Good music and good friends

Last night Lisa and I escaped on a school night, don't tell anyone, and went to the Lyceum Series at Truman State. We met up with some great friends from church and watched an A cappella group Tonic Sol Fa perform. They are not only excellent singers, but are great entertainers. It was great getting out with Lisa and enjoying some entertainment here in Kirksville.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how Sunday played out at TRCC:

Praise: A huge highlight from this Sunday's music was Lifesong by Casting Crowns. That song is truly the heart cry of a person who loves the Jesus. We all want our lives to sing a song of love to Christ.

Drama: Vickie and Janene performed an adaptation of the story Red Marbles. A very powerful drama about the effect one man can have on the lives of others by showing love and compassion.

Message: I finished the series "Going Deep" by talking about Holy Discontent. This message was based off Bill Hybels book of the same name. We all need to figure out what that fire is that God has put deep inside of us that moves us to do the work of God. I pray that someday the entire church will operate out of its collective Holy Discontent!

See you next Sunday!

Early Morning Sweat

Lisa and I have been working out at 5:30 a.m. for the last six days. It feels so good to get the endorphins flowing before the day starts. We actually have a little accountability thing going with two other friends at TRCC who also work out early in the morning. It is great knowing that others are working out also and making sure you are there with them.

My goal is drop 150 pounds and get back to the weight I was when I was 19. That was the time I felt the best and had the most energy. I truly believe that if my body is healthy then I can accomplish more for God's kingdom. I want to give the Lord nothing short of my very best in all areas and it is time I let him into my health.

If you wish to join me on this journey to health just drop me a line.

Have a great Monday!

Sunday Scoreboard

Another great Sunday at Timber Ridge:

Praise: My musical highlight was Cry Out to Jesus. Frank does such a fantastic job of singing this song. My second highlight was Undignified. I just love the idea of being so sold out for Jesus that I am willing to praise His name to the point where I am undignified.

Message: I started a new series called "Going Deep". I am tackling two very difficult subjects in this series. I talked this week about Shadow Mission. I built on John Ortberg's idea he talked about at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. If you missed this message it is available on the TRCC website as a free download.

Movie Clip: I used a scene from one of my favorite movies Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. I used the scene where Padme confronts Anakin on Mustafar. This scene drives home the destruction that a person can suffer in their lives and the lives of those that love them.

Attendance: 225 (less than 1% difference from same Sunday last year)

Timber Ridge Youth

We kicked off our 2007 Youth Ministry with a pizza party at the lake. We had awesome attendance of youth and their families. The pizza from Pagliai's and abundance of cookies and chips. Many thanks to our friends from Mary Immaculate Catholic church for the plates and cups that I forgot to get.

We played an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. It is so much fun to see people just pound their fist into their hand with such intensity. We are all very competitive at heart. Then we played Baby Food Hot Potato. It is Hot Potato with a twist. Instead of a potato we played with jars of baby food. When the music stopped the person left holding the jar had to take a big bite from the jar of baby food. Oh yeah, did I mention that we had removed the labels so they did not know what they were eating.

Vision wear

I just saw the proofs of the new TRCC t-shirts. We are planning to role these out on October 14th. Myself and the band will be sporting these t-shirts on that day. We will have them for sale between celebrations and after the last celebration. Let me assure you that these t-shirts look sharp!

I Will Never Forget

Yesterday just did not seem right to me somehow. All day long I felt like I was missing something. Well I discovered what it was last night. I could not sleep so I was channel flipping and came upon MSNBC's replay of the 9/11 coverage. Then it hit me. That was what was out of sorts.

I can remember that day like it was yesterday. The day that the face of the United States changed. An event so traumatic that it literally changed the mindset of this generation like the attack on Pearl Harbor changed the mindset of my grandparents. We will never be the same as we were on September 10, 2001.

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how Sunday played out:

Worship: The highlight was seeing Rhoda and the rest of the band lead the congregation in dancing and singing "Sing like the Saved". We need to celebrate more like this in church. After all, we have a lot to celebrate!

Drama: Vickie did a great monologue. She is so very talented. There is nothing like seeing the gospel played out in a scene from real life.

Message: Finished up the short series on "Making the Most of What you Have" with a Journey Towards Significance. We all need to surrender our lives to God so that we can live our lives with significance for the Kingdom.

Baptisms: We welcomed three people into the body of Christ. There is nothing like seeing the glory of God on the face of someone as they come up out of the water.

Attendance: 262 (20% increase from same Sunday last year)

Pumped!

There is nothing like a baptism to remind you of the glory of God. The look of joy on the face of a person as come up out of the water is nothing short of the joy of Christ.

On Sunday we had the joy of baptizing three people into the family of God. One of them was my very own son. There is no joy greater than baptizing your own children into the faith. Thank you God!

As I heard said from stage yesterday, "The angels are singing and praising this morning!"

The day just got better. We welcomed seven new members into the Timber Ridge family. This is the largest class of new members in over a year. I am nothing short of pumped up for God this morning.

Sunday Scorecard

Here is how Sunday, September 2 played:

Praise: The band had so much energy this week it was absolutely contagious. They had us all rocking in our seats and praising God. Well done! The highlight for me was "Amazing Love".

Message: Well I bit the bullet and preached on tithing. It is a touchy subject everywhere, but TRCC needs to hear this message and be reminded that it is about spiritual growth. The reactions to the message were positive and uplifting so the Holy Spirit worked well this weekend.

Attendance: 209 (10% increase over same Sunday last year)

Great Times

My family enjoyed an awesome weekend. My mom and grandma came into town from Indian Springs, Ohio. It is so good to see them.

We went to Western's Meat Market and purchased the largest sirloin steaks I have ever seen. They grilled up very nicely on my new grill along with some fresh corn, baked beans and potatoes. We ate well all weekend and boy am I feeling it this morning.

I hate to see my family head back to Ohio, but I know they will be back in three months for Christmas. There really is something very special about being with your loved ones. All of you who have family near where you live don't take them for granted. Go see them often and relish their proximity to you.

I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day as much as I did.