God is PASSIONATE about breathing PEACE IN and THROUGH us! And while that sounds good, we all want peace, right! My day-to-day experience often lacks the peace of God. I get anxious about a lot of things. I worry about my kids, my family, and money. As I get older I worry more about my health. As a church planter and pastor I worry about the future of our church. With the chaos in our country and world I worry about the future!
Can you relate?
Thankfully God IS passionate about His people experiencing peace. HERE is the audio from my message from yesterday on this subject.
God isn’t surprised by our anxiety today, and He has never been surprised by the anxiety we face. In fact here’s a story in Judges 6, way back in the OT, around 1000 B.C. that teaches us how to experience the peace of God!
I don’t know about you, but I desperately NEED peace and wholeness in my life! As a husband and father of four kids (12/10/8/1 yr olds), my life isn’t filled with circumstances characterized by peace (usually more like world war 3)! I live in a very expensive county and struggle to keep up with my bills. And there are plenty of things that cause me fear… the election, financial stress, threats of terror and on and on.
Thankfully God is not silent or absent! Last Sunday I preached, “God is Breathing Shalom IN and THROUGH Me.” I talked about the true source of PEACE and WHOLENESS and how to experience it. HERE is the audio.
There are a number of challenging messages we hear on a regular basis that make living a Jesus-centered way of life very difficult. Last Sunday I shared a message in our (Restoration Church) Vision Gathering, entitled, “Recreating: Cultivating Contemplative Spirituality.” HERE is the audio.
Challenges to living a Jesus-centered way of life include…
- Happiness is found in having things (luxury lifestyle = happy)
- Get all you can for yourself, as quickly as you can
- Security is found in money, power, status, and good health
- Seek all the pleasure, convenience, and comfort you can
- God is irrelevant to everyday life
- There are no moral absolutes
- You’re not responsible for anyone but yourself
- Life on earth is all there is, YOLO!
No wonder it’s SO difficult to follow Jesus… isn’t it!
Racial tension and conflict has flooded the news lately. Rather than point fingers and cast blame, I submit THE answer is quite simple. Not easy or quick, but transformational.
Racial (I prefer using the word ethnic) tensions exist in large part because we don’t listen to one another. It’s hard to understand someone who is different without knowing them. How many ethnically and culturally different people do we really know?
Karis Leona Choy was born on Thurs June 18th at 10:34pm! She is my fourth child but first daughter. Everything has changed!
Father’s Day
Names Matter
The first human names were significant. Adam means “man” and Eve means “to live” or “have life.” The bible adds that Eve was the “mother of all.”
Throughout the bible the naming of and changing of names was significant. Abram (“exalted father”) changed to Abraham (“father of many”), and Cephas (“rock”) to Peter (“stone”).
When I emphasize the DO-ing part of evangelism I struggle. I struggle to just DO it. There are a million things I’d rather DO than go out and talk to strangers about something most of them don’t want to talk about.
Can you relate? I’m sure you can. For one reason or another you just don’t tell people about Jesus. Or at least regularly. Maybe it’s been a minute since you brought someone new to a church service. Take heart, I want you to be encouraged!
I’m honored and excited to be speaking at The Village Community Church Sunday morning at 11am!
If you’re in the area it would be great to see you there!
| Date: |
April 26, 2015 |
| Time: |
11:00 a.m. |
| Event: |
Speaking opportunity |
| Topic: |
Living a Missionary Posture |
| Venue: |
The Village Community Church |
| Location: |
Watkins Mill High School
Gaithersburg, MD |
| Public: |
Public |
Excited and scared! Those words describe how my wife and I feel about this season of our lives and ministry. We are excited to be on a church planting team, and to be raising prayer and financial support. We are scared as we step out in faith like never before! Have you ever felt that way? Here’s my personal update and a few lessons I’m learning that might help you navigate a similar season of life.
After years of preparation that included doctoral studies, reading stacks of books, attending conferences, church planting boot camp, and formal church planter assessments… we’re stepping forward to be part of Restoration Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland!
The season from Thanksgiving to Christmas is my favorite time of year! I love the changing weather, the music, the food, the gatherings, the special concerts, church events, and parties! However, our family tries to focus on the real meaning by utilizing an advent wreath, special readings, and participating in special events. But what happens when it’s all over?
Lindsey Bridges has put together a wonderful resource to help parents recover from the holidays! Anyone need something like that? We sure do!
My blog has been dormant for a while! I’ve been working as a seasonal UPS Delivery Car Driver since October. There were a few stretches the last few weeks I didn’t see my kids for a few days! Change ahead!
New Years gives us all an opportunity to reflect back and look forward. 2014 was a year full of change for me and my family. 2015 will be an even bigger year of change.
