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R U Fully Connected?

"Is My Team Connected?" from Grace Church on Vimeo.

P.S. Here is a worksheet that Pam Turner created to help us look at our small group, or Bible Study, or volunteer team, or family from time to time & consider, "Are we fully connected?"

Download Worksheet - Is My Team Connected

Download Worksheet - Is My Team Connected

Web Bonus - Lie$ Money Will Tell You

Yesterday, we kicked off our personal finance series called "Lie$."  Week 1 was "The Lie$ Money Will Tell You" based on what Jesus said in Matthew 13:22, "the deceitfulness of riches."

• Money Lie$ -- The list of money lies that I read came from Diana Clement here.
• Ponzi Schemes 1 -- As we heard yesterday, Bernie Madoff was just a modern version of Charles Ponzi, from whom we get the name "Ponzi Scheme" though he didn't invent it.  I guess Harry Markopolis has a new book coming out about him TRYING to blow-the-whistle on Bernie.
• Ponzi Schemes 2 -- Also, did you know that a failed "Ponzi Scheme" was the cause of a REVOLUTION in Albania back as recently as 1997?
• Ponzi Schemes 3 -- Jack Laptad caught me after services and said he thought the biggest Ponzi Scheme in history is Social Security.  He told me people aren't saving for their future in the program.  New investment money is being used to pay the old investors.
• Who Painted That? -- FYI, the artwork we used for Matthew 13 was Van Gogh's "The Sower".
  
• Now You Know -- Did you know that you can turn any word into a title for a financial series, as long as you find an "S" to convert to a dollar sign?  :-)
• Love Me Love Me -- As I was prepping this week & thinking through the Lie$ money will tell us ("Trust me. Serve me. Love me"), the Cardigans' song "LoveFool" came to mind.  "Love me, love me, say that you need me..."  I had more than one person tell me that the song is insidious...they can't get it out of their minds now.
• Tell Me Lie$ -- Jason Henderson, our Worship Director, said he was thinking about a different song with today's topic:  "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac.

No Man

Now don't get me wrong.  I had a fine time yesterday.  But I want to promise you something.  No man invented the idea of the "Couple's Baby Shower."

Check out Exhibit A and B below.  :-)

I guess I was reminded of this recent Super Bowl commercial...

Sat Night Update

Lots of things going on these days.  Great things, but it's been really hard to get time to blog...or do much of anything else!

• "Friends to Love" Story -- Jim Shrader sent me this note. "Bit of encouragement...I have to brag on my wife of loving others first.  She and the kids decided supporting a friend in need was more important than the looks they would get. I'm so proud of the example they're setting. Thought you would enjoy."
• "A Place to Learn" Story -- Laura Oliver sent me this note. "I was edified by your explanation of the 'joints' of the Body of Christ being our relational "connections with one another...Someone like Scott Nitzel might be...CARTILAGE...Your sermon also made me think of...when I broke my pinky toe...I was shocked at what not having my pinky toe in 'working order' meant..."
• Supporting the K's -- I just heard a great story from the K's.  I heard of a place that an indigenous religious leader is present during Bible Studies in the community!
• Supporting the K's (Take 2) -- I heard another story where people are using music to serve children without parents.  A way cool service opportunity.
• The Ugly 2000's -- Tom Herzog sent me this link to a Bill George story on the short-term gratification that infected leaders & our economy during the last decade.  One of the quotes: "Getting a significant proportion of those 25 million unemployed Americans back to work requires us to shift from a spending economy focused on 'instant gratification' to an investment economy willing to support long-term programs that restore America's economic dominance."
• Out of the Tourney -- My 5th grade boys went 1-and-done in their tournament (like half of all teams playing in all tournaments).  My 3rd grade girls are 1 year away from their tourney.  So, season over.  Coach Dad can hang up the whistle till Thanksgiving.
• Another Knee Problem??? -- A week ago Tuesday, I was playing pickup basketball.  After I went for a reverse layup, I came up hobbling on my right knee (same knee as my ACL repair back in 2007).  It was swollen like a melon for about a week.  Now it's got a funny kneecap "click."  Doesn't feel right.  Headed to the Doc this week.

L8R.

Web Bonus - A Place to Lead (i.e. Serve)

"Are you strictly a 'Weekend Warrior' here at Grace?  Or are you connected?"

Yesterday was the final week of our "Are You Connected?" series where we've been encouraging every single person to go beyond "Weekend Warrior / Regular Attender" status and get fully connected.  What does that look like?  It's going 3-for-3...

1. Friends to Love -- Have at least 1 friend at Grace
2. A Place to Learn -- Join a small group OR Bible study OR 1-on-1 discipleship
3. A Place to Lead -- Volunteer in a ministry at Grace OR outreach beyond Grace

In other words...

Yesterday we took on the topic of connecting to "A Place to Lead" -- finding that ministry IN the church, or outreach BEYOND the church, to get connected to Christ.  We went through the greatest description in the Bible on how the church is SUPPOSED to look & work together: Ephesians 4:11-16.

• The Church is a Body -- I love this example.  God describes the church, not as an organization, but as a living organism...a body.  It's so descriptive.
• • Our Head = Christ -- Christ wants us to depend on Him, as our body depends on our head -- where every movement, every direction, every thought is rooted in direction sent from the head.
  • The Body Parts = Us -- We are like body parts.  We are all created with a unique design with unique gifts & placed into the body to play a specific role.  As body parts, we need to be connected to the body to receive support, energy, food, strength, care, etc.  If we are not part of a body (a church), we die.   If we don't serve in a body (a church), we atrophy.  If we get connected & serve, we grow & flourish & fulfill our purpose.
  • The Body Joints = Relationships -- The most vulnerable part of a body is the most vulnerable part of a church -- the connections between members (i.e. relationships).  We need to protect them & heal them.
• Spiritual Gifts -- Check out all 4 lists of the 21 or so spiritual gifts of the New Testament:
• • Romans 12
  • 1 Corinthians 12
  • Ephesians 4
  • 1 Peter 4
• The Video -- You can check out the powerful "Body of Christ" video we used here.

 Next weekend, we kick off a new series called "Lie$", where we're taking on the lies that money tries to tell us.

10 Resurrection Appearances

Last Sunday, I also mentioned that the Bible records 10 different appearances to people during the 40 day period between his resurrection & ascension.  He was really trying to accomplish 2 things:

1. Prove he was physically risen
2. Pass on some final instructions

Jesus' 10 appearances (of which there's a great chart available on pg. 91 of The Bible Knowledge Commentary) are as follows:

1. Mary Magdalene
2. A group of women
3. Peter
4. 2 disciples (on the road to Emmaus)
5. 10 apostles (without Judas)
6. 11 apostles (with Judas)
7. 7 apostles (on a fishing trip)
8. 500+ people (on a mountain in Galilee)
9. James (Jesus' half brother)
10. 11 apostles (at the Mount of Olives)

A Simple Study Guide

Last Sunday, I talked about the incredibly simple & effective study guide I create for every text I'm going to teach.  Whenever I'm studying a passage in detail, I...

1. Type it out -- Or copy/paste it into a document
   
2. Create a new line every punctuation mark -- After every period, comma, semicolon, etc.
3. Indent a phrase -- If it appears to modify the previous phrase
   

That’s IT! The document becomes my study guide & helps me see the flow of the arguments being made.  It’s just a GREAT study technique.  (P.S. I learned this technique from Dr. Jeff.)

Here are the actual study guides I created & used last weekend.  Enjoy!

Web Bonus - A Place to Learn

"Are you strictly a 'Weekend Warrior' here at Grace?  Or are you connected?"

Yesterday was week #2 of our "Are You Connected?" series where we're encouraging people to truly get connected.  That is, to go 3-for-3 by cultivating...

1. Friends to Love -- Have at least 1 friend at Grace
2. A Place to Learn -- Join a small group OR Bible study OR 1-on-1 discipleship
3. A Place to Lead -- Volunteer in a ministry at Grace OR outreach beyond Grace

Since yesterday's topic was "A Place to Learn", we decided to cover Jesus' most definitive statements about our need to learn beyond the weekend: Matthew 28:16-20.

• The Bible Contains... -- If you liked the video we showed before I spoke, you can watch it here.  We purchased the original at IgniterMedia.com.  And would someone please tell me if that's Morgan Freeman talking?
• The Ultimate Visual Aid -- We baptized 8 people yesterday across the 3 services.  I LOVED hearing their stories & doing the baptisms in the middle of the message.
• What Book Was That? -- I referenced the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.  The history is located here.  You can search it online here.
• 8th Grade Flashback -- For many people, it had been far too many years since they heard the wonderful words "participle" and "gerund."  Good thing we got to flashback for them.
• My Doppleganger? -- Brian King grabbed me after service and said I was wearing the Steve Jobs uniform (glasses, black mock turtleneck, & blue jeans).  Too bad I shaved or my uniform would have been complete.

I've got some more I'll post on this the next couple days...but I'm shot tonight...

Next weekend, we take the 3rd area of being connected...finding "A Place to Lead" (i.e. Serving).

Wed Nite Thots

Hey guys, here's what's up tonight...

• Sick Be Gone -- The kids have gotten better.  A couple days of fun & phlegm & it was over.
• Fun Study -- The study through Numbers 21 (particularly v.4-9) was FUN tonight.  We saw the story that Jesus referred to in John 3:14-15.  (If you want to blow your mind, check out these passages too: Revelation 20:2, Isaiah 66:22-24, Matthew 22:13, Matthew 27:45, and Psalm 22:1-6).
• Hooping It Up -- Pretty soon, our basketball seasons will be over.  But we had a great time yesterday at practice.  But I'm always surprised how short their attention spans are in 3rd & 5th grade.  :-)
• One Cat Year -- We're coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my wife, daughter, & mother-in-law playing dirty with me.  It was Valentine's Day last year when the 3 of them asked me to look for a cat.  How could I say no?  P.S. How many years have passed in Callie the cat's life (AKA "The Mistress of Funk") over this last year of human time?

Web Bonus - Friends to Love

"Are you strictly a 'Weekend Warrior' here at Grace?  Or are you 'Connected'?  What does it even mean to be 'Connected?' And why is this ESSENTIAL to my life & relationship with God?"

We kicked off a series yesterday called "Are You Connected?" where we're talking about these things.

First off, let's make it CRYSTAL CLEAR what it means to be "Connected" at Grace Church -- to move beyond "Weekend Warrior" status.  A person is "Connected" at Grace when they've gone 3-FOR-3:

1. Friends to Love -- At least 1 friend at Grace
2. A Place to Learn -- A small group OR Bible study OR 1-on-1 discipleship
3. A Place to Lead -- A ministry at Grace OR outreach beyond Grace

Are we all clear on this???  :-)

Now, yesterday's topic was "Friends to Love" from John 15:9-17.  Here are some bonus thots:

• The "One Anothers" -- I referenced the fact that a LARGE number of commandments in the New Testament can't even be lived out unless you have "Friends to Love."  These are known as the "one anothers."  I found this list 59 "One Anothers" online. Here's my list of 66 "One Anothers" I found when I studied it out last Friday.
• Greet One Another -- Doug Riede grabbed me after service and said that he had been already trying to live out the command to "Greet one another."  In fact, he pointed out, 3 John 14 commands us to learn people's names & greet them by name!  He tries to learn 1 new name a week by (a) meeting 1 new person, (b) writing their name down, (c) lifting up a quick prayer for the, & (d) keeping the sheet in his Bible to greet them by name next week.
• What Friends Are For -- When Jim Shrader heard I was going to speak on friends last weekend, he wrote me this quote: "Just remember that Hallmark may have the card, but a real friend helps hide the bodies."  When I told this to my family, Jacob said, "Dad, a friend is someone who'll visit you in jail. But a real friend is someone who will be sitting beside you in jail saying, 'Man was that fun!' "  This was from the kid that God designed as the ultimate-rule-follower! :-)
• The Lonely Guy -- Speaking of friendships, I used to love the movie with Steve Martin & Charles Grodin called "The Lonely Guy."  It was clips like this one that cracked me up.
• SOMEBODY, Stop Me! -- In all 3 services, I told people we celebrate the ordinances of baptism and communion "once a month like clockwork...communion on the 2nd weekend of the month, and baptism on the 3rd."  Then we celebrated communion.  The only problem?  It was the 1st weekend of the month!  Can I get someone...anyone...in 1st service to STOP me from repeating it to 2nd & 3rd service???   (P.S. I should have just said we celebrate baptism & communion once a month like clockwork.  That's true.)

Next weekend, we take the 2nd area of being connected...finding "A Place to Learn."