Today I’ve chosen to be intentionally Thankful and oh! What a breath of fresh air giving thanks has been to me. I’ve lost count on how many times the Spirit of God has nudged me to give thanks…you know to focus on the positive instead of camping in the land of the negative. When I give thanks to the Lord I begin to become unstuck, I see and think more clearly and above all I cultivate an atmosphere of faith in my own heart…one that spills out into the lives of others. Oh God, let me never be comfortable in the land of an unthankful heart. I choose this day to praise you and give thanks unto you…you are good! Amen.

I Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Psalm 106:1 “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday April 23rd at 7:00 pm, New Life Community Church's Oak Forest location will be hosting a free simulcast event called Town Hall for Hope. This event will connect families across the nation for a truly radical perspective regarding our current economic times: HOPE.

Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey personal money-management expert, popular national radio personality and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover, for a live nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with today’s economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions throughout live simulcast!

Ramsey knows first-hand what financial peace means in his own life, living a true rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story. By age twenty-six he had established a four-million-dollar real estate portfolio, only to lose it by age thirty. He has since rebuilt his financial life and now devotes himself full-time to helping ordinary people understand the forces behind their financial distress and how to set things right-financially, emotionally and spiritually.

The event starts broadcasting at 7pm, so show up a little early.  Send questions to newlife.oakforest@gmail.com

New Life Oak Forest is at 5333 151st St, Oak Forest, IL 60452

Easter Sunday I heard some of the most encouraging words come from our parking attendance. 

He said "Don't send any more cars this way we are running out space, we will have park them down the street away from the building."

It felt so good to hear those word and to witness what looked like a sea of people. GOD IS MOVING IN THE CHURCH.

If you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen!  I am looking forward to the NBA playoffs.  I am a true Miami fan living in Chicago.  It is exciting to know we have a player you can count on during crunch time.  Some players crumble under pressure and some rise to the top.

I am also excited about this series on stress.  I always thought I did well under pressure.  Yet, my first six years of marriage and gathering 4 children proved to be the biggest adjustment of my life.  I never new the pressure could be so great.  On one day I went from an independant single man to a family of 3!  I have no regrets and am grateful. But I have to admit, that even though I had worked with teens for years, parenting one is a whole different story.  And then throw in 3 babies in 4 years and now the kitchen stove has a bunch pots on the pressure cooker.  I will be preaching at two different locations and a youth retreat over the next three weeks.  BRING IT ON BABY!  Don't worry, I am learning the challenge is to great for me.  But I love to have a front row seat to God at work.  I will not be one of the boys who bails out when the kitchen gets hot!  I will not slow down nor back off. I will serve my family and be faithful to my call.  By God's strength and grace I will grow through the pressure and not crack up under the stress!  Please pray for me.  I need it :).

Looking forward to how far the Miami Heat will go and a milion times more looking forward to what God will do over the three weeks!

Last Sunday was the greatest Resurrection Celebration I’ve ever experienced.  What made it so great was the tangible presence of Jesus in His people!  I can’t fully describe the sense of excitement, the willingness to clap and shout and give God praise, the overflowing joy of knowing that Jesus is alive!  The Church was being the Church that day –a people called out by God to declare His praise to the world! (I Peter 2:9) 

During our Celebration we opened the “Edification Mic” for people to share what God has been doing in their lives.  Between songs of praise, several testified to God’s work in them:  fresh reminders of God’s intensely personal love for His children, God’s sovereign protection and preparation of small children in grieving the death of a loved one,  an exhortation to remain utterly dependant upon the grace of God in witnessing – not trusting our own wisdom or experience, a step of growth in embracing our church family as “my family”, an understanding that we need God’s Word more than physical food, an encouragement to love one another as we are all “messed up” but being changed in Christ, and other personal expressions of thanksgiving to God.  I was softened, humbled and challenged through these words, the words of God’s people ministering to one another.

The visitors who were present on Sunday saw some convincing evidence for the gospel.  In God’s mercy, several responded to the teaching and appeal to follow Christ.  While they heard the Word of God through the sermon, they experienced the presence of the Living Christ through the lives of His followers.  Jesus is Alive – we cannot deny that He is living in these people!

I felt like we began to taste the blessings of living out I Corinthians 14:24-25.  “But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

My heart is full of thanks today.  Thank you Jesus that You are alive, and that You live in us!  Amen.

1 retreat = 48 hours = greater relational impact than 1 year of sunday school classes.

Hard to believe that the all church youth retreat is less than 10 days away! It is hard to believe that our first soul purpose youth retreat was over 10 years ago.  The testimonies are uncountable and the impact immeasurable, but let me share one story.  Last April, New Life Midway had a guys retreat to Pine Trails.  We were probably a little over ambitious, but we sought to have a 24 hour prayer room going on where our meetings were happening.  I was shocked to see with my own eyes a teenager praying his heart out in the prayer room.  He often has hard time sitting still and now he was praying for a full hour non-stop and out loud with passion for his family, friends, school and neighborhood.  I was in the prayer room and tired and barely making it, but some kind of fired touched this high school guy and even though he has had his ups and downs over the last year, he has been marked for life.  He will always be able to look back and know that God had touched his life and remember that night he was filled with God’s Spirit in a special way for a special purpose of intercession.  If you have been on a Soul Purpose retreat, visit the youth website and share a testimony on the events page and encourage others who may be going.  We will select some of these testimonies and read them at the retreat the first night.  Also, we are still in need of some sponsorships at several locations.  Our desire is that every youth who wants to go would be able to go regardless of their families financial situation.  You can also find out more about giving on the youth website.  Please pray for this to be our most powerful youth retreat ever!  

This past weekend was a real highlight. 5 services at Midway, one on Good Friday and 4 on Sunday. Met a lot of new people, worked with a great Guest Services team to make sure things were organized, and helped pray for people at the end. We have had a dramatic re-enactment of the crucifixion each year for about 20 years. Once again I saw the same scenes that our cast & crew have rehearsed. And once again it sent a chill down my spine and stirred up a lot of emotion. On the surface that might seem surprising. After all, I already know the story and I’ve seen this particular drama dozens of times. Generally I never read any other book twice and never like to see any movie if I already know what happens. So I was wondering, why is this story different? There’s at least a few reasons that stand out to me:

1. The Story of the Cross is Alive! The Word of God, His message, is alive. It’s not static, unchanging information. It is active, relevant, used by the Holy Spirit to affect us, and penetrates to the core of our soul if we allow it. In Hebrews 4:12 we read “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The drama includes words from the Bible and is faithful to the message so the Lord uses it to bring judgment and conviction. Any Christian with any sense should feel anger, guilt, love, and gratitude when they are reminded about the death of Jesus. Hope should enter us as we think about the resurrection of our Lord.
   
   
2. The Story of the Cross is Powerful! As the Apostle Paul so truly said, “For, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1Cor 1:18) If you are being saved, if you have the Holy Spirit, If God is your Father and Jesus is your brother (Heb 2:11-12), then you have the ability to understand this message. As a believer I experience the power of the cross to defeat my own sin, expose the deception of the world, and protect me from the power of the Devil.
   
   
3. The Story of the Cross is My Story! Everyone likes to talk about themselves. This can be self-centered, but in some ways it is normal and healthy. Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That’s not exactly biblical but it is a wise saying. Our kids love to hear the same stories over and over about their birth, first words, and early years along with stories about their relatives. The stories of their life are not all that unique but they give them context, understanding, and identity. In a healthy family it should give them a sense of significance and security. The gospel story has completely changed me so it is my story. Galatians 2:20 tells us  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” There is a clear dividing line, a fork in the road, in my life when I came to truly understand and accept the gospel message 25 years ago at age 18.

Let’s remember this story all year long. We will teach it, share it with each other, explain it to people who have not clearly heard the gospel, recall it when we take communion, review it in the Bible, and apply it in everyday life. We never get past the cross. I believe it was Martin Luther who said that “Christians need to get saved every day.” Not that we lose our salvation, but we need to remember who we are and whose we are every day. So hold on to the story. Unlike other stories, it isn’t just entertainment and it won’t get old. The gospel is alive with power and it is our story!

One of my favorite books of the Bible is Leviticus. The following two paragraphs are from Leviticus 16 which is is about the Day of Atonement:

7 Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 8 He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. 9 Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. 10 The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.

20 “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. 21 He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. 22 As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.

The Day of Atonement was the day when the sins of God's people would be forgiven for the next year. A goat was chosen by chance to be the carrier of all of those sins - taking them away from the people into the land of nothing, the desert.

Today is Good Friday.
Today is a remembrance of the final necessary Day of Atonement.
Today is the day when Jesus became my scapegoat.

It wasn't by the roll of the dice, He wasn't chosen by a lottery in heaven. It wasn't a choice between Jesus and one of the angels. The Father chose to provide His Son. And Jesus willingly became the goat.

My goat.

That's the deep thing for me. It would be one thing if I had already committed all of my sins. You know, I was in the courtroom, the evidence was proven that I had done something, a verdict was given, and Jesus says - "I'll take the fall." But when He died on the cross - I hadn't even done anything yet!

"You know Jesus, there's millions upon millions of people who haven't even been born yet - and you'll be dying for all their mess ups too. You'll be their scapegoat too."

And He did it. He WILLINGLY did it.

Back in the Old Testament times when the Day of Atonement was happening, it was probably a quiet, somber moment as that goat walked into the desert. A mixed moment of regret as they were seeing themselves represented in that goat, but also joy as it walked away into the desert - carrying their evils away with it. It's walking away with their junk made it possible for them to stand before God in peace.

Today is should be just like that as well.

I think of what Jesus did. And all of my mess - the details which define my mess, the things people can point to and things I'm glad people don't know, the things which in essence show me to be an evil, selfish person - all of that He put on himself. He willingly, lovingly put all of that on Himself!

And He carried it all away from me into the desert.

Like a scapegoat.

I sit here in peace before God today because Jesus became a scapegoat for me. I really can't begin to put that reality into words. I just know that it makes be feel stupid when I think of the fact I still mess up. I mean...what do you do with that?

He knew I'd still act like an idiot and He still died for me!

As the people of God looked at that goat walking into the desert, I'm sure pondering the meaning and reality of what it was doing - take time to look into history and see our scapegoat...walking into the desert for us.

Let that sink in.

Scapegoat Friday.

Thank you Jesus.

This past Sunday I did my best at all 3 English services at Midway to exhort people to invite friends, family, neighbors, & co-workers to one of our Easter services. I did everything I could think of: showing off the invitations, encouraging, giving a guilt trip, praying for the invites. Right after I gave the announcements at the 12:00 service Pastor Mark asked the congregation to do something unusual. He asked us all to think of someone we could invite and, if we had a cell phone with us, take out the phone and call that person right now and invite them. I couldn’t think of anyone but I began to scroll through the contacts on my phone. I quickly realized that all of the names were New Lifers. Embarrassed that I had no one to invite, I found a ‘backslider’ and called him. He didn’t answer so I left a message.

Not only did I not have anyone to call but I didn’t have anyone specific in mind to invite this week. I’m like so many other Christians. I believe in the urgency of evangelism, I talk about it, am glad when I see it happen, and take pride in the fact that our church is growing. I don’t want to see Christians simply invite other Christians but instead reach out to those who appear to be far from God and need to clearly hear the gospel. However, I don’t currently have a specific ‘love list’ of people that I am reaching out to.

After the Sunday service I ate with my family at Wendy’s and made sure I invited the worker for Easter. I’ve invited a few people already this week and am going to personally talk to some people I know today. My wife also has gone out of her way to invite a woman she knows that needs to take a step to follow the Lord.

It reminds me of the saying “We Teach What We Know but We Reproduce Who We Are”. It’s so easy to get consumed with church life inside the 4 walls of the church that we give little time and effort into trying to reach new people. As Jesus called His first followers he told them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19). Regardless of our calling, schedule, and gifting, if we are a follower of Christ then we should be a fisher of people. I’m convicted and am setting aside some time to connect with people outside of the church this week. Are you following? Are you fishing?