D-Now Weekend

I’m not sure where the idea of Disciple NOW came from, but I know it has been around for awhile.  If your not familiar what it’s about the concept is really simple.  Youth stay with the others the same gender and same age as themselves, inside the home of a church  member.   They have a small group leader who leads Bible study in the homes and they get together in the evening for worship.  Some churches do things differently, but that is the basic format. 

One thing I have learned from my D-Now experiences is that it works.  God used D-Now this weekend as a tool to move the hearts of teenagers towards himself.  We saw many teenagers commit their lives to Christ.  After the event was over it was awesome walking through the church and seeing that nearly every Sunday school classroom had a light on and chairs rearranged.  As I walked, it was awesome to know that a few hours before someone was recognizing their need for Jesus and responding to Him right there in that room. 

In the message on the final night our speaker played an old Christian song, I Surrender All, by Clay Crosse.  Here are some lyrics to that song:

“I surrender all my silent hopes and dreams
Though the price to follow costs me everything
I surrender all my human soul desires
If sacrifice requires
That all my kingdoms fall
I surrender all”

Praise the Lord for life change!

Have a great week.

Monday Quote

A few notes:

• Good Super Bowl Game, Bad Super Bowl Result
• Tuesday Denny’s will be giving out free Grand Slam Breakfast from 6am-2pm, I’ll be there.
• Valentine’s Day is around the corner, remember buying all those cards when you were in school? 
• I sent the RSVP card in for my cousin’s wedding, looks like we will be in Indiana March 19-23. 

Update:   The church voted yesterday to bless the new church plant, and we are excited to be moving forward.  It has been more than 6 months since we introduced the idea to our church leadership, and yesterday we got their blessing to carry out what we believe God has called us to do.  The next step will be to present our plan to the church plant team of the local association.   Please continue to pray for both the church plant and our sending church, Wendell Baptist  Also, pray for those in our community we will have an opportunity to reach with the Gospel.  

As we look toward the new church we must do so in a full reliance on God, realizing that our only chance of impacting people for Christ rest in Him alone.  It is with that in mind that I leave you with a quote from Martin Luther:

“Here I stand, I can do no other.  God help me.”

Have a good week.

Matt

Monday Quote

A few notes:

• Happy New Year!!!
• Three New Year Goals: 1.)  Drop some pounds 2.)  Memorize the Book of Colossians 3.)  Run the Krispy Kreme challenge. 
• Jennifer started back to school today, I’m going to miss seeing her and Noah at lunch.
• Going to start teaching tennis regularly again.  I better dust off the racquets.

I thought about making some sort of New Year’s resolution about blogging more often.  I know people visit more often and stuff like that, but don’t expect more than one or two a week. 

I don’t know if I have used today’s quote or not, I need some kind of tracking system, but even if I have it is a good reminder for me. 

“What people need from me are not clever sermons, but personal holiness.”                       -Robert Murray

Welcome back to the real world after the Holiday’s.

matt

Monday Quote

A few notes:

• Colts won last night, maybe Adam Vinatieri isn’t out to sabotage our team.
• Church-wide Chili and Cornbread on Tuesday-looking forward to it.
• Went to the gym on Saturday and I actually kind of missed it.
• I’m thinking about adding a blog day devoted to church planting, that would cut out some notes on Monday. 
• Visited another church on Saturday night.  I love seeing how other people do things.  (ie. how they greet people, their worship, how they get out information, the kids areas)  This church had a clear vision about 2009, that was encouraging. 
• Staying in NC for Thanksgiving.  Will miss my family in Nashville, TN.   
• Maui invitational starts today!  This always kind of marks the beginning of the college basketball season. 

Well I must admit today’s quote doesn’t come from a good book I have been digging in, instead, it comes from a google search.  With Thanksgiving this week here is a good Thanksgiving themed quote from Spurgeon.

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Have a good Thanksgiving enjoy your Faith, your Family, and your Football.

Monday Quote

A few notes:

• Had a big kids event this weekend.  5-9 on Friday and 9-5 on Saturday, I was wiped out, but had a great time.
• Colts are 6-4, they are turning this thing around. 
• Presented what we learned at basic training with the church last night.  We have gotten some good feedback up to this point and look forward to the questions we will receive in the box. 
• College basketball has begun and the Hoosiers are 1-0, I’m afraid our time above .500 will be short lived.
• Getting excited about the trip to Mexico. 

 

My reading load hasn’t been to intense recently, time has been hard to come by these days.  I could only imagine what it would be like to be in seminary too, especially if I was taking Hebrew (Aaron). Anyway here is the quote, I know it has been awhile.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a used book store in Raleigh and had a great time in this enormous warehouse.  In the end I walked out with a few books in hand one which I read and college, The Pursuit of God, but have enjoyed working through it once again.  Today’s quote comes from the beginning of this book, I hope it challenges you as it has me.

I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God.  The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate.  The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire.  Complacency is a deadly foe to spiritual growth.  Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people.  He waits to be wanted.  Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain.” 

                         A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (pg.17)

Have a good week.

matt

Monday Quote

A few notes:

• I the first Technical of my basketball career last week.  I know some of you might be thinking, “aren’t you one of the pastors at your church?”  I was just a little to sarcastic with the official. 
• My parents are coming Oct. 27-31 to stay at our house while Jenn and I go to a training event.  I don’t think next Monday will get here soon enough for them.  We are going to struggle not seeing Noah for a week. 
• Thanks for all the birthday cards, calls, and facebook post. 
• Now that birthdays are over for awhile I’m starting a diet today, any tips.
• I don’t mean to lift up a person and sometmes feel like I may be doing that by referring to a person so often, but you need to set aside some time to listen to Francis Chan. 

I have kind of put the Family Driven Faith book to the side recently, but picked it up again this morning.  In doing so I came across a paragraph that God used to challenge me.  As I sit with Noah in the mornings I pray for him and wonder how God might use him, I sometimes catch myself dreaming my own dreams for him. Today as I read this quote I was challenge not to be a rival of God in the life of my son. 

“The key is understand that our children don’t belong to us–they belong to God.  Our goal as parents must not be limited by our own vision.  I am a finite, sinful, selfish man.  Why would I want to plan out my children’s future when I can entrust them to the infinite, omnipotent, immutable, sovereign Lord of the universe?  I don’t want to tell God what to do with my children–I want Him to tell me!  When I allow my will to take precedence over God’s will, I have not only given away to a rival–I have become one.”       -Voddie Baucham

Have a good week.

matt

Monday Quote

A few notes:

• One Debate down two to go.  Did you watch?
• Sat down to watch a good college football game Saturday and for the second time this year Alabama killed a teams National Championship hopes.
• Went to Cold Stone Creamary on Friday night.  I now have a new favorite creation, “ALL LOVIN’ NO OVEN.”  You need to try it.
• Noah is seven weeks today. 
• Jenn’s birthday is on Friday and I’m accepting gift ideas. 

Today’s quote comes from William Carey, the father of modern missions.

“Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”

Just for fun here is another concerning missions by Oswald Smith.

“Any church that is not seriously involved in fulfilling the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist.”

Monday Quote

 A few notes from the Week:

• Went to KALEO (Call to Ministry) Conference this weekend.  It was solid.  J.D. Greear spoke this on Saturday.  If you read this blog with any frequency you know I’m a big fan.  If you want to listen to his sermons you can do that here.
• Also this weekend I got hangout with my former youth pastor, current good friend Mark Hazle and his family.  We need to take a trip to hang out with them soon.
• My aunt and uncle saw the baby through our ichat this weekend, everyone should have a Mac. 
• The Colts are 1-2 and I’m wondering if we can get this thing turned around. 
• My sister and brother-in-law are coming on Wednesday.  We are really looking forward to seeing them, wish we lived closer. 
• This week’s quote is not from Crazy Love, but you NEED to read the book. 

Well this week’s quote comes from the small amount of football I was able to watch on Saturday.  During the halftime show one of the guys on set made a comment which I can’t remember, but Lou Holtz response was awesome.

“That is the biggest understatement since General Custard said, ‘Them look like friendly Indians.’”

Hope you enjoy that and can find away to fit it into your conversation this week.

Matt

Monday Quote (on Tuesday)

A few notes:

• JC Ryle’s “Expository Thoughts on the Gospels” has been great and I’m going to begin making my way through John.  You can find them at CBD.
• Church Basketball has begun and I have realized two things: (1) I’m out of shape. (2) I still hate losing.
• Noah has begun to walk.  Not really he is only five weeks old, but had a crazy dream last night in which he was walking and talking. 
• Looking forward to the Kaleo Conferencethis weekend.  It is a conference at SEBTS for High School and College students that are considering full time ministry. 
• Also looking forward to seeing my mentor and good friend Mark Hazle, he is bringing some of his group down for the conference. 
• Noah’s diapers have begun to stink, I mean they have smelled before they now they are REALLY starting to stink.  Someone told me that didn’t happen until they started eating baby food, they lied. 

I have had this week’s quote picked out for a while, but had given the book to someone else and didn’t have the quote available.  It is not an actual quote from the author, but a quote that the author used.  I hope you followed all that.  I wish I could post the entire chapter, but believe it or not I have other things to do.  Here is the quote with which Francis opens chapter for entitled “Profile of the Lukewarm.”

“It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.”

                           Frederic D. Huntington, Forum Magazine, 1890

As you read that quote you might think he wrote it last week, but in fact he wrote that 118 years ago.

Monday Quote

Good morning and good week.  Here are a few notes from the week:

• Noah’s one month old today.  Everyone told us how fast it would go by, but it has gone by much faster than I could imagine.
• Praying about a new Wednesday night series with the Youth.
• Church basketball season starts tonight.  It has been great to get out and run around a bit, I need more of that. 
• We got Noah’s picture taken, I will post some this week.
• We ordained deacons yesterday and they shared their testimony, we need to hear more testimonies from our church family. 

As I mentioned previously I’m reading a few books right now.  On of those books is “Family Driven Faith” by Voddie Bauchum.  Last night I couldn’t sleep so I got up and knocked out a couple of chapters and as I read there was one line that stuck in my head as I went to bed.

“If I teach my child to keep his eye on the ball, but fail to teach him to keep his eyes on Jesus, I have failed as a father.”

That challenged me in a big way.  Often times Jennifer and I have joked about what sports Noah will want to play and what sports we hopes he enjoys.  My sport of chocie is always tennis in hopes that I will be able to coach him.  That line challenged me to think more about how I will lead him to be like Jesus than how I will lead him to hit a ball.  It is not wrong for our children to get excited about sports, but it is wrong when we desire athletic development over spiritual development. 

Have a good week.