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| The Problem With Motion |
| We are a church in motion! Why? Because God is a moving God! Sure, one could argue that the Bible teaches us that there are times when we are to stand still. The Sabbath was a day of rest. Also, the Holy Spirit is referred to as our New Testament “rest”. In the face of these references, it is still not hard to find the imagery of God’s people in motion. They were on a journey through the wilderness and even though they were tent dwellers, they had to keep their eyes on the cloud because when it moved, they had to move with it! The New Testament church was a church in motion. The last thing that Jesus told the church was “GO”. They were to go from Jerusalem to Judea, from Judea to Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. These are the people who created such a movement that history records they “turned the world upside down”.
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| A Crowded Heaven |
| Have you wondered lately what heaven will be like? I have! A few days ago, I was reading from one of my favorite bloggers and he mentioned a phrase that just stuck with me. Here is what he said: WE WANT HEAVEN TO BE MORE CROWDED BECAUSE WE EXISTED AS A CHURCH. Wow! When I read that I just though about all the people who are now a part of our church who would not have been there if God had not planted CCC in Ashburn, VA.. |
| I Have Learned |
| The next time you are involved in one of those casual conversations that that you know is all fluff, just ask the person this question. What is God teaching you at this moment in your life? Lean forward, because the conversation is about to get sobering. Why? Because as someone noted, “it is in the quiet crucible of our personal private pain that our noblest self is revealed and God’s greatest gifts are given.” |
| It May Be |
| Something tells me that maybe one reason Christianity in America has lost it’s spark is because it has essentially been made “risk free” Well meaning people (probably preachers) over a period of time, decided that if we make it more generic we will attract more people. The experts were wrong! |
| Spiritual Formation - God’s Agenda in 2008 |
| Most of us are familiar with St. Paul’s admonition in scripture: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind …” (Romans 12:2). Okay, so you’ve heard it before, but just what does it look like? What does a spiritually formed person look like? What characterizes their lives, their lifestyles, their thinking? How do spiritually transformed people behave in the market place that is distinctly different from their pre-christian peers? Forget about what they claim to believe … how do they behave? What is their attitude about sin? How do they relate to sinners? Do they even relate at all? What is their commitment to market place excellence - the kind of excellence that Daniel or Joseph displayed? What is it about them that causes Christianity to be so compelling and attractive that people want to know about the Jesus that they serve? |
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