very early in the morning…

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35-36

Believe it or not, there is a lot packed into this little passage from Mark. And it’s really been making me think. Most of us are very familiar with that passage. And if you’re like me, you breeze over it, thinking to yourself, that’s a good idea but not all that practical. After all, that’s JESUS!

But isn’t this the standard? Aren’t we called to be like Christ? Here are a few questions I’ve been pondering in regards to this passage:

• What was Jesus’s reason for getting up so early to spend time with His Father?
• What was His purpose for leaving the house?

And most importantly:

• How does my time alone with God compare to Jesus’s?

Something to think about.

sunday’s scuds (april 25, 2010)

Sunday brought us the start of the new series, The Marriage Experts. And Dwight brought us a message full of unbelievable scuds. His message was about hitting the bulls eye in marriage. And after he peppered the wall with paintballs, he set down the paintball gun and picked up his scud launcher and aimed it directly at us. Here are some of the scuds:

• We don’t like to deal in reality when it comes to talking about our marriages.
• Marriage doesn’t save you. It’s not what’s going to fix everything in your life. Nobody truly lives “happily ever after.”
• Often times the person who needs the most help ends up receiving the least amount of help because they’re too proud to ask for it.
• Marriage is not a contract—it’s a covenant.
• A contract says: I limit my responsibilities and protect my rights.
• A covenant says: I surrender my rights and assume my responsibility.
• Living together does not work. It’s a contract relationship. And it’s selfish.
• We must prioritize our spouses over our careers, hobbies, friends, and kids.
• Marriages do not work when spouses are 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place.
• The greatest gift I can give my kids is to love their mom well.
• We think that if we marry our “soul-mate,” we won’t have to work at our marriage. Wrong.
• Marriage has nothing to do with “chemistry.” Affairs are about chemistry.
• Marriage is brutal to selfish people.
• You can only be loved to the extent that you are known.
• The original sin in marriage: blaming each other.
• A marriage done right gets better every year.
• One of men’s greatest needs is sexual fulfillment.
• Wives, your bodies are not your own—don’t email me, email God about that one.
• Anybody can have sex. What you CRAVE is intimacy.
• Husbands, your wife thinks your the sexiest when you’re helping around the house.
• Husbands, maybe if you helped out more with the kids she wouldn’t be so tired!
• My responsibility to my wife is to help her reach her God-given potential.
• In your marriage, you’re either a dream-maker or a dream-breaker.

a look back at sunday @ the ‘pointe

Wow, it was a full day at NewPointe Sunday. The Marriage Experts series kick-off, the annual food-drive, Dwight shooting paintballs in church, and Bubba Joe in KidStuf. Whew! Here’s a look back…

Wes!

Those whacky “Marriage Experts” offer advice on their “radio show.”

 

Dwight’s aim was fairly impressive.

 

Excellent worship set.

And last but not least…

benji’s collision

Last Sunday we wrapped up the COLLIDE series. Great ending. Powerful message from Dwight. And a video from my pal, Benji about the collision he had with Christ about a year ago. Check it out…

weekend design team

I’m currently sitting in a creative meeting (yes, multitasking). We’re brainstorming the summer series based on what we learned from the teaching team last week.

Wes is leading the session, and writing on mirrors. Lots of good ideas. Lots of fun. More info to come!

sunday’s scuds (april 18, 2010)

Sunday was part three of the three-part series, Collide. In this series we’ve been looking at who Jesus is. Easter weekend we learned that He’s the perfect Lamb who God provided to take away the sin of the whole world. Last week we learned that Jesus is the Shepherd who provides and protects us. Sunday we learned about Jesus as the Carpenter. And just let me say, if you missed it, make sure you watch or listen online (or pick up a CD at the bookstore) because this message was off the chain!

Here are a few of the scuds Dwight fired:

• You’re going to collide with the truth today. You can either embrace it or reject it—but it has the potential to change your life.
• Jesus knows, understands, and feels everything you go through.
• Propitiation. I’ve worked on that word all week long to be able to pronounce it correctly.
• Jesus made propitiation for our sins. In other words He satisfied God’s wrath and justice on your account.
• You’ve probably already been tempted today and it’s not even noon yet.
• No temptation is overpowering.
• You are never a “victim” of temptation.
• The devil doesn’t make you do it—you choose to do it.
• It’s possible not to sin.
• While it’s possible not to sin, it’s probable that I will.
• Life is a series of tests. And God wants to know: Are you trustworthy?
• Religious people can’t get real with God. Only people who are in relationship with him can do that.
• Jesus was a workin’ man.
• It should never be said of a Christ-follower: “He’s lazy.”
• Jesus understands the tension you feel between pleasing God and trying to please your family.
• Jesus understands what it’s like to be cheated on because the Church cheats on Him all the time.

Again, if you missed this one, don’t cheat yourself! Make sure you watch online or get a CD. I promise it will rock your world.

Next week: a brand new series: The Marriage Experts.

harold’s collision

Part two of the COLLIDE series brought us the story of Harold Dawson and his collision with Christ.

Wow.

Check it out:

summer series

Here’s a sneak peek at NewPointe’s summer series (beginning in late June).

Dwight, DD, Kevin, and I get together once a month to talk through upcoming message series. We wrestle with things like:

• What do we want people to know?
• What do we want them to do?
• What next step do we want them to take as a result of this series?
• What tension are we trying to create?
• How do we resolve that tension?
• What’s the bottom line?
• Dwight, what do you REALLY want to say in this series?

The sheets in the photo above are the results of asking those questions.

So…what’s the summer series about? You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.

sunday’s scuds (april 11. 2010)

Sunday brought us part two of the COLLIDE series. Last week Dwight taught us about the significance of Jesus as the Lamb—THE LAMB of God who takes away the sin of the whole world.

Today he talked about the significance of Jesus as our Shepherd (and, not-so-coincidentally, you and I as sheep). Here are some of the scuds he fired:

• Every time we collide with truth, we’re never left the same.
• We’re all familiar with Psalm 23. In fact, maybe we’ve become too familiar with it because we don’t actually live it.
• When the LORD is your shepherd, you will lack nothing.
• Far too often we have a scarcity mindset—we feel like there’s not going to be enough for us…
• The reason you battle fear is because you think it’s all up to you.
• God doesn’t always give us what we want but he always gives us what we need.
• If you’re so focused on what you want instead of being focused on what God has for you then you’re in danger of missing His provision for you.
• I’m amazed at how many Christians are not truly content. And the reason is because they don’t truly know Christ as LORD.
• Counseling will not restore your soul. Only the One who made you can restore you.
• The reason so many of us do not experience peace is because we’re in the driver’s seat.
• We have this weird tendency to do what we want to do and then when things go wrong we blame God.
• Jesus gives us the ability to live above fear.
• The reason you’re so fearful is because you don’t know God well enough.
• It’s an insult to God when we worry about our finances…because it says that we don’t trust God enough.
• The goodness that God promises us in Psalm 23 means that while everything may not always be good, His goodness will still follow you.
• The mercy He promises means that we don’t get what we deserve. Instead, we get what we need.
• Partial obedience = total disobedience.

Easter 2010 highlights

What a great weekend we had! Six services, three locations, over 5,400 in attendance. The highlight, no doubt, was that 5,400 people got to hear the clear, compelling truth of the Good News that the resurrection of Christ offers. Here are a few of my favorite pics from last weekend:

Kim Hill opens the service with Revelation Song:

The worship was fan-tastic!

It was a great start to the new series: Collide.

And, of course, Dwight never fails to deliver the goods!

Most importantly, the Holy Spirit was present. He spoke to me. He spoke to thousands of others. Many, many cards were turned in by people who made a decision to follow Christ.

Thanks, NewPointers, for volunteering, praying, and inviting. If you’d like to experience Easter @ NewPointe again, you can! Just click here.

another video from Easter @ newpointe

This is the video we showed right after the opening song. Wes Feldner and Keith Joki knocked it out of the park with the production. Leah Zambie knocked it out of the park as the talent for this vid. I thought it was terrific. This video was used to set up the new series, Collide. In case you missed it or you just want to see it again, here you go…

josh’s collision

I’ve heard a lot of comments about how impactful this video was. Josh Randolph talks about how his life collided with Christ’s and how it changed everything. If you know Josh, you know God has changed (and is changing) him. Love that guy! Here’s the video:

Christ in the Passover

This past weekend, Dwight talked about the significance of the sacrificial lamb at the Passover. And then he showed us how God sent The Lamb to become the sacrifice for each of us—for once and for all.

This First Wednesday we’re going to learn more about that in a special presentation by Jews For Jesus called, Christ in the Passover.

Christ in the Passover shows the link between the ancient Festival of Redemption and Christ as the Lamb of God—and trust me, it’s a presentation you’ll never forget! It’s a visual presentation—you will actually see a table set with traditional Passover items. The speaker will use Scripture as well as the visual items to walk through a Jewish Passover seder, weaving the story of the Exodus together with the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The words Jesus spoke in the upper room come alive as each Hebraic item is carefully explained. We’ll follow up this powerful presentation by celebrating with communion and an awesome time of worship.

I promise you will not want to miss this. Join us for dinner in the NewPointe cafe beginning at 5:30. The service will begin at 7 p.m. See you there!