Hey Bloggers - Two of our very own are getting hitched and they asked me to send you out an invitation to the special day. John Olver & Susan Clark have survived engagement and are getting married on Saturday October 4th at 10:00 am outside SWCC right by the fountain. Aaron and Alison are driving in from Las Vegas to sing some special music along with John's Sister Marie. I have the privilege of performing the ceremony. One thing that John wanted you to know that this is strictly a Tommy Bahama Wedding...No suits allowed!!!
If you are planning on attending please RSVP by emailing Susan at: sclark50@dc.rr.com
I am constantly more excited about what Scientists are discovering year after year. With technology doubling every 6 months we are starting to see things that were never imagined before. 25 years ago a multi-national scientific team started to dig a 15 mile tunnel, 100 meters underground, near the CERN laboratory in Geneva. The tunnel would house grandest experiment in the history of mankind. This massive undertaking has produced the largest Super Collider ever. It's so complex and so cutting edge that close to $9 Billion Dollars was spent to complete it. What does it do? - Well check out this video:
So what's so important about this experiment? - Well I believe that it will reveal that there is an intelligent design behind the beginning of everything!!! - Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Notice the heavens were created first. That's because after this massive release of energy the universe had to cool down before forming mass. Now according to the physicists at CERN, one of the goals of the LHC is to find the "Hick's" field or what they have nicknamed the "GOD" particle. This particle has to exist in order for there to be mass of any kind. Most scientists are very uncomfortable with the fact they haven't found any of these particles. According to one of the scientists that is working at CERN "if there is no Hick's Field, (GOD Particle), who is generating the mass?" - WOW!!!, he said, WHO is generating the mass? Why is this so important?, because it's the best possible explanation for why we exist.
Romans 1:20 says: For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
God's invisible qualities...That which gives life...The very particle that is unseen by human eyes but holds together everything...Out of the unseen God is generating LIFE!!!
Knowing this, how can our response be anything but WORSHIP. How can we look at anything the same way again without seeing God's hand. The God Particle has literally formed you and holds you and everything else together, perfectly. But he didn't stop there he created us beyond the mass and gave us a spirit for one divine purpose...Because he wanted to have communion with his creation. He wanted to show his love and receive our love through worship and prayer and his word. Hallelujah, God Is With Us And He Is Worthy To Be Praised.
As we start the 2008-2009 season I want to focus on the foundational truths that will help us draw closer in our relationship with the Lord and examine and develop our daily walk individually and with one another. Worship is not just music, it's everything we do in our weekly services, Fellowship, Prayer, Communion, Teaching and Singing Praises Etc. But Worship goes beyond the weekly services and should become a part of our daily lives. In other words Worship should be a lifestyle. Watch this mini-movie called "A Life Of Worship":
With this in mind I want to start a series of posts called "A Life Of Worship". Today's topic "Taming The Tongue". I can't think of a better place to start when developing a life of worship than dealing with how we talk to and treat one another. James 3:1-12 deals very specifically with the power of the tongue. In verse 9 the scripture states - With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. A few weeks ago Pastor Rick addressed this very section of scripture in his message "Your Mouth Reveals Your Heart" Click on the title and check it out again it will challenge you for sure. Now none of us are perfect and we will blow it from time to time when communicating with others. I know this first hand. I have been challenged recently to be more aware of how I communicate during rehearsals. It's very easy to get caught up in what you are doing at any given time and forget that people are involved in everything we do. And because of that we need to be more sensitive to peoples feelings and how we interact with one another. We have a choice. We can be the deliverers of blessing, encouragement and building one another up or we can we can be the "small spark" that ignites a forest fire. Here are some things we can do to apply this biblical practice into our daily lives:
Think before you speak
Listen more than you talk (James 1:19)
When joking make sure it's not pointed at someone else (Eph. 5:4)
Don't Gossip!!! (Proverbs 16:28, 17:4, 25:10)
Be gracious (Col. 4:6)
God grant us the courage and the wisdom to apply all of these important things to our lives. Help us to develop a true sense of living a life of worship. AMEN!
Today's post come from a movie I just watched the other day with my wife Lori. The movie was called "Facing The Giants". Now I consider myself a movie nerd and what I mean by that is I LOVE movies. I'm one of those guys that doesn't just watch a movie but I'm thinking about the music, the editing, the cinematography, everything. Several times during a great movie you would probably hear me say something like "Wow, I wonder how they did that?" or "The screenplay on this one is awesome". Anyway, all that to say that "Facing The Giants" is not a 10 as far as movie making goes. In fact as Lori and I watched it there was a time when Lori used the word "hokey" to describe a few parts in this film. With that said I have to admit that this film impacted me in a way that was very surprising. A struggling High School Football Coach is facing another losing season, possibly losing his job, friends he trusted turning on him, finding out he and his wife can't have children and a car that never works and is always breaking down. Yet in the midst of all of that instead of giving up, running away and cursing God he turns to God, completely stripped of any pride, joy or agenda and lays it all down at His feet. He then turns the focus of his football team to building character instead of winning football games. Here's a clip from the movie at that first practice after his encounter with God:
A lot of times we look at situations in our lives as God trying to get our attention. When things aren't going so good or when our plans and agenda's are not working out as we planned, instead of thinking that we could be wrong we often times think God is thwarting our plans to get a point across. Maybe we need to just be available for God and listen more than make our own plans. Maybe instead of giving up in defeat we need to change our perspective and do what the Coach in this film encourages his players to do, "Praise God when we win and praise God when we lose". This life in not about us. This life is preparation for eternity. I walked away from this movie challenged to live a life that honors God, to care more about people then process, to trust and love God no matter what my circumstances are, to change my perspective to God's perspective, and never give up under any circumstances. WOW!!! for a very low budget film it certainly made up for it in content. So I ask my original question. Does God have your attention? - Are you paying attention to all He is saying to you? - Do you praise God when you win and praise Him when you lose? - As for me and my family, we will Love, Serve and Worship the Lord!!! I guess the only thing to say now is rent or buy a copy of "Facing The Giants" and see for yourself what God has to say to you. Please feel free to leave a comment about this post.
