Sunday night thoughts…

• Holy cow!!! Where was everybody today?  Spring break and the flu bug conspired against us today.
• I really feel like I struggled to communicate the message today… it just didn’t “click.”  Its really a good thing God works IN SPITE of my shortcomings.
• I say this alot… but our volunteers ROCK!  Every week you amaze me with what you do!
• Really excited about our first partnership class coming up in three weeks!  Make sure to sign up by sending an email to lifeline@lifesonglive.com.
• This weather STINKS… 70 degree’s yesterday and 40 today, crazy!
• Found out that somebody from South Africa is downloading podcasts from the website… Very Cool!
• Just got in from shooting the video’s for the next two weeks… yes, I am a movie star… no, I don’t do autographs.
• We really need another trailer… I am praying that God provides one for FREE 🙂
• I received an email this afternoon thanking Lifesong for making an impact in someones life… that is why we do what we do!

Who have you walked past today?

“A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’”  Luke 10:30-35

How many people have we walked past today that were in need… of a kind word, someone to listen, a hand to help, a smile… that we missed because we were too busy, too preoccupied, or too selfish to stop?  

Sunday night thoughts…

• It was a special day at Lifesong today… If you were not there, I am not sure I can explain it.
• It looks like TWO people stepped over the line of faith and became followers of Christ today!  It was a GREAT day!
• The last song the band played today was amazing… there were not many dry eyes in the place (great job guys!)
• I was dealing with spiritual warfare BIGTIME this morning… the great thing is satan still got kicked in the teeth 🙂
• Much props to Holly for teaching Kidz Kraze at the last minute (filling in for my wife who was home with two sick girls)… you ROCK!
• Lots of new faces helping with tear down today, one more person (A DUDE!!!   We need more guys helping out in there) signing up to help in the Children’s Department… VERY COOL!
• It was, for me at least, a truly special day.  Lifesong’s first Easter together… man, I wonder what the next ten years will hold!  This is just the beginning of an amazing move of God and we are blessed to be a part from the very beginning. 

Friday five (whats going through my mind right now)…

1. I am praying for God to do something SUPERNATURAL this Sunday… make sure you get to the theater early!
2. Family night went great… lots of kids, an Easter Bunny channeling the Karate Kid and tons of you Lifesongers showing up to help… VERY COOL!
3. I really need to get over this flu junk… LIKE NOW!
4. The band is doing one of my favorite songs Sunday.  I sat in on their practice and just about lost it.  This is going to be special.
5. Make sure to INVEST in someone and INVITE them to Lifesong this Sunday.

Family Night Tonight…

Don’t miss Lifesong’s family night at Truett’s from 6pm to 8pm.  Its going to be a blast… come by and get a free picture made with the coolest Easter Bunny EVER, the kids can make free Easter Crafts and you can eat some great food!  See you tonight!

Who are you investing in…

 

Easter is just THREE days away!  I cant wait… we are going to celebrate the devil getting the ULTIMATE BEATDOWN through an empty tomb!  Speaking of the devil, he’s not real happy with Lifesong church…

All joking aside, this Sunday is going to be awesome.  Have you invested in your three people this week and invited them to Lifesong?  Don’t miss your opportunity to make an impact in someones life.  Here are some ways you can invite…

1.        Send them an invite card.  You got one Sunday in your worship guide.

2. Send a link to one of our church’s online messages with a note that says: “When I heard this message, I thought about what you’ve been going through…”
3. Take a worship guide in to work and say: “When I heard this message title, I thought of you.”
4. Invite someone to lunch on Sunday and then say: “Hey, would you guys be interested in meeting us at our church and then going to eat?”
5. Think of someone who is going through a tough time, drop them an email or a phone call and simply say: “when I was listening to the message this past week, I thought about you and prayed for you.”(IF you actually prayed for them)
6. Have a cookout and invite some co-workers or friends over to eat. The only criteria for the invitation list:  They can’t go to church anywhere!
7. Invite a family friend’s child over to spend the night with your children on Saturday Night and then ask the family’s permission to take their child on to church with you.  Our Children’s Ministry rocks, this child will go home and share the story. 
8. Say: “Hey, are you going to church anywhere right now? Why don’t you hang out with me this weekend at our church?”
9. Ask: “What would I have to do to talk you into giving God and the church one more shot this week?”
10. Say: “You would not believe what my church is going to be doing this next weekend…”

Sunday night thoughts…

• Great day today!  We wrapped up our Desperate Houselives series with a message about Desperate Communication.  I believe that communication is foundational to a strong marriage and I pray that this message was a help.  Check out the podcast here.
• Our volunteer’s ROCK!  I am amazed every Sunday at how well everyone works together.  Today in the Worship Theater everyone had a THIRTY MINUTE break before the service… truly awesome.  
• With that said… we need some more able bodies to help with set-up in the AM to give some of these folks a break.  Its alot of fun and you get to know other Lifesongers.  Contact us at guestservices@lifesonglive.com and get involved TODAY!
• Lifesong Kidz is growing like crazy… very cool!
• Easter is ONE WEEK away… we are going to celebrate like crazy!
• Supernatural starts next week, this will be a different series for us and I am really excited about it.
• Remember to INVEST in three people this week and INVITE them to Lifesong for Easter (DON’T EAT YOUR CANDY BAR UNTIL YOU DO 🙂 )
• Don’t forget our Easter Family Night at Truetts this Thursday from 6PM to 8PM.  FREE pictures with the Easter Bunny and fun crafts… don’t miss it!
• Please pray for me… I feel like I’m getting sick and there is WAY too much to do this week for that.
• I love you guys, and I am proud to be your pastor.

Friday five (what going through my mind right now)…

It’s been a long week, but here is my VERY RANDOM Friday five… 

1. UNLEASH was AWESOME!  Who’s ready to kick the devil in his teeth?
2. 15,000 postcards are on the way to be sent out next week… I think they will get a reaction 😉
3. This quote by Seth Godin is great…  “Persistence isn’t using the same tactics over and over. That’s just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over.”  The church could learn from that statement.
4. How did fish develop a taste for worms… think about it.
5. Gotta go… I have a date with two beautiful blonde’s… get your mind of the gutter, it my daughters you freak!

Heading out…

Six of us are heading off for the UNLEASH conference in the morning (5:30AM – Holy freekin’ cow!!!).  I am really excited about this conference and the chance to hang out with some of our great volunteer’s!  If you think about it, pray for us tomorrow…

• Pray that God uses this conference to stretch us, make us uncomfortable, encourage, and fan the flame of inspiration that will help take Lifesong to the next level.  
• There will be 2000 people at UNLEASH… pray that God will provide opportunities to create Kingdom relationships.
• Pray for Perry Noble, the Staff and volunteers of Newspring… that God would continue to use them to make an impact for the Kingdom.
• Pray that nobody plays any country music on the way up… it could get ugly 😉

Time…

“Everything on earth has its own time and its own season. There is a time for birth and death, planting and reaping, for killing and healing, destroying and building, for crying and laughing, weeping and dancing, for throwing stones and gathering stones, embracing and parting. There is a time for finding and losing, keeping and giving,”   Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 CEV

We are creatures of time.  We mark our lives by seconds, hours, months, and years.  We set our clocks and watches so that we will know what hour it is. We have schedules and appointments set by dates on a calendar.  But, isn’t there more to it than that?

This morning I am preaching the funeral of my step-father.  Funerals are great clarifiers… they help put things in perspective.  As I have been with the family and friends, no one talked about how nice of a car he drove or the size of his home.  We remembered the time that we had together… laughing, crying, embracing, parting, sharing, listening, loving… in short living.  Isnt that a better measurement?

Remember our family this morning… especially my Mom, they didn’t have nearly enough “time” together.