Monday Emotions

Solid Sunday! I was really encouraged to see so many people make it out to church on a long holiday weekend. We talked about sex, but went further into exploring God’s heart for us. I love that through studying God’s word we can discover how aggressively in all things He is fighting for our hearts – that’s one thing that makes God amazing!

 

Thoughts from Sunday:

 

* I had a blast! It was a nice, relaxing Sunday. Had kind of a chill family vibe, as many folks were out of town.

* We had the elders pray over our missions team, still can't believe 19 people are going to Nicaragua! Please be praying, we leave Friday night!

* Three people said “yes” to Jesus yesterday - that makes everything we do week in and week out 100% worth it!

* I know I keep saying this, but the band is just taking us into worship – come on!!!

* We had a meeting after church to discuss our church-wide MISSIONAL drive coming this fall – get ready, it's gonna be AMAZING!!

* I thought the clip Shawn showed on the marriage retreat was great – it's gonna be a great time! Sign up by emailing Shawn atskexistence@gmail.com.

* Had a blast relaxing and watching golf and tennis after church. Pumped for Tiger, bummed for Roddick!

 

Final thoughts:

 

It's been a great start to summer and I believe it's only going to get better. Let’s keep fighting for the things God is calling us to. Let’s fight for people’s lives, don't give up on them!!! Let’s keep expressing Jesus missionally and let’s make sure to get in and stay in community, it matters!

 

Love you guys!!!

 

Josh

Monday emotion... a bit late :)

 

I had a crazy Monday so this is a day late. We have so many amazing things planned for the summer and fall - can't wait!

 

Sunday reflections:

 

* AMAZING SUNDAY!!!

* It was SO wonderful to share the big news of our pregnancy with the church, Kim and I felt so blessed!

* I was blown away by how many people showed up Sunday. So many new faces! We are going to run out of room soon, great problem!!

* What's up with the band? They have become so on fire for worship, I love it!!! I love seeing our church celebrate our God and Savior!

* I had a blast teaching on biblical giving. I love that our church hungers for answers and we're not afraid to hear God’s truth. Way to go, I'm proud of you guys!

* How about the inclusive video? I was crying like a baby. I can't stress it enough, that video 100% captures why we do what we do! Geoff said it best. What stuck out to him was, "She invited me.” HUGE!!!

* I was pumped to see our Creative Arts Team working on the art for our next series. It's gonna be an awesome series, can't wait!!!

* Everybody thinks we're having a girl. Hope she's like Kim!

 

Final thoughts:

 

Just want you guys to know I feel very proud and blessed. I fully understand the type of church we have and the sweet, generous spirit that exists in it. Thank you for being loving, passionate people, it's gonna be such a joy to raise children around all of you!

 

Love ya guys!!

 

Josh

Monday Emotions

First off, what a wonderful weekend! I was in Denver getting reports on the amazing ministry weekend we had. Below are a few highlights!

 

Poker:

* We hosted our first ever poker tournament fundraiser with over 120 players, many of whom were disconnected friends and family! Way to go on being INCLUSIVE, it matters!

* We raised $4,000 for the orphanage in Nicaragua!!! How great is that???

* A guy in my LG won, way to go Tim Lawrence! Had to throw out a shout out!

 

Church:

* I hear it went great! It was so nice to have Shawn and Rebecca back!

* Cool to see dads show up. It's so amazing when children take the lead on bringing their family back to Jesus! Way to go all of you who fought for your parents’ spiritual lives!

* I hear the band did great! I can't say it enough, I love that we are making worshiping Jesus a priority!

* We had 2 new couples come from the billboard, that’s cool! We have seen some great stories and people come from that board. I guess there are many imperfect people out there! :)

 

My time:

* I went to Denver to be with my brother, it went great! For all of those who were praying, thank you!

* My brother is doing good. There are many tough days still ahead for him but God's good and he's leaning heavily into Him!

 

Final good story:

 

I was on the plane coming home last night and I landed the bulkhead aisle seat. For those of you who travel much you know that's as good as it gets (minus first class :)). I was so pumped, it was 10:00 p.m. and I was looking forward to some space and rest. About one minute after I sat down this HUGE clearly military gentleman asked if he could sit next to me. Ugh I thought to myself, come on guy! Within seconds my personal space was gone and my attitude took a dramatic downturn. Ever been there? 

 

After a few minutes I started to get that old fashion feeling like maybe God had arranged this undesired encounter. I politely asked the Holy Spirit to leave me alone and let me rest, no dice! So, I leaned over and began a conversation. A few seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into touch down. God was working!

 

As we hit the tarmac Ryan (the name of the bulk head seat stealer) asked me if he could get some information on our church. He said he was raised Catholic but still had a ton of questions about God. I gave him our web address and told him that we all look forward to seeing him!

 

Point: It matters, it matters all the time! People need Jesus and they have questions. The real question is, will YOU do anything about it? Ya, most of the time it's tough and uncomfortable. Most of the time it's uneasy and unplanned. But the reality is men and women are waiting for you to lean across your comfort zone and simply say HI!

 

That’s my prayer for our church. That we will lean across our comfort zones and direct people to Jesus!

 

Love you guys, let's be difference makers!!

Cool story!

Last night at the Commitment to Community class I heard a great story that I wanted to share. A woman came up to me grinning ear to ear celebrating a new job she had just gotten. I asked her about the job and how she came about getting it, her answer blew me away!

 

She told me that each week when we remind people that if you don't have non-Christian friends then, MAKE NEW FRIENDS! She went on to tell me how her old job consisted of working in a 100% Christian environment and when coupled with church she realized she was lacking non-Christian friends. So, she took an amazing, bold step and literally left her safe job and went into a new environment in which door could be opened to INCLUDE people in the journey of following Jesus.

 

Hello!!! That’s it! That’s why we do what we do, that’s why we are here on earth! God is calling each of us to take proactive steps towards this amazing calling of INCLUDING people!

 

So here's the question. If this woman would quit her job and find a new one in order to be used by God, what would you be willing to do? Think on this, don't avoid it and let God speak to you.

 

Together, let’s advance God’s kingdom!!

 

Love ya guys!

Josh

Monday Emotions

Another great Sunday in our series, “Detour to Definitions”. It's been so amazing to watch our church dive deeper into God’s word while at the same time INCLUDING others on the journey - amazing stuff!

* Very cool Sunday - the band was on it, it's so fun to worship God together!
* We had a TON of new people at church yesterday. Way to go on INCLUDING people, as well as welcoming them into
COMMUNITY!
* I had a blast teaching on spiritual warfare and I personally learned a ton too!
* We're doing really well on the missions raffle. If you haven't bought some tickets yet, you still can Saturday night!
* I saw a MISSIONAL meeting going on at the same time as our Nicaragua missions trip meeting - that's GREAT stuff. I love
seeing our church make God’s kingdom a big deal!
* I had a woman thank me yesterday for the “feast” that she partook in at church, still smiling about that one. :)
* Kids ALL OVER! Love it, keep making them - in a Biblical marriage. :)
* I attached a picture that a little girl made for me at school. If this doesn’t warm your heart....

Final thought! I am praying for YOU! This week matters. Your spiritual life matters, be alert! Others’ spiritual lives matter, be alert! The decisions you make matter, be alert! Don’t forget to be great stewards of your lives. You can start by going back to Ephesians 6 and putting on your spiritual armor!

Love you guys - have a great week!

Monday Emotions...

Sunday was 100% why we do what we do! Below are the highlights!

* 8 people said “yes” to a relationship with Jesus - that's what ALL this is about!
* Worship was AWESOME! The band is doing such an amazing job of leading us!
* We had an INCLUSIVE meeting after church - I love seeing our church gather around the vision and dream of how we can reach more people for Jesus!
* Kids, kids and more kids! I love it. Our church is a great, safe place to include families with kids. Keep INCLUDING THEM!
* I loved the pieces of text we studied yesterday, it was so edifying to me!
* I had a high school kid ask if I would pray for him to have the courage to share his faith with a friend. Hello, how cool!
* How about Geoff doing announcements with a wedding ring on - our little boy is all grown up! So happy for him and his amazing wife Devin!
* We already raised over 500 bucks for the orphanage in Nicaragua. We are going to be able to help them in so many amazing ways! Come Sunday to hear more!
* Quick shout out to Ryan Knight, who did an amazing job editing the video on Sunday! If you want to help with creative arts, email skexistence@gmail.com.

Final thought: I drove home Sunday praising God for allowing me to see first-hand people say yes to Him. It's an amazing sight to see people with tears in their eyes and softened hearts say yes to their Creator. Here's the part that gets me most. Each person was there yesterday because someone INCLUDED them. I think that's what makes my heart race the most. People's lives are changing and God is using us! I prayed with passion and conviction that this would just be the start. So let’s go for it, let’s allow these moments we are experiencing to just be the start!

I truly love you and love building God’s kingdom alongside you!

Monday Emotions...

Great Sunday! I love both leading and serving in our church. Below are some highlights that fire me up!

* Despite the gloom, people were pumped to study God’s word and worship Jesus - great stuff!
* Felt like I kinda bombed the first service message but second came out just fine.
* Had several people share MAJOR things going on in their life. We really need to be in prayer for our church family. I'm reminded each week how many people are going though real heartache. Take time and pray for the people you know and don't know!
* Met several new people on Sunday. I can't tell you enough how much I believe that God has set people in all our lives that we are to INCLUDE in this process of walking with Jesus. What about YOU?
* I have to say, Dave Keene (our bass player) gets what worshiping Jesus is all about. Thanks for leading us Dave!
* Let’s give some props to Vy Baker, who rocked out the INCLUSIVE announcements - she is as cool as the other side of the pillow!
* Despite the fact that we are taking three weeks off from Cold Pizza, our jr high ministry, we still had about a dozen kids show up!

Final thought: I'm overwhelmed! I'm overwhelmed with what I see God doing and what I sense God calling our church to do. As I look at our church I see how many gifs, talents and non-churched relationships exist. I can't help but imagine what will happen as each of us take greater steps in letting God fully use us! So... let’s take all the possibility and turn it into reality. Start praying, start trusting and let’s start letting God fully use us! Love you guys!