Reflexion

Warning – These are random thoughts prone to improper grammar, spelling, etc., but they are straight from the heart……..

Easter Sunday is only seven weeks away. WHAT????? Please begin to pray for our Easter services. I pray God do “something only He can do.” It is not too early to begin praying for and inviting friends, neighbors, work associates, family, etc. to come with you on Easter Sunday to worship. Easter Sunday will be an awesome day in many ways. One way in particular is that we will be birthing twins on that day. We will be starting a second service and we want to see God pack this place out for His glory! Our service times on Easter Sunday will be 8:30 and 10:30 AM with a breakfast brunch in the middle. I can hardly wait!!!

LADIES, LADIES, LADIES. Beginning March 15th my sweet wife will be teaching a class based on the book entitled, “Created to be his help meet.” I promise you this revolutionize your marriage. One lady said in reference to this book, “Just wanted to say a big thanks for Debi's book. I laughed and cried my way through it as the Lord brought me to repentance after years of bitterness. How wonderful! Praise the Lord! Your frank, down-to-earth examples and point-by-point use of Scripture is so needed and refreshing in this day and age of psychobabble. Burdens have been lifted, and I look forward to many years of a glorious marriage, Lord willing. From the wife of a non-garbage-carrying COMMANDER!” This class is scheduled for Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM. This is a bridge event that can be effectively used to transition people from a book study to Sunday morning Bible study. You can get information and buy the book at the connetion table at the back of the worship center. Any other questions email Michelle at 4realyoungs@comcast.net.

We need you. March 14th at 10:00 AM we will attempt to touch our community in an incredible way, however it requires your help. On the 14th we will attempt to make contact with every family that has visited our church in the last six months. In addition to contacting guests we will attempt to find those who are on our membership roles but are no longer attending our fellowship. This is endeavor is not intended to guilt people into coming to church or to sneak up on them in any way. This is simply an opportunity for FBCHS to share with these sweet people the great things God is doing here and then to pray with them concerning their needs. When you come out on this particular Saturday you can be involved in one of three ways: A. You can physically go, take a brochure to a family, and pray with them. B. Make a phone call to individual families. C. Pray as others call and go. All three of these areas are vitally important and of equal priority. Please, clear out a place from ten until eleven to show these families that we really care.


Last week I asked you to think about the statement, “God is preparing us for what He is preparing us for.” If this statement is accurate, and I believe it is, we then need to ask ourselves, “am I allowing God to prepare me as an individual, or am I simply sitting and watching as he prepares others while I sit contently on the sidelines?” If each of us only understood the blessing that comes with a passionate commitment to serving others, they would be a waiting list for every ministry need in this church. Ask Him for ears to hear the call.


THE DESTITUTION OF SERVICE, by Oswald Chambers

"Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved." 2 Corinthians 12:15
Natural love expects some return, but Paul says - I do not care whether you love me or not, I am willing to destitute myself completely, not merely for your sakes, but that I may get you to God. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor." Paul's idea of service is exactly along that line - I do not care with what extravagance I spend myself, and I will do it gladly. It was a joyful thing to Paul.
The ecclesiastical idea of a servant of God is not Jesus Christ's idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of other men. Jesus Christ out-socialists the socialists. He says that in His Kingdom he that is greatest shall be the servant of all. The real test of the saint is not preaching the gospel, but washing disciples' feet, that is, doing the things that do not count in the actual estimate of men but count everything in the estimate of God. Paul delighted to spend himself out for God's interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. We come in with our economical notions - "Suppose God wants me to go there - what about the salary? What about the climate? How shall I be looked after? A man must consider these things." All that is an indication that we are serving God with a reserve. The apostle Paul had no reserve. Paul focuses Jesus Christ's idea of a New Testament saint in his life, viz.: not one who proclaims the Gospel merely, but one who becomes broken bread and poured out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for other lives.

Surrender

Surrender: Let Go and Let God Work by Rick Warren
Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 (GWT)

Surrendering your life means:
· Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you;
· Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come;
· Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;
· Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.
You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.You don’t have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.
You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.
Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.
The most difficultthing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”
Retirement is not the goal of a surrender life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV). The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36 NLT). Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.” Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”
This level of maturity doesn’t come easy.In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

Reflexion

Warning – These are random thoughts prone to improper grammar, spelling, etc., but they are straight from the heart……..

• You folks are incredible. I have challenged you over the last few weeks to bring your friends to the Fireproof Event and you have flat come through. I am grateful to God to say that as of today we have over 100 people signed up for this incredible night. You folk have invited friends, family, co-workers, etc. to this outreach and they will experience a night that could change their lives and their marriages. Go God!!! Now that we have invited, influenced, and encouraged it is time to saturate this time in prayer. We need to pray that hearts would be open to the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. God is good.
• It is always awesome to watch God move. In the last two weeks, it is easy to see God is filling in the gaps. The Lord is sending people to worship and soak up the Word and find hope. People are hungry for relationships and a place to belong. We have had so many guests and I pray that you and I will take every opportunity to make an impact on a life. We never know when someone walks through the doors of our church what they may be searching for in their lives; extend a hand, touch a heart, and show we care.
• Please pray for our staff as we seek the Lord’s wisdom in when and how we are to transition to two services. I believe if we are to have a “whatever it takes” attitude about reaching people this will prove itself to be a centerpiece to the puzzle. As you know, we are not striving to grow for the sake of growing, but we must constantly be reminded that Jesus died for people and He has given us the commission to reach them and invite them to come and hear the Good News. I praise God for so many people in our church family who make prayer such a major priority in their lives. Keep it up.
• FBCHS, thank you for allowing me to live out my dreams through pastoring this church. There is absolutely nowhere I’d rather be than right here serving alongside such an incredible group of people.
• A Note from Kevin - Worship Choir will kick-off this coming Saturday, February 7 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. We will be previewing music for Easter and a special night of worship from the collection "Lion of Judah, Calvary's Lamb". This collection was put together by Travis Cottrell, who we heard at FBCW a couple of weeks ago. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall - bring a breakfast goody to share - we will have coffee and juice. Childcare will be provided. For more information, write to Kevin at hollyspringsworship@gmail.com
  
  What a journey!

God is Awsome

Don't you love it when you pray about something and beleive God has spoken to you concerning this request and then you get to see it come to fruition. Man, God is doing some awesome stuff in the life of our church. If you don't see it you are either blind to God's hand or not part of this awesome place.
Wow, God is going to do some great things through this staff that HE, that's right, He has put together. He formed it, He created the people, He equipped with the gifts and now He is going to do something great. Do you know who is going to get the glory? God, Jesus Christ.
What is He doing in your life right now, not tomorrow or next week or even yesterday, what is He doing right now? This very moment? He desires to do something great you know. Let Him, watch Him, ask Him.
Go!!!

Reflexion

Friend day was awesome. I hope each of you truly understand how the Lord used you to bring your friends and family to experience the journey to Jesus. I was thrilled at the fact that the Grizzly football team and coaches were there as my special guests. Coach Morrell emailed me just today and thanked me for both the lunch and the service. Please continue to pray for him and his boys in the loss of their wife and mother. Both Coach Morrell and Coach Sapere really enjoyed the chili, but I must say, they were both sweating a little after tasting them all. Thanks guys!

I hope you are asking the Lord how He would have you to respond in giving to the Lottie Moon Missions offering. Just to clear something up, Lottie Moon is not a current missionary on the field but she left a legacy of missions. When we give toward this particular offering, it helps to fund missions endeavors all around the world through the Southern Baptist Convention. I do want to remind you that any gifts to this offering or any other special offering should be given over and above your regular tithe and offering.

I realize it is getting very close to Christmas and money is getting tight but perhaps you need to catch up on your giving or just want to give a one time sacrificial gift/ offering. I cannot think of a better time than now. This type of obedience will help in at least two ways: First, it will help the church catch up and even overcome a slight budget shortfall for this year and second, it will help us to get a jump on some ministries we have planned for next year that may currently be on hold. I pray the Lord’s blessings upon each of you as you seek the Lord in the blessing of giving. All end of the year gifts should be turned into the church no later than December 31st. Gifts received after December 31st must be credited for 2009.

This Sunday afternoon at 4 pm we will heading out on a caroling mission. We will be visiting two assisted living/ nursing homes in an effort to bring a little bit of the joy of Jesus to the residents who often find themselves in a lonely state. Come out and help us as we step outside the walls of the church to be a blessing to others. Following the caroling and a brief choir practice at 6 pm, we will find a place for some good food and fellowship.

Please continue to pray for Kevin, Rita and the boys as they seek the perfect will of God for their lives. God is faithful.

What's up?

Do you ever sit back and ask the question, "what is God really doing in my life?" I cannot help but wonder how many missed opportunities, acts of disobedience, attitudes of ungratefulness I exercise, or fail to exercise in any given day, week, etc. Could it be that the lack of moment on God's part is a result of a lack of obedience, gratefulness, faithfulness on our part. Listen for the voice...

Reflexion

Warning – These are random thoughts prone to improper grammar, spelling, etc., but they are straight from the heart……..

First of all I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Man, what a great time to hang out with family, eat some turkey with some turkeys and give thanks to the Lord Jesus for making everything in our lives possible. Even in the midst of tough economic times, I think we can all whole heartedly agree that we are the most blessed people in the entire world. God has certainly been good.

Sunday night was awesome. Our Thanksgiving dinner here at FBCHS was incredible. I want to give a shout out to Alisa Motes for cooking and cooking and cooking in order that we might feast on some beast. I absolutely loved hearing how the Lord has so blessed so many lives this past year and how this Church has impacted some lives in a great way. It is all Jesus!!! I am so very blessed to have a church family that blesses me each and every week in ways that I once thought impossible. You are an incredible people and I deeply love each and every one of you.

Some dates to put on your calendar: Holly Springs Christmas Parade December 6th at 3:30 pm. We need folks to hand out candy, church information, and to just be friendly. We will be decorating a float and using this parade as a vehicle to tell the greater Holly Springs area that God is flat doing something at FBCHS and hope can be found in this place. Anyone who can participate can contact Kasey Baxter at kpbluebird@comcast.net. We will need help with the design of the float as well as the parade itself. Friend Day, December 7th, and caroling December 14 at 4 pm.

I can hardly wait until Friend Day. I have been praying that you invite so many people that we have to create an overflow room in the fellowship hall and have people standing in the foyer. Please, use this opportunity to bring your friends to church that day and tell them lunch is on you. Don’t forget to bring your best pot-o-chili. Our services that day will begin at 10:30 am and there will be no Sunday school on that day in order for preparations to be made for the luncheon. I have really been begging God for a big group of guys from the Creekview football team to join us on that day. I believe God is going to do something great…