Sunday, January 31, 2010

A Weekend to Remember

On Friday afternoon, I tucked away into my office to put the final touches on my weekend message. Two hours later when I emerged from my cave, the ground outside was covered in snow. As much as I love the snow... this isn't what you want to see going into the weekend when your pastoring a young church!

Throughout Saturday we watched the news closely and gave up keeping count of all the churches canceling their Sunday services. We also fielded many calls, texts, and emails from members of our church wondering when we would follow suit.

Early on we decided to reschedule our NetGroup Kickoff, knowing we'd be facing a small crowd even if we did proceed with caution. But, to cancel service was something I couldn't bring myself to do. I'm a Yankee - born and raised. And I knew if we canceled services up north for weekend's like this, the church doors would have been closed four months out of the year!

I understand things are different here. There are mountains. There are inexperienced drivers. There's not near enough equipment to clear the roads. I get all that. And so, I kept telling the team, "Come if you can, but if you're not comfortable making the trek, stay at home." Some came, some didn't. No big deal.

We assessed who we had to work with once we arrived and as always, God provided. I can honestly say, the experience didn't miss a beat. The crowd was strong. God's presence was felt. And the weather wasn't so bad after all.

To those who came out, it was great spending the morning with you. To those who didn't, we look forward to seeing you next week. To all... we love you! We love this city and we love this church! I can't imagine doing anything else.

This coming weekend, we'll continue our series on the book of Acts. And I'll deliver what I've been calling: The Most Important Message of the Year! See you there!

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Most Important Message of the Year

I'm loving our series on the book of Acts. We've gotten great feedback from the church and God is doing some amazing things. This weekend we are covering Acts 4. And I truly believe this message is the most important one of the year.

It's part visionary, part explanatory. It's all about why we do things the way we do things at The Net. At it's core - it's all about the church. My hope and prayer is that people get it... that this weekend moves us to the next phase of growth God has for us. That we become closer to the image He has destined for us. That Acts 4:32 would become more real to us than ever before: "All the believers were of one heart and one mind..."

For those who have missed any of the 3 weeks leading up this Sunday, below you'll find video clips from Acts 1-3. To watch any of our messages in their entirety, click here.