a bite of the doughnut knowing that I was at risk to be wearing it.
There is a strategy involved in eating jelly filled doughnuts, and I can assure you I don’t have it down yet (I think that is a good thing). As I was driving and eating, I came to the crucial bite where the filling can either make a smooth transition from doughnut to mouth or it can get a mind of its own.

I felt it hit my shirt! It was the sick sound of white filling landing on a dark shirt. I looked down and two rather large plops of jelly filling were resting on my shirt. It actually looked like I had spent a little too much time under a birds nest. Oh well, I made it to a bathroom and cleaned up enough to make it through the day.

However, it did make me stop and think a little about this busy life that we all live. We all seem to have such good plans to make things work seamlessly and even though we are aware of the potential difficulties and we do our best to guard against messing up, we often end up with misplaced filling. When this happens we look bad, we feel bad and we regret even trying.
If you can relate to making a mess when the last thing you want to do is make a mess, then the sermon series I am starting on Sunday is for you!

We will begin a 10-week journey through the book of 2 Peter. If you have not read this book recently, I encourage you to do so. As Christians, life on this earth can be quite disconcerting – in a limited way reminiscent of the current economic crisis. 2 Peter, then, is the manual for surviving current conditions and guaranteeing future victory.

Peter’s advice:
—Change frivolous habits
—Listen to the One who knows the future
—Build a quality foundation
—Use a HIGH risk approach
—Learn from proven track records
—Shun crooked advisors
—Realize patterns of failure
—Watch for predators
—Learn from mistakes
—Ignore skeptics
—Know when to gun and when to run!

This Sunday, I really hope you can join in this study that will transform how you think about this life and prepare you for the next—I hope you can come.

We Passed!

This Sunday will be a celebration of miracles! Most importantly we will celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. This is without doubt the most important holiday for the Christian. We have been planning the worship components for this Sunday for several weeks and I am confident you will feel the sorrow at the cross, the uncertainty at the burial and the exhilaration at the tomb. The sermon will be from Luke 24 especially verses 36-49.

All this will take place – ON THE 4th FLOOR of the Corrigan Building.

Yes, you have read correctly…..it seems almost unbelievable and certainly surreal. We will have our first service in our most permanent location, 1828 Walnut-4th Floor, Kansas City, MO in two days, on Easter Sunday, 2009 – The two year anniversary of New Life Ministries.

In the interest of time, I will resist the urge to travel down memory lane and reminisce about all the miracles God has performed in so many hearts. I cannot even begin to thank so many of you in the New Life body that have invested into helping me to grow in my spiritual journey. I truly have experienced the body of Christ that was only a dream two years ago.

We absolutely do not deserve the grace from God that is a result of the Resurrection. We do not deserve to have such an incredible space in which to meet together as a local body of Christ downtown Kansas City. We do not deserve anything, but God’s grace is soooooo good that He gives to us in spite of our worthlessness.

All glory goes to God for the Resurrection and the passed inspection!

Looking forward to the Celebration!

In Search of a Seat...

This past week we took the entire family to see Disney on Ice. It was a great show and everyone had a good time. As fate would have it, we were running a few minutes late and we walked in on the opposite side of our seats. Leigh-Ann had Dallas, I had Paiton and Alexa and Sophia were under the threat of an early death to stay right at our sides as we waded through the masses.

Finally we made it to our section and climbed about 15 rows as we attempted to find Row I, seats 1-4. On the aisle, I noticed the number 20 so I just figured this was a continuation of Murphy’s Law. I led the expedition through the dark arena, down the row with mom, kids and bags in tow. There was one person in one of the four seats and she was in seat number 1. As I got close to her she stood up and moved into the aisle so I sat down along with everyone else assuming that she had occupied the wrong seat.

It was at this point that she looked at me and said, “I think you are in my seat.” I had sat in her seat without saying anything because I assumed she was in the wrong seat. I said, “Section 240 – seat 1.” She then pointed to the numbers behind us and said, “This is section 239.” If I could have sunk into the concrete and escaped the moment, I would have. All I could say was “I am so sorry” and then had to tell Leigh-Ann we were in the wrong seats so we had to raise the entire entourage. We moved up to an empty row right above us, then I got to thinking that someone else was going to come and kick us out of there so we ended moving for the third time over to our correct seats.

Once we were settled we had a great time. Even Paiton was into the show until she fell asleep sitting up. We told them up front that we couldn’t use the restroom because of our adult to kid ratio. We also told them that we wouldn’t be purchasing any of the favorites: cotton candy, peanuts, etc. So when the vendors came by with cotton candy and a hat for 10 dollars, I assumed we would be covered from having to go through the entire embarrassing process of saying “NO!”

We were right about having to say, “NO”, we were wrong about embarrassing. The people in front of us dropped 20 dollars on two bags of cotton candy and hats. The girls eyes were huge and they said (loud enough for the entire section to hear), “what a waste of money.” It didn’t stop there, “Daddy, can you believe people throw money away like that?”

Even though I had put my fingers to my lips and quietly said, SHHHH, the damage had been done. Leigh-Ann and I were unable to hold back our laughter and Leigh-Ann took the opportunity to let me know they were my daughters. I will happily claim them!

As I think through this scenario, I am struck by the fact that our values can sound very different when interpreted in different contexts. If we were home and discussing the decision to spend 10 dollars on cotton candy, we would not think twice about our values. However in a context where hundreds of people were spending the money we felt embarrassed because we did not want to force our financial values on anyone else.

When it comes to the biggest issues of our lives, we have good reasons for our values and in turn can become very passionate about those values. The Resurrection of Jesus is the axis upon which our entire faith hinges. Last Sunday we discussed 1 Corinthians 15 in which Paul states in verses 14-17, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

So how does our faith in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus relate to the culture we are in today? In addition, how vocal should we be with our faith considering the fact that many people around us do not hold to the same value system?

This Sunday, I hope to be able to give some direction for all of us as we pursue God’s will for us in not only accepting the fact of the Resurrection, but also communicating this truth with others. In the meantime, I hope I never steal anyone’s seat again.