Did He say that ?

This past Sunday I challenged Newpointe to fully participate in our community service day and not go to church but to be the church. I said that if you choose to attend another church instead of participating in this, just go ahead and stay there, because we are wanting to be difference makers and not consumers.

I have heard a couple of different responses to my challenge.

I can’t believe he said that …..

That really made me mad …

Two things I would ask?

First, asked what did I feel when I heard that? Then ask why?

Secondly, Read, Luke 10:25-37 and ask God to speak to you.

Here is part of it.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then tells us story. He mentions two prominent religious leader a priest and Levi who had an opportunity to do good, but choose not to ( some suggest that they wanted to get to the synagogue ) … it was a Samaritan who did the right thing .

Here is what the life application bible has to say.

The expert in religious law treated the wounded person as a topic for discussion; the robbers, as an object to exploit; the priest, as a problem to avoid; the Levite, as an object of curiosity. Only the Samaritan treated him as a person to love.

To this law expert , the person least likely to act correctly would be the Samaritan. This “expert’s attitude betrayed his lack of the very thing that he had earlier said the law commanded – love.

What most people need is not a hear a sermon, but to see one.

That is my prayer for August 3.

Hebrews 10:24 " Let’s us consider how we may spur ( agitate , irritate , stimulate and incite) one another toward good deeds."

Epitaph

I was going through some stacks of files, deciding what I wanted to save and what really needed to be thrown away. I came across a retreat interview guide that I filled out for a personal coach in 1994.

One of the questions on the sheet was, “How would you like your EPITAPH to read?” Here is what I wrote:

That I willingly accepted challenges

That I gave it my all

That I was generous, honest and caring

That I was man who loved God and his family

Though a lot has changed since 1994, this still remains the same.

Have you thought lately what you would like your EPITAPH to read?

Getting a Feel for the Game

In June, I shared a messaged called “ Kicked Out “ , it was from Matthew 9:35-38. You can listen to it at www.newpointe.org I challenged everyone to pray and become engaged in making the “ Seven in Six” become a reality.

Here is a why it is so crucial that you do.

A common theme in modern Christianity has been that head knowledge is how one becomes more adept at following Christ: the more you know, the better you'll do. But in fact, that hasn't proven to be true.

Instead, it seems the Christian life is more like being a baseball shortstop: A young player can watch videos, read books by the greatest shortstops of all time, and listen to coaches lecture on what makes a good shortstop; but what will make him a truly good shortstop is getting out on the field and practicing.

The only way he'll really get a feel for the game is to field ground ball after ground ball, to figure out when to play the ball on a short hop, when a pull-hitter is at bat, and how far to cheat toward second base when the double play is on. The more practice he has, the better he'll be.

Getting a 'feel for the game' in following Jesus is much the same. You can listen to innumerable sermons and read countless books, but the true transformation happens only when you practice the disciplines that lie at the heart of the faith.

As the disciplines are practiced, your life becomes more attuned to God's life, and you become more 'at one' with the rhythms of creation. Like a finely trained athlete, you can anticipate the movement on the field; like a world-class pianist, you actually inhabit the music as you take notes on the page and give them life; like an expert carpenter, you run your hands over the grain of the wood and see what this rough cut can become. (Tony Jones, The Sacred Way )

Calling All

We have two more weeks for our Go ‘08 food drive. We are about 1/3 of the way there. We are shooting for 1,500 boxes. We want to be a blessing to the food banks in our areas. I want to encourage you to be intentional and very generous.

Also, we are not “doing church“ on August the 3rd, but we are “being the church.” I can’t emphasis enough that we need everyone to fully participate in this effort. There will be something for everyone to give back and be a blessing.

Don’t forget to sign up for your T- shirt.

You can go to www.newpointe.org and click on Go ‘08 community impact to see the opportunities.

BREAKING NEWS

I interrupt our vacation for this breaking news report. Caleb our oldest son just received his first pedicure Wed. night from his sister Sarah.

At supper that night, Caleb and I were in a debate about whether or not there were any MLB games on TV. He said he was sure that there were, and I said I don’t believe there were any. We went back and forth, and I asked him what he was willing to bet

We couldn’t decide on a good bet until Sarah said that the one who was wrong had to get their toe nails painted. Both of us agreed.

Well… there were no major league baseball games that night. Caleb was a great sport and allowed his sister who relished the job to paint his toe nails.

Here are the pictures of some beautiful toes.

KICKING OFF

These are some pretty exciting days around NewPointe. God has blessed us in incredible ways, and the main reason is not for us to revel in it, but to leverage it for God’s purposes. I want to personally ask you to commit to pray as we do our best to exercise the influence God has given us. Here are some specific things:

1. “Go ’08” food drive in July with a goal of 1,500 boxes of food for the local food pantries. It starts this Sunday. Bring your boxes.



2. Service Sunday on August 3. We want to bless our community with the kindness and love of Jesus Christ through acts of service.

3. Sports Ministry Launch – Ben Carver is joining the NewPointe staff to lead us in leveraging this opportunity and build bridges within our community.

4. Small Groups push – In September we will launch a church-wide small group push. We are shooting for over 200 groups. The theme is “One Month to Live” -- living a life of no regrets. It promises to be life changing.

5. Stewardship Campaign --- Big vision takes big dollars. We want to continue to fulfill the vision God has given us. This will happen in Nov. 08.

6. Two Church Satellites – We’re looking to explore possible locations in Sugarcreek and Canton.

7. Middle East Focus -- There are 25,000 villages and towns in Egypt that have no church.

As you can see, much of this is focused on blessing others. One might ask, “What are we doing, giving all of these resources away during an economic crisis?” Well, it is during a crisis that we have the biggest opportunity to show how great and awesome is our God.

As you read scripture, you see one example after another of people living generous lives when everybody else is living with an attitude of scarcity and God using those people to influence others around them.

Let me encourage you to read 1 Kings 17:1-16. It is the story of Elijah the prophet asking a woman to take her last little bit of flour and oil and make him something to eat. He said if she would do what he asked, she would not lack flour or oil even though there was a famine in her land.

Guess what? God was faithful. The woman gave what she had, and God performed miracles on her behalf.

Let me encourage you to finish reading the chapter.

In verse 17 you catch the phrase “Sometime later….” There is always a “sometime later” in our lives. God is always preparing us for those times. He does so by asking us to trust him now in what he calls us to do.

So let’s start now with generous living. Our first opportunity begins this weekend with the “Go ‘08” food drive. Let me encourage you to fill your boxes with food, and bring them this Sunday as we kick off this great season of intentionally blessing and influencing others.

Amazing

As you know we did not have “church” Sunday. As a group were standing around in the parking after we learned that the electric wasn’t going to be on until later in the day, someone brought up the thought about the offering in a joking way . It was suggested that what we should do it get a huge bucket and as people drove up we could tell them that church had to be canceled but they could put there offering in the large bucket as they circled back around to back home. Everyone laughed .

Personally, I wasn’t nervous , or anxious a bit. I know the people of Newpointe. I have seen it happen too often. The people of Newpointe practice giving as an act of worship and stewardship.

It has been amazing to watch how people send in their tithes and offering in by mail. You see to them it is more than just the need to pay bills, and stay with the budget . It is worship. It is an expression of their thanks, gratitude of love for God.

Guess what ? That is exactly what is happening again.

I just want you to know how thankful I am to all of you for your consistent giving that you give to God through Newpointe. It is because of your generous spirit, that NewPointe is impacting the World for Christ.

I have heard a many stories about the gifts NewPointe has given to our community through the 90 day tithe challenge. People can't believe it.

It has been my prayer that NewPointe be known as the most generous church.

Guess what ? It is happening.

You folks amazing !