a GREAT God and a desiring servant

This morning during my quiet time I was reminded of the GREAT God that we serve and the type of man that God has called me to be.

Psalm 86
A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.

In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.

For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life—men without regard for you.

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

20 years from now...

Where will you be in 20 years? What will you being tomorrow? What are you doing today that will effect ETERNITY? Several years ago I came across a quote that literally changed the way that I look at things...

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the

things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

As Christians our calling is to make a difference, no matter what the sacrifice, but for the majority of us we are fearful of the unknown
thus

• never willing to take a chance
• never willing to dream
• never daring to ask the question what if I________

IF we are going to going to be the generation, the community, the Church, the people, that truly makes a difference, that IMPACTS this world for eternity, then we have go to be willing to get out of our comfort zones, get rid of the things that are hindering us, and EXPLORE God's calling on our life, DREAM of the things that we CAN accomplish with Jesus, and DISCOVER the OPPORTUNITIES that are right in front of us.

If this could be our passion then we would literally be UNSTOPPABLE!

Weekend Rewind

• Yesterday was AWESOME!
• It is amazing to reflect on ALL that God has done in the life of Calvary, and as we reflected it was really neat to see all of the former members who were present for Homecoming.
• Kings Cause did an amazing job leading us in worship.
• My college roomate Lance Martin brought the word that God had for CBC
• Enjoyed being back in our sanctuary after some renovations to the stage area, and boy does it look GOOD!
• VERY busy week ahead.
• Excited about our new series that Starts this Sunday,

"Audience of 1"

• Looking forward to all that God is going to teach us about worship.
• Remember this throughout your week -

The DESTINATION is GREATER than the OBSTACLE...

Lance Martin

Worship 101

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." (Psalm 84:1-2)

• Why do you worship?
• Who do you worship?
• What do you worship?
• When do you worship?
• Where do you worship?
• How do you worship?

Want to know the answers to these and other worship related questions? Come and join us November 1 for...

Weekend Rewind

Awesome weekend.

• great time at the state fair Sat. with Amanda and Andrew and some great friends...I love family time!
• God spoke in a mighty way to me and our church as I taught on the basic principle of sowing and reaping.
• Homecoming next Sunday. Excited about having my college roommate here to break God's word.
• Sanctuary Renovations are 90% complete, and it looks AMAZING!
• t minus 13 days until our Fall Festival. What an AMAZING opportunity for us to LOVE on our community in ways that they have NEVER experienced.
• VERY busy week...A LOT of things that I need to get done.
• I serve an AMAZING church...thanks for the Pastor Appreciation gift yesterday, and Jason thanks for the kind words.

One final thought -

A devotion that I read this morning based out of Deuteronomy 32:47 gave this thought -

The Word of God is not merely a source of helpful suggestions, preventative warnings, or inspirational thoughts: It is life itself!

Live the LIFE He has called you to live and intentionally IMPACT those around and WATCH what God will do!

How Dangerous are YOU?

Have you ever thought about how dangerous you could be or would be if you simply put into practice what you said you believed? All throughout Hebrews 11 we see men and women of old who WALKED the walk, they CONQUERED all that was in front of through their FAITH. That's right - it all starts in v. 4 - BY FAITH. We are called to IMPACT those around us, but I often wonder how good of a job we are doing. Often I find myself saying one thing and doing another.

I beleive this sums up the do as I say NOT as I do mentality -

The church is too often populated with Spiritual Zombies, people who think they are living by faith, but who know nothing about what it means to be excited and challenged by the joy of dynamic faith. People outside the church recognize that and it keeps them from wanting to become a part of what they view as a sanctified costume party where people dress up and talk like they have faith, but they don’t do anything that looks like trusting Jesus.

IF we are going to INTENTIONALLY IMPACT our community, IF we are going to CHANGE the culture around us, then we must take what God has GIVEN us, apply it to our lives and take the first step in FAITH. If not, then we are simply taking up space, we will never be a threat to Satan, much less DANGEROUS!