Deep Thoughts by Mr. G

Ever wonder Why? I get that alot. Why is God allowing this or that? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to the Church? WHY, WHY, WHY? I get that alot. Rather God gets that alot. He does. There are WHY questions throughout the Bible. Why is there is evil? Why can't I eat of that fruit (I'll show you God)? Why, what? I'm going to be a father (Sara in the background - you gotta to be kidding, right?), asks Abram. 'Why God did you chose me to speak for you?' asks Moses. "Why is this happening?" asks Job. "Why didn't you destroy those people,?" complains Jonah. "Why use me,?" asks Mary. "Why, Saul, are you persecuting me?" asks Jesus. The only person that doesn't seem to ask "Why" of God is Jesus. Jesus, is like I'm doing my Father's will. Doing my Father's Will. Not His will, but thine. Man, my prayer is that God's will be done. I've asked my share of "Why" questions.

I recently came across a post that talked about if you were to preach one time what sermon what it be? The One Sermon? Would it be on one particular story? What it be a certain length? What it be a particular scripture you have to include? The more I think about it. The more I would preach on the 7 "I AM" sayings of Jesus. pointing to the Great I AM. How about you?

10. Doing a Funeral for a young man who committed suicide. One of the hardest moments to do but also gave opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. 9. Pinewood Derby. We had the opportunity to race and have fun and have tons of children and their families at our church. I got to build several cars with my own kids. It was fun and a great opportunity. 8. Our leaders helping out with several policies. Over a period of time we came up with a benevolent, building, and events planning procedures. Helped us refine in what we are doing to keeping the Main thing the main thing. 7. Replacing our roof. We had some damage to our roof of our facility. We need the funds to replace the full thing and God provided. We even had over a dozen guys help put the shingles on the roof to make it easier for the crew to go to work. 6. Digital Sign. We had a few people donate to have a digital sign to communicate events, calendar etc. in our foyer. A great opportunity and tool to use. We even had other mi

10. Enter the Dragon. One of Bruce Lee's Best. 9. The Princess Bride. "You killed my Father, prepare to die." 8. Spaceballs. Spoof on other movies. Some crude humor but funny. 7. City Slickers. Curly. The One Thing. 6. Parenthood. A good Steve Martin movie. 5. Lone Wolf McQuade. Where Walker Texas Ranger comes from. 4. Napoleon Dynamite. Gosh. Gotta any tots? 3. Bill N Ted's Excellent Adventure. Party On dudes. 2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Anyone, anyone, Bueller? 1. Superman. "You've got me, whose got you?" Christopher Reeves' finest. What ones would you add to the list? (I tried to stay away from certain movies though some of the SNL classics, and 80s of the "Breakfast Club" Might be thrown in there or the Corey-Corey movies)

HT to Teri C.

I've seen different people post their Top 10 Movies of the last decade so thought to share mine. 10. Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix 9. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring 8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 7. Castaway 6. Catch me If You Can. 5. The Nativity 4. The Notebook 3. 50 First Dates 2. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. 1. The Passion of the Christ.

Here are some of the Top 10 Movies (IMHO) that I watch year after year. 10. The Year without Santa Claus 9. Frosty the Snowman. 8. Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. 7. Mickey Mouse's A Christmas Carol. 6. Polar Express 5. Home Alone. 4. Christmas Vacation. 3. Miracle on 34th Street (The Black and White version Worse version is 1973) 2. A Charlie Brown Christmas 1. A Christmas Story. Honorable mention: The Nativity and Die Hard.

Story Too Funny! Ht to Naomi!

This week we take a break from our Minor Prophets study to focus on the birth of Jesus. How Jesus' Birth drew people to different locations. I. Drew Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem II. Drew the Angels from Heaven. III. Drew the shepherds from their fields to proclaim the good news ... And ultimate should drew us to proclaim to the World.

My daughters recently gave me some Artwork for my office. I'd thought to share it with you to brighten your day!

I received this message in my inbox from a fellow minister, and thought to share with you. (From Don Conley - Minister at Ringgold Church of Christ) ------------------------------------------------------------------- This Christmas season is a good time to remember that the reason God wants us to love is because he is love, and he created us to be like him - to love. The only reason we're able to love is because God loves us: "Love comes from God ... because God is love" (1 John 4:7-8 NIV). Christmas is not just a season, but it is a time specifically chosen by God for Jesus to come to earth: "But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son." (Galatians 4:4 TEV) Knowing that Christmastime is God's chosen time teaches us that Christmas is the time for us to release our fears. What are the things you're worried about? The economy? Your health? Your bills? Your kids? Are you worried about the future? The fact is there are lots of reasons to be

Ever get those ministry blues? Sure everything is going ok. We have had our share of baptisms, new people coming but also people going. I'm at an interesting place in ministry - I see several challenges ahead ... great potential, great hurt in people, yet God can do some great things. This week I had ranted with a friend about the challenges I've faced in this new ministry and the steps ahead. I've come to realize I can't do it alone. It is only by God's grace and power that I'm in ministry. Ephesians 6:19 seems to be a key verse for me. "Pray also for Me that Whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly male known the mystery of the gospel." We've (as a church) have had some facility renovations (Which some thought we couldn't do yet even when I first came on staff), we've had people's lives changed. Dealt with unique ministry challenges: Family struggling with suicides this past year, family members who lo

Story Do you think it is blasphemous or not?

The teens presented this past Sunday nite. Great program! Caleb, Katie, Paul and Molly did a great job with the teens.

It is that time of year. Looking at the budget for 2010. Alot of churches have budget woes. The interesting thing is I'm not worried. Sure there is alittle worry but God will provide. I don't think I've ever been part of a congregation that didn't have some sort of budget woes or need more funds to do ministry. I remember a few years at Cary where we had a bare bones budget. Frozen spending. And no increases. As I look at the budget I only see God's handywork. He is the One working. When I first came to this ministry - the roof need repairs and we knew it would be lots of money. Well, interesting is God provided for our roof, van repairs, digital piano, digital sign and even more. This is close to $40 000 over our regular budget given in less than a year and a half. We took a special offering to give to Missions and thousands given. God has provided. I've been praying lately. (Actually alot about this) If everyone would just tithe we'd make our budget ... 3

Obituary This past Sunday was a tough Sunday for me. I got word prior to our services that just a few hours ago a man who we baptized at 85 3wks ago had passed away. I saw him in the hospital just less than 2wks ago and was released. I usually called him when he was missing church. He started coming to church this past year by invitation of a friend and mentioned he hadn't been in church since he was about 18. His story inspired our children to see him baptized. Recognizing it is never too late to follow Jesus. Some nicknamed him "General Lee." He was well loved and thought of. I knew of his military background but didn't even know he received the Purple Heart until after his death. Born on Christmas Day in 1923 and now in the arms of Jesus. Continue to pray for our church and his family in this time. The pictures above are on his baptism on November 15. He's smiling with me and being baptized by my friend, Dan Franklin, who invited him to church.

So in the promo above for Baby week on Discovery Channel it featured the Dwarf Adoption story with David and Tina King. David and Tina are friends of ours. (Actually moreso my wife - Valerie - she went to school with Tina). Their story is amzing and worth telling. How God provided for them to adopt little Ryan. We had seen a preview of the story. The King family had come to our home Thanksgiving weekend. My own son, even gave Ryan (On his own) a little toy Doodlebops' guitar. I look forward to becoming better friends and seeing where God is taking this family of 4 in the future. Pray for them.

This week I'm preaching from Habakkuk. I love preaching from the Minor Prophets. Why? It challenges me. It isn't too often you hear about people preaching from these books, and so far Habakkuk has got to be one of my favourite books. We'll be looking at How Habakkuk prays, ponders, and praises. I get some of the sample outlines from Wiersbe but have to add some to it. I've been reading lots of different versions of the prophets and commentaries as well. Some good stuff and application. What are you currently teaching on?

Currently I'm in that situation in ministry where we're "too big to be small but too small to be big." It is an interesting situation. There are some thinking we need more programs, more quick fixes, more ...more ..more. I had a dialogue with someone that said "Well you don't have this or that ..." And seemed to be more of a consumer than a server. (There also others who saw issues but also wanted to be a part of the solution; not the problem) One of the issues with programs is that is what your church sometimes becomes known for. We might be committed to our church, but are we The Lord? What we win them with, is what we have to keep them with. If gimmicks, give-aways, FREE this or that ...guess what you have to continue doing? Right now I believe we're trying to think what is the One or Two things we do well ...and let's do them even better. Let's be known to be Jesus in the community .... not doing a food drive, drive thru, relay (And not s