Sermon Notes

I mentioned earlier a sermon that Bro. Matt preached last Sunday on the recession. This sermon put everything into a Godly perspective. I wanted to share the sermon outline.

"The Economic Recession, Our Heart, Anxiety, and the Kingdom of God"

Luke 12:13-34

Observation #1: The economic recession we are currently experiencing is a gift of grace from God for our souls.

Observation #2: Jesus is more concerned about the condition of our hearts than settling little disputes.

Observation #3: Anxiety is our hearts over the future is directly tied to God not having full reign over our lives.

Observation #4: The new heart Jesus is aiming for is one that sees and values Him above all things, instead of using Him to get things.

I would encourage anyone who wants to hear this message to check it out at http://web.me.com/wbconline/main/media.html.

The United Tour

What a great day yesterday was! I started off my day attending church. Bro. Matt preached from Luke 12:13-34. The sermon was part one of two parts on the economic downturn. He reminded us that God is in control of the economy and everything else. God cares about us and will provide for us. I will have to post his sermon notes on here later. They were really good points and puts this whole economic situation, and life in general, into a Godly perspective.

The highlight of my day came later in the evening. I got the opportunity to go and see two of the greatest Christian music artists of all time in Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman at the Robinson Center in Little Rock. What a terrific show! To make the night even better, we were on the second row! That's right, we were probably 10-15 yards from Smitty and SCC (b/c of the orchestra pit). They opened the show together with some praise songs before Steven Curtis Chapman took the reigns. He did all of his current songs, Yours, Miracle of the Moment, Cinderella, Magnificent Obsession, and a few others. Smitty came out towards the end of set and they did some of each others older songs. That was really cool. Steven Curtis Chapman also spent a lot of time talking about the death of his little girl Maria Sue. For those that don't know, Maria was SCC's 5 year old daughter. He and his wife Mary Beth adopted Maria from China. She was accidentally killed in their driveway last May 21 when her brother accidentally ran over her. All that said, I was inspired by a comment SCC made regarding God's plan for our lives. He said that at Maria's memorial one of his sons said that this current moment in our lives is like looking really close at a beautiful painting. Up close the painting just looks like a bunch of chaos, different shades of paint and lots of different brush strokes going in several different directions. He said that is what our life is like on God's scale. Its only when we step away from the painting and see the whole picture, that we can really appreciate its beauty. WOW! How big is that? When we look at our lives right now, sometimes we just see chaos and craziness, but when we look back on our lives and see how God has brought us through life's struggles and successes, our lives are a beautiful masterpiece! Woo-hoo! I thought this was really well said.

After about an hour and a half, Michael W. Smith came out and did his set. I was so blessed to have been able to be led in worship by Smitty. He is just awesome. He is really good at worship leading. He also gave a brief testimony. He spoke of the time, about 20 years ago, when he actually realized the sovereignty and love God had for him. Smitty said that he accepted Christ at the age of 10, but the realization of who God was and is didn't sink in until later. I could relate to Smitty here. I accepted Christ at the age 8. I know I was young, but even at that young age, I understood that I was a sinner. I understood that my sin separated me from God. I also understood that Jesus came and died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and then rose again 3 days later. I put my trust in Him back then and accepted Him as my Savior. Unfortunately, I didn't fully realize the power of what lived within me until April of last year. Like Smitty, I am a child of the great God. The King of Kings, the Master of the Universe, the Lord of Lords. He's my daddy! He loves and cares about me. He likes me and is quite fond of me. My sins and trespasses against Him are forgiven. He holds no record of wrongs. He is God of the universe and He is my God. I am so glad that I have this peace and hope.

The show ended around 10:30. We finally got out of the parking garage and got home around 12:15 am. Yes, I am dragging today, but I feel good because I have been filled up spiritually. Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith put on a great show. I hope that I have the opportunity to see them again some day.

Convicted

I just watched an interview with Cindy Winters. She is the wife of Fred Winters, the pastor that was gunned down at the pulpit in Illinois. She spoke of how she forgives the man who killed her husband and the father of her two girls. She told of how she loves him and hopes that he develops a personal relationship with Jesus. She has no anger or hostility towards this man. The man who robbed her of a husband whom she loved dearly, who robbed her two girls of their daddy. They will never be able to have their dads walk them down the aisle. When they take the family trip that they all planned, he won't be there. Mrs. Winters loves and forgives this man. Its funny you know. I have a hard time forgiving someone who says something or does something to me I don't like. I have a hard time forgiving someone who cuts me off or drives too slow in the fast lane. What does that say about me? I still have my wife. I still have all of my loved ones. I haven't been through half of what they are going through.

This is the perfect example of Christ-likeness. This interview really ministered to me. I would strongly encourage you to go and watch it too. I hope that you find it as encouraging, convicting, and uplifting as I did. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjkbFZ_c6ss.

I Think Bro. Matt is Correct

A few months ago our pastor, Bro. Matt Pearson made the comment that he believes we were heading towards a time when we will no longer have the freedom to freely proclaim Christ. Now, having been raised in church and having this luxury for the last 30 years, I couldn't fathom that being a reality; however, I read two articles today that have changed my mind. The first article involved a security guard taking away a sign from a fan at the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. The article stated that signs larger than 8.5" x 11" are not permitted by the NCAA. That is fine, but I have to wonder if what was on the sign also had something to do with it. You see, the sign contained the scripture John 3:16. Maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt, but I bet if the sign was supporting one of the teams, if it would have received the same treatment. Who knows. The second article was about a valedictorian who began to share her faith as part of her commencement speech, but had her microphone turned off in the process. Please check these articles out yourself. They can be found at http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/565492.aspx & http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92704.

I found these articles to be disturbing. The reality is that we can't take our freedoms for granted. One day we many not have them. We must share our faith and share it now. We take for granted that we live in a country where, currently, we can worship freely. Slowly, but surely, those rights are being taken away. Who would have ever thought that we would be witnesses to this. I think Bro. Matt is correct.

Lots to be grateful for

Let me start off by apologizing for allowing so much time to pass since my last posting. A lot has transpired since then. I guess the best place to start was Valentine's Day. I tried to think of something to do for my bride for several days before deciding to treat her to a day at the spa. I got her a package from the Vue Spa & Salon in Jonesboro. I didn't tell her about it until the morning of Valentine's. I made her get up and get ready to go pretty early, or least early for a Saturday. I had also booked a room for us so that she could have a place to come back and get ready before going to dinner. I had hoped to be able to check into the hotel early so that I could work on tax returns while she was at the spa. Well, as my luck would have it, I didn't get to check in early. I went and sat in the parking lot of the hotel while I worked in my truck. I was able to get one tax return done before the battery on my laptop died. So much for trying to be productive as that put an end to my work. I got one return done. The rest of the time I spent driving around Jonesboro and at the mall. When Mollie was done with her pampering, we went out to eat and to see a movie before the pregnancy kicked in and Mollie came crashing down in exhaustion. We had a good time though. I was most excited about getting a Wii for Valentine's Day. Here I am a grown man getting excited about a video game. That is a whole other post though.

Last week was very rough, especially Wednesday and Thursday. I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Corning, AR to assist the A/P clerk at Clay County Electric Cooperative Corporation. They suffered a tremendous amount of damage to their system when the ice storm hit in late January. I helped her enter some of their payables for payment. That was a 13 hour day. That is all I am going to say about that.

Friday, the 20th was my 30th birthday. I thought I handled it well. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Through it all I realized that I have a lot to be thankful for. The good Lord has blessed me far more than I ever deserve. Please know that I am not trying to boast, but in 30 years I have accomplished more than most do in a lifetime. I have a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, a good job, a sweet, sweet baby girl on the way, a family that loves me, and much, much more. God deserves all the glory, honor, and praise for all of the blessings that I have been given. Yes, I may be over the "cool years," but I am truly happy and grateful to my Lord and Savior for it all.

In closing, I am proud to announce that Mollie and I found out that we are expecting a little girl in August. Mollie was supposed to have an ultrasound in March to find out the sex of the baby, but she pleaded with the doctor's office to let her have one early so that we could find out on my birthday. We are very excited. I can't wait for Daddy's little girl to get here. Yes, she already has me wrapped around her tiny little finger.

Until next time!

We made it!

Well, the "Dream House" production has wrapped. It was kind of bitter-sweet seeing them tear down the set as I cleared out of my dressing room last night. I had a lot of fun doing the performances, but the practices weren't too much fun. Isn't that normally how it goes though. No one likes to practice, but everyone wants to play in the game! The first night went pretty much without a flaw. The second night wasn't too bad either. Everyone was more relaxed since they already had one performance under their belts. Everything was going well until right before intermission. I delivered a line about her "stage" mother, but looked right at her "real" mother when I did it and Mollie got a little tickled, then the audience got tickled b/c she did. The rest of the show was good. Last night was closing night. It was crazy. Everyone did well, it was just that some of the lines were changed, on purpose, by the cast members. This was really funny. To give you an idea of what I mean, I will give you an example. When I would speak to my "stage" mother-in-law, I would refer to her as "Dorma" instead of "Dorothy." For those of you who don't know, my real mother-in-law is named "Dorma." The crowd got a kick out of it.

Well, it is now all over and tonight I don't know what I am going to do. That's a lie. I have got to get caught up with my tax and bookkeeping work. Tax season is now underway and I have got to get going. I have a lot to do. I have got five tax returns sitting on my desk at home to do. There is no rest for the weary.

Well, that's about all I have. One last thing, we just found out that a co-worker of ours is having either a triple or quadruple bypass today. Her name is Sharon. Please keep her in your prayers.

Opening Day is Here!

Well, as I told you last time, Mollie and I are participating in our church's Valentine's Dinner Theater this year. We play Lyle and Christy Wells in the musical "Dream House." Tonight is opening night! It has been nearly 12 years since I have participated in a stage production. I am not nervous, but I am ready to get it over with. This has been a very stressful project for me and Mollie. I am excited about taking to the stage with the best partner I have ever had, my lovely bride Mollie. We will be performing tonight and the next two nights as well.

Tomorrow marks the 15th week of our pregnancy. In just five long weeks we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl. It doesn't matter to me what we have, but I think Mollie wants a girl. If I had to bet on it, I would say we are having a boy. That is just my gut feeling. All is going well. I can't complain. We have rented a baby doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat. We just listened to it last night. It is very cool to hear the little one in there. I can't wait to meet him/her in August!

Well, I will try to check back tomorrow with an update on tonight's performance of "Dream House."

Until then!