UK 27 UL 2

Kentucky beat Louisville today in football. This our big rivalry and we have beat them two years in a row. It is always a good day when Kentucky beats Louisville in anything.

UK 27 UL 2

Kentucky beat Louisville today in football. This our big rivalry and we have beat them two years in a row. It is always a good day when Kentucky beats Louisville in anything.

A Great Saturday

This is a beautiful Saturday morning. Cathy and I got up this morning and went for a walk. I did my prayer time, worked some more in the yard, and cleaned up a little around the house. I am looking forward to spending the afternoon watching college football. Football is finally back. They make Saturday and Sunday afternoon's worth living! This is turning out to be a great holiday weekend.

Tomorrow we are having family communion, Sunday School promotion and I am beginning a new sermon series entitled, "The Dreamer." Pentecostals are dreamers and we will look at the life of Joseph as of how God fulfills His dreams for His purposes.

Tomorrow night most of our Connection groups are taking a break even though some are having cookouts. Contact your leader for more information.

Yard Work

I finished taking care of the yard. I have extra chores now that Charles and Tyler are at school. I have to pick up the slack.

I am really excited about what God is doing. I believe we will have a great service this Sunday.

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend.

Emma and Macey

Emma and Macey are in town. They are my nieces. They will be one year old on September 3. They are beginning to walk and say a few words. They are really cute. It is going to be fun spending some time with them this weekend.

I am looking forward to some rest this weekend. For a lot of different reasons the last few weeks and months have been draining. I am really looking forward to some down time.

Sharing

We experienced a great service last night. God has been so good to us and has blessed us with His presence. I go to services with a sense of expectancy, anxiously waiting for what God is going to do next. When I got home last night I asked myself, why. Why is God pouring out His Spirit upon us? See, I know that God has a purpose in everything He does. One of those purposes is God likes to bless His children. He wants to pour out His Spirit upon us. He delights in healing the sick and setting captives free. I also believe He has another purpose though. God purposes always include the planet. God is pouring out His Spirit upon us, so we can be a witness in His world. We can not hold the blessing just for ourselves, we must share them with others. If you believe God is doing something special in our church, then share the word. Tell others about what God is doing. Invite someone to come with you. Let's not hoard God's blessing. Let's share it with others.

Charles and Tyler

I talked to Charles today. It was pretty cool. Tyler has not called yet. If you want to see what their dorm room looks like, go to downloads and then photos. We have posted some pictures of their room.

Cathy's Ministry

Cathy was appointed Assistant Chaplain at the County Jail today. She will work under Miss Faye in the woman's program. She will work with some of the harder cases. Today she counseled and prayed for the woman that killed the social work before she was transferred to federal prison. I didn't think Cathy would ever do this, but she loves it. Please pray for her. She is ministering to some real hard cases. I believe we will see fruit from this.

The Holy Spirit

I am really excited about the service tonight. I believe our church is experiencing a fresh move of God's Spirit. The word that keeps coming to me is movement. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is like the wind. You cannot see the wind and you cannot control where it comes from or where it goes. You cannot see the wind but you can see and feel it's affects. The Holy Spirit is just like that. You cannot see the Holy Spirit but you can see and feel it's affect. You cannot control the Holy Spirit, we must flow and cooperate with the Spirit. I don't want to control it. It is a movement. I want to be a part of God's movement on this earth. Be here tonight as we experience the movement of God's Spirit.

Pentecostal

Today was a good day. I attended the conference at the District Council. It was on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I am more committed to Pentecostal theology and the ministry of the Holy Spirit than ever before. I believe we are living in the era of the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts had no ending. We are still living it. What does it mean to be Pentecostal? Pentecostals are people who pursue God's presence with their whole person in order to receive power to fulfill God's purposes for the whole planet.

Tomorrow Tricia (not her real name) is ministering in our midweek service. She is a missionary to Muslims. It is a miracle that a single woman is able to reach Muslims for Christ. She recently baptized several Muslims. Her very existence is based upon the miraculous. She has received divine protection as men of a village came to stone her to death. She has seen miracles of healing that resulted in Muslim families salvation. She has experienced those who practice the occult and are possessed by demons be delivered.
Don't miss the service tomorrow night.

Facebook

I am now on Facebook. I am not sure what I am doing but I know it is a way to communicate to people. So if you are on Facebook please add me as a friend.

Tomorrow I am going to the district campground in Crestwood, KY (outside of Louisville.) It is a meeting for pastors. I have to get up at 5:00 a.m. and not get home until late at night. I probably will not post tomorrow.

Wednesday night Lisa Leliaert is speaking in the service. She will speak on "signs and wonders." It should be an exciting service. We are having bar-be-cue for dinner at 5:30 p.m.

Boys in College

We did it. We took Charles and Tyler to college and I got Cathy home. That is a major accomplishment! Actually she did very well. We were so impressed with the College. They are at Central Bible College and their mission is to discover, develop, equip, and send Spirit-filled servants of God. They are focused on producing pentecostal ministers. Their kindness to Cathy and I as parents was great. They helped unload the cars and we got their room set up. Later this week I will try to post a couple of pictures on the website. One of the Vice-Presidents of the college gave us his cell phone number and said call anytime if we had questions or concerns. That is impressive.

The ride home was kind of lonely but we were also proud. As a parent you want your children to grow up and fulfill God's call on their lives. Charles and Tyler are doing that but we are going to miss them. I will keep you updated on their college career.

Book called "It"

I am reading a new book called "It." The thesis of the book is that some people, churches, and businesses have "It" and some don't. Those that have it tend to be successful and those who don't are not. The Spirit has something to do with "It" but cannot totally explain everything. It would be very insulting to claim that some churches have the Spirit and others don't. They all do to a certain degree. "It" includes the Holy Spirit but it is also more.

I love reading the book and want First Assembly to have "It." Whatever "It" is. Pray with me that we would be full of the Holy Spirit and full of "It."

Good Byes

My parents took Charles & Tyler to lunch today. They are leaving town on Monday so this was their good bye. We take the boys to Springfield on Thursday. It is getting sad.

Tomorrow I will preaching on the "Power of Pentecost." Pentecostals believe that God's power is active today. God still heals, saves, and deliverers. Other groups say they believe the same but in many ways they just give it lip service. They never if rarely pray for the sick. The do more counseling than deliverance. They trust more in man's ways than God's power. Pentecostals believe that all the I Corinthians gifts are for today and not just selected ones. We believe that God is all powerful and that as a loving Father he loves to use His power to bless His children. We cannot and should never try to manipulate God but we can believe for miracles. We can trust our God to meet our needs and change our lives. I believe that God is going to display His power in our midst.

Wednesday Night Dinners

Did you see Michael Phelps break the Olympic gold medal record? Isn't he amazing. He might be the best athlete in the world today. No one had dominated the Olympics like him in a long time.

Tonight we resume our Wednesday dinners. Because of cost we had to increase our prices but they are still cheap. We will charge $4.00 for an adult, $2.00 for children under 12, and no more than $12.00 for any family. It is almost impossible for a family to eat out cheaper than $12.00.

Our mission teams from Ecuador and Egypt will give their testimonies tonight. I am really looking forward to it.

Hope to see you here.

Olympics

Have you been watching the Olympics? I have watched more this year than in the past. To be honest I have always been a basketball, football, and baseball guy. Beyond the big three I do not watch many other sports. Watching golf always leads to a great nap but that is about it. Yet this year I have been watching swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, and other sports that you could not get me to watch any other time. Why is that? There is something about them wearing the American uniform and hearing the national athem. It makes me watch. I love cheering for team USA. I am actually looking forward to watching some more. Watching Michael Phelps swim has become fascinating. I would have never believed that I would enjoy watching someone swim!

Friends

Today I am going to Owensboro. A member of our congregation is having surgery. I want to pray with her before she goes in and sit with the family. I believe Jesus is the healer.

Before I go to the hospital I will have lunch with a friend. We try to get together at least once a month and have lunch. I believe friendships are one of the keys to life. Life is not made up of things but relationships. I want to be in a right relationship with God, my family, friends, and my world.

Keep your relational world healthy. Do not neglect the most important things.

Today's Service

I am getting ready for today's service. I have prayed, read, and studied. I always get nervous before a service. I really want God to come and touch people's lives. I want to see the lost saved, the sick healed, and the captives set free. I believe what happens on a Sunday morning has eternal ramifications. I know that hurting and lost people will walk through our doors. I know there is someone who needs a fresh touch of God. I know there is someone who needs to be challenged to go to another level. And most of all, I know I cannot do it. It has to be God. He has to show up. We must experience His presence and power. I also have great anticipation because I know God wants to do more than we can ask or imagine. So I am getting ready to walk down the hallway into the sanctuary. It is going to be a great day. God is good all the time.

Leadership Summit

Thursday and Friday I attended the leadership summit. It is a conference for church leaders. It is conducted in Chicago but is shown by satellite in cities all over the world. I was able to go to Bethel Temple in Evansville. Over 100,000 people attend the conference world wide. I enjoy this conference because you get to hear speakers from several disciplines. There are church business, government, and social sector leaders teaching leadership. It is my one "can't miss" conference of the year. I have gone 6 straight years. This year my favorite speaker was Gary A. Haugen. He is president and CEO of International Justice Mission. It is a ministry that sets to bring justice to the mistreated of the world. For example there are 27 million slaves in the world today. Did you know that? I didn't. There are more slaves in the world today than in the civil war era. This ministry sets out to set these slaves free. It is an incredible ministry. His talk was extremely challenging. Other speakers included the CEO of Best Buy, Charles Colson, Bill Hybels, and other incredible people. I always leave the conference stretched and challenged.

Tonight we are birthday party for Cathy's father. We are going to their house.

I am looking forward to the service tomorrow. I believe I have a message from God for the church. I will see you there.

Baby Fix

Pray for Charles. He has hurt his back. I think over the last couple of months he has done different things to it. Yesterday he went and saw Dr. Nunez. He is going everyday. We are trying to get everything in order before they go to college. There is always something going on.

Tomorrow I am taking Cathy to Louisville for a dentist appointment. Her old fillings are rotted and have to be replaced. My sister-in-law works for a dentist there so we are going to get all the fillings changed (better her than me.) Like I said there is always something going on.

Hopefully I will get to see my nieces, Emma and Macey, tomorrow after the dentist appointment. I have seen them in a couple of months. I heard they are almost walking. They grow so fast at that age that every time you see them there are big changes. I am looking forward to my baby fix.

Count Your Blessings

I had a wonderful day yesterday. I thought yesterday's service was great. God is moving in our congregation. I love to see people commit and recommit their lives to Christ. I love to see people worshipping God with passion. I love preaching the Word. I love being a part of a Connection Group. God is good.

It is easy to forget that at times. Our perspective in life can be blurred by our circumstances and we forget how much God has done for us. I believe the discipline of gratitude is one of the forgotten spiritual disciplines. Paul teaches us to be content in all circumstances. How can you do that? Your contentedness is determined by your gratitude. When I spend time thanking God for my blessings, my problems shrink. I become more satisfied with who I am, what I have, and what I am doing.

I encourage you to spend some time today counting your blessings. Practice gratitude. It will encourage you and make you feel better.

Gideon Breakfast

This morning I went to the Gideon breakfast. Once a year they have a meal for local pastors. They give us an update on the Gideon ministry and ask us for support. It is a great ministry that distributes God's Word around the world. I had the privilege of eating with Rev. Todd and Michelle Linn. They are pastors at First Baptist. They are real nice people. Henderson is fortunate to have them. First Baptist is doing some wonderful ministry in our community. We are thankful for what God is doing. We do not compete with each other but complete one another. Henderson needs several local churches to reach our whole community. It is great to be God's co-workers with them.

Did you notice the pictures of the church in The Gleaner? That is great publicity for our church.

Servanthood, part 2

I just walked down from Biram Hall and saw all the teachers looking at the displays the vendors set up. So many of them thanked me as I walked by. Servant hood is a good thing. When you serve others, you feel better about yourself. To be honest with you when my alarm clock went off at 5:00 a.m., I did not feel like serving. I thought I do not want to do this but when I see all the people here and know that First A/G is having some influence on the teachers that will influence our students, it is worth it. Jesus said he came not to be served but to serve others. As followers of Jesus we have His DNA. We are called not to be served but to serve. Today First A/G fed over 1000 school employees breakfast, we hosted their vendors in Biram Hall, they had their orientation in the sanctuary, and we handed each employee a packet from our church that included the salvation message. It is a good thing.

Later today we have to put all the chairs back where they go and clean the building for Sunday. It will be a long day but again, a good one.