YESHUA

New series starts next Thursday, December 2: YESHUA!

Derived from the Hebrew “Joshua” (Y’shua), the name literally means “Savior.” “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:3).” Jesus is Yeshua. Jehovah is Salvation. That salvation surrounds the month of December; our Savior Jesus was born to die. Join us all month long and you’ll be sure to gain a new and relevant perspective on the Savior who was born in a manger over two thousand years ago! You can’t afford to miss a week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

pcraig

Philippians Series Promo

REACHING through an ION!

I am continually amazed at the selflessness demonstrated by our leaders and ION students on a weekly basis. This past weekend part of Katie and Lori's ION as well as Kellan from Christian's ION shared the love of Christ with a single lady by giving her home a mini-makeover. The lady's name was Hilda. Her friend, Deborah Patnaik, was the one who called me a few weeks ago to see if we could assemble a team of people together to help with Hilda's house. Below is an email from Deborah sharing her appreciation for theTURN IONs stepping in to serve this lady:

Free Chapel, Pastor Craig, Katie and Others,

Greetings and Blessings to you and your family

Forwarding this on behalf of Hilda Rocha, Hilda is limited to e-mails from her work and no Internet connection from her home. Hilda and I want to say Thank you for answering the call of a person in need. Thank you for hooking us up with a awesome group of girls and guys who genuinely love the Lord and enjoy helping others. What a major blessing to be a part of that group.

We felt the love from everyone. May all you do and all your leaders be blessed a hundred fold and may the faith seeds of Christ's love that are planted explode and began a generation of youth going after the very heart of God which is happening right now at Free Chapel.

I believe, I have hope, for this generation and I pray that we as elders become a link to connecting the old with the new and embrace the future that is in store for us with great anticipation to what the Lord has in store for us (his children). We are mighty when we are united as one link. Young and Old serving together.

Bless you and Thank you to each and everyone who played a part in meeting the needs of Hilda!! Thank you to each person who came out and participated until it was done. Going above and beyond, even helping the surrounding neighbors. Praise God!

If you can forward this to Katie House and her girls, so, she can know how humbled we are. So grateful and thankful for them and what they are doing in the Kingdom!! PCraig we thank God for your leadership at Free Chapel.

God is always always faithful. What a wonderful God we serve and merciful and kind his love is towards us all.

Blessings,

Deborah Patnaik

Take a look at the pics below from Saturday!

Life Change Story - Isaac Lockman

To Those I Love,

Unapologetically, I want to do nothing other than build His kingdom. I am so humbled and thankful for the transformation that is happening week in and week out here at theTURN!

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” - 1 Corinthians 15:58
This is the attitude we must develop, a rock-solid, immovable attitude about the task or project God has given us. One thing is certain: Satan will attempt to sidetrack you. As His ministers, we must be constant, stable, and dependable. This is where true fruitfulness is derived in the ministry. The longer we are consistent, the more life change takes place! Make the rock-solid decision that you will be a permanent fixture within your divine call until your task is completed with excellence, regardless of what it costs you!

This week’s LIFE CHANGE STORY highlights a student who is at Georgia Tech right now whose life has been TOTALLY transformed in the last few months. Isaac has connected with our UNION Small Group ministry as well and has recently felt a tug on his heart for ministry. What an amazing story!

Pastor Craig,

For your obedience to God, chains fell off in my life tonight that I didn't even know were there. This is all I have now and this is all I care about. I have put my faith in so many other things before, but God is the only Rock in this relative world.

Pastor Jeremy was praying for me and praying for the gift of teaching in my life and I have been a tutor for over five years, taught a class at Tech for 3.5 years, and I have always felt a strong passion for teaching. I graduate in December and am thinking about Free Chapel Leadership College. Is it focused on teachers, too?

Just want to let you know that I have been blessed through your obedience to God and I am so thankful for you and theTURN.

I remember going back to my research lab after coming to theTURN and a lot of the work is to research stuff on the micro and nano scale and I was just thinking: what if we searched after God with the same precise desire and I felt very convicted in my own life. I was in a very complacent and dangerous place before I came to theTURN and now all the relationships have been tried and my (ex) girlfriend is still in my life, but she is at such a different place than I am now and difficulties arise from that.

Anyways, I just wanted to share this thought with you about how God looks at the little things. I am sure you have come across a wet-weather stream or walked up to a creek bank when the water is low and stepped in mud up to your ankles. I was thinking about how when God parted the Red Sea and the people walked across dry land, how God didn't just part the sea on the macro-scale, but literally parsed molecules of water from the dry dirt. It was not like it was hard for Him to do, but He just wanted to make it easier to get to the other side.

His attention to detail amazes me and yet we still think he is a "poor-planner."

Thanks again for letting God speak through you.

If 2 Corinthians 5:17 is true and when a person is in Christ they are a new creation, then I was not in Christ until I started coming to theTURN. When I look back at my life and say where the time was when I went from darkness to light, it would be now.

I grew up in church services, around Christians, and even attended a Christian school. However, at best I only had a small understanding of God and certainly not a heart after Him or a passion for His will. I had been out of church for a year when I came to theTURN in June and heard Pastor Craig preach on the Upward Call. I will never forget the first song was "You Won't Relent" and the words struck me and I understood that even if I had given up on God that He would not give up on me. I raised my hands and worshipped God like I never had before. I had never raised my hands to worship God before coming to theTURN and never been in the habit of praying out loud, but in obedience I have found abundance. My arms would tire at first and I would struggle to find enough words to say to God, but now I have been able to worship God with strength that can only come from above and my pitiful prayer life has greatly increased with praises of His glory as I read and have a deeper relationship with God.

The reason I have changed is because not only did I have an encounter with God, but have been discipled through theTURN. God wants our whole lives and it takes discipline, but discipline will turn into delight after a season and then you realize your whole life is changed just because you committed to reading God's Word and praying. It doesn't take all day, half an hour a day can change your life. After Pastor Craig preached about the Acts 2 Vision for the church, I broke down more so than I ever have before in my life and God changed me and I just had this desire and hunger to move past my complacent relationship with God. I joined an ION (small group) that night and have been blessed for it. Through attending theTURN I have realized that Jesus is not an addition to our lives, but the Master over everything. Since, my life has changed and now I am reading through the Bible in one year plan as well as doing School of Discipleship.

I have waited too long to write this and have too much to say, but if you are waiting on yourself to be good enough for God or for the right timing to become involved in His community, then you will never do it. God doesn't want you to figure it all out He just wants you to trust in Him and every minute you hesitate being a part of a community for Christ is a minute you miss out on God's purpose for your life and the peace that comes from obeying Him.

Thanks again for letting God speak through you,
Isaac Lockman

This is what we are here for! Fruitfulness through changed lives!

Much love,
pcraig

LIFE CHANGE STORY - HEALED

Happy Monday!

One of my favorite times of the week – time to celebrate more LIFE CHANGE that God is hammering out each week here at theTURN!

This week I am sharing a bit of encouragement and excitement from Jessy Marie – God has used the people from the theTURN to minister to her life and I am thankful for that! We would not be able to do anything without their continued leadership and sacrifice. A life measured by their donation, not their duration!

This week’s LIFE CHANGE STORY highlights a student at theTURN and her experience with feeling called to this place!

I know you will have several people share their messages and share their life stories with you this next couple of days, but I feel the need to tell you my appreciation for you, your faith, and your gorgeous supportive family! I honestly don't know where I would be today without the Mercy and Grace God gave me the day I found him but I'm more than thankful for him choosing my path that he planned that lead me straight to Free Chapel and theTURN! Being part of this team is not taken lightly in my eyes! I see it as a privilege because I believe in your vision for this ministry and I hope to stay a part of that for as long as the Lord leads me; to which I see, He isn't changing plans for awhile. Lol! THANK YOU for being a strong and obedient pastor! I’ve changed so much since I’ve been here :) I'll never forget that Thursday night in June "91 days ago to be exact" when the Lord healed me of my depression that I hid so well...My life was forever changed! God had already healed me the day I accepted Him but I needed that leap of faith to move that storm or mountain from my life! Do you remember asking me and Alex one night in the arena, what was one thing we loved? And I remember Alex talking about baseball and all that and when you looked at me I had no answer. I said I was trying to figure that out! Well I have your answer now! Lol I love theTURN!! I love the people; I love the vision you have given us; I love being a support leader in my ION; I love seeing God move every night and I just love doing what I can to be a part! Bottom line... I LOVE SERVING and I'm blessed to that here @ Free Chapel! I hope this was a boost :) cause I know you need a lot of encouragement! Thank you again & I can't wait for more!

Jessy Marie

Celebrating His goodness!

pcraig

ALL NIGHT PRAYER - Friday Night!

I will make you a promise. God will move this coming Friday night. The question is: will you be there to be a part?

Prayer moves the heart of God. Prayer is becoming our steering wheel and less our spare tire. We are choosing to take God off the clean-up committee and put Him on the planning committee.

I want to invite you to join us this Friday night. Come at any time that you are able to. We will be at the north campus from 10pm until 6am - each hour will represent a new area and method of prayer. It will be a night forever etched in our hearts!

"One can believe intellectually in the efficacy of prayer and never do any praying." - Catherine Marshall

Don't let that be you this weekend!

Humbling ourselves in prayer!

pcraig

LIFE CHANGE STORY - An ION Leader's Perspective

Here at theTURN, we are committed to three things:

Today, I want to highlight part two of our vision:

theTURN is committed to a culture of community. True transformation takes place as we build relationships in settings that encourage transparency and openness. Our UNION small group ministry meets together every first and third Sunday nights of each month to provide that setting. Our small groups, called IONs, meet all across the greater Gainesville area and are gender specific to foster a more effective means to forge genuine relationship.

As you know I try to document the life change that God is being so faithful to provide week in and week out here at theTURN – I feel that if He is going to be so faithful to perform His work, I can at least formulate into words the type of change so that we can all celebrate His goodness together!

This week I am taking a little different route. Carlos Charry, one of our guy ION leaders, is coming to the discovery of just “why” God has chosen him to be a small group leader. I want you to read his words and you determine who is seeing more change in their life: the ones he is ministering to or he himself?

This week’s LIFE CHANGE STORY highlights an ION leader and his experience with his small group!

Pastor Craig,

I have to say that yesterday's meeting came second only to the experience that we had with Casey in the past before he went into No Longer Bound! It was a powerful night. Quick recap: we went to the mini-golf place right by Free Chapel main campus. We played a round of putt-putt and it was pretty fun. It was a great moment for bonding. After that, we entered into worship and prayer and jumped into the subject of discussion. However, instead of just regularly talking about prayer we were 'debating' about the importance of prayer in society, which was pretty healthy and gave me the opportunity to create self-questioning about our own prayer life. Suddenly, the whole environment changed when I asked the question that you (Ps. Craig) asked us before about that "If God were to answer all your prayers today from the last month, would anything in the world change or just your world change?”... all I heard in the room was a big "ouch!!" Then, I developed the idea of how prayer is not a petition list but an opportunity to worship God. Furthermore, prayer is a means for us to become intercessor for our brothers. At this point I challenged them to from now on, when praying, to worship God and to pray for others... based on what I called "the principle of the garden hose"...I know, I know, silly. But think about it. When you turn on the garden hose to water your plants the first element that gets wet is the hose, not the air, not the plants; in the same way, when we allow ourselves to be a medium of blessing to others (in prayer), we ourselves are blessed in the process. Selfless prayer.

This principle led to "the sharing of the vision for the ION" where I expressed my urgent necessity to become the support system, backbone, of one another in the ION because, I believe, that is the only way we can become effective in impacting our world. In other words, we cannot fulfill the great commission without fulfilling the great commandment first to love one another. I challenged them to the point of saying that, UNLESS they were willing to invest themselves in the ION 100% meaning selfless, brotherly, transparent, and wholeheartedly love towards each other in the ION that they had no business being part of it because I believe that what we are dealing with is a matter of life or death not simply religious-church like games. Bro... the response from my boys brought tears to my eyes. Listening how the ION has become a necessity for their very walk messed me up. All I heard as a summary was, "This is my family.. I belong here. And I need this..." It was amazing. However, God was not done yet (what a show -off). The true highlight of the night happened when one of the guys approached me after the meeting was over to talk to me individually. He started sharing how he suffered of chronic depression, low self-steem, and loneliness and that he has been seeing a psychologist because he used to cut himself (which he had the scars to show me). He was asking me to pray for him because his prayer had not been answered yet. Nevertheless, I refused... God put it on my heart (what seemed so obvious to some) which I shared with him that, we 'the ION' were the answer to his prayers and the solution to loneliness and depression. All of a sudden, something clicked for him, his eyes filled up with hope, life and wow.... I have no words to express the overwhelming feeling of knowing that we "the ION" in large are the answer to many peoples’ prayers. I wonder like Caleb how many people are crying desperately while praying in a room asking God to send somebody who cares for them, somebody that accepts them, loves them, and will not judge them. WE ARE THEIR ANSWER!!! WE ARE THEIR SOLUTION!!! If we just are willing to LOVE THEM.. I guess that now I truly understand my role as an ION leader.

Carlos Charry

Here is a pic of their putt-putt extravaganza from this past Sunday night!

Keepin’ on keepin’ on!
pcraig

My Helper - the Holy Spirit

We are excited! This next Thursday night we enter into a brand new series here at theTURN for the whole month of October. October is usually filled with superstition, bats, pumpkins, and the "supernatural." But here at theTURN this October, it is filled with the Ghost, the Holy Ghost that is!

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will show you what is to come." - John 16:13

I've been thinking lately, imagine all of the times each of us could have avoided wasting precious time and energy if we had only allowed the Holy Spirit to lead us. We may eventually get to the same point, but if we try to go at it alone, that usually means we will take twice as long to get there and the journey will be much harder. The Holy Spirit sees everything. He knows every nook and corner on the road of life we walk. If we reach out and take His hand, He will lead us on shortcuts that will save time, energy, and many tears.

The Holy Spirit wants to guide us through life. He wants to guide us as we walk into the future. The word "show" in verse 13 is the Greek word edegeo. It is the word for a guide who shows a traveler the safest course through an unknown country. This means Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to be our Guide! The Holy Spirit knows the way we should go. He knows how to avoid every trap and every attack; He knows the safest and the fastest route for us to take. When we are stepping into territory that is new to us, it is imperative that we let the Holy Spirit lead us, for He wants to show us the precise route to take so we can successfully reach that place God has put in our hearts. This is part of the Holy Spirit's ministry in our lives - to get us safely to our God-ordained point of destination.

Here is our series blurb:

Who is the Holy Spirit, and what exactly does He do? These are questions that countless believers struggle with answering. Most don’t realize the Holy Spirit is a person who thinks, feels and has desires. What’s more, the Holy Spirit is present to help you live the Christian life. He’s there to give comfort, empowerment, and be your advocate..He's My Helper! Join us all month as we clear up misconceptions about who He is and insightfully explain the person of the Holy Spirit.

You better be here every Thursday night in October - and never come ALONE!

Serving under the leadership of the Holy Spirit,

pcraig

Life Change Story - Haley Brannon

I am so thankful for the transformation that is happening week in and week out here at theTURN! I have felt such an urgency to love and pray more than I ever have before. “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the ONLY thing that counts if faith working through love (my emphasis added).” - Galatians 5:6

My friends, when it is all said and done, this is what living faith is all about. To put it simply, if your faith as a Christian is genuine, then other people will be able to see lived out in loving ways. Faith in Jesus Christ is not real until it is connected to how you live day to day. I see a faith that has been tested in the story below and now that faith is being worked out in love. Remember, a faith that has not been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. Big faith requires big fights.

This week’s LIFE CHANGE STORY highlights a student who has been fighting week in and week out for a few years now and has finally surrendered a painful past. How many others do you know or minister to each week that are living right where she was?

Pastor Craig,

In November of 2008, my best friend lost her mother. Our lives were forever changed. It’s a reality we both deal with every day. She was fine. She was a vibrant, beautiful, and wonderful woman who had a smile that just made you gravitate to her. She was my spiritual counsel, my second mother, and a best friend. She seemed to be closer to God than any of us.

On the day she died, my mom made a phone call to tell her we were coming to see her. I had not seen her in about 3 months. She told my parents she didn’t want me to see her, but to remember her the way she was. I didn’t care, I needed to see her. On the way there, her daughter called and said, “Mom isn’t feeling well, maybe you should wait until tomorrow.” I said, “Okay, tell her I love her.” That was the last thing I heard. A little after 12 a.m. Sarah texted me. The text just read two words, two words that I can still see in my mind. Two words that make me regret not going to see her anyway. “Mom’s gone.” It felt like somebody punched me in the stomach. I hit the floor, I couldn’t move, and all I could say is “Why?!” I screamed it, over and over. I couldn’t control my body or my emotions. I felt helpless. I didn’t know why He would take her from us.

I’ve struggled with this for almost two years. It’s been a battle to get through a day without thinking, “I wish I could call Linda for advice on this one.” I was so angry. So mad at God that I didn’t want to raise my hands, or talk to Him or even listen to anything that brings glory to His name. I cried for no reason, but I learned to cover it with humor. I figured if I kept laughing, the pain and regret would subside.

At the leader meeting a few months back, Pastor Craig asked me what my weakness was; I said “I don’t push myself.” I couldn’t control my emotions when I said it; the truth is…I wasn’t pushing myself at all. I gave up. I gave up on the most important relationship in my life. I didn’t completely turn my back, but I was on the way there. Every time He tried to break me and show me His love, I gave up. I would be on the verge of surrender, and I wouldn’t push past that point. Every time I would get excited about going to Church, something came up. The enemy was coming at me from all directions.

I’ve been raised in church. Not only going to church, but serving in the church. I did it out of obligation and tradition. Not for God. I was increasingly overwhelmed and stressed, and I just didn’t want to be there anymore. I was doing it alone.

The day of the EMPOWER Leader meeting (Aug 21), I woke up feeling that same sense of obligation. I woke up fighting God, pushing Him away when all He wanted to do was comfort me. I fought Him, and my parents, all the way out the door, and the whole ride to the church. I fought Him all the way into the sanctuary. Pastor Craig was talking, and he said “if you’re doing this out of obligation, just don’t do it any more. Turn in your resignation.” It hit me like a ton of bricks. He was talking to me. I knew it; conviction invaded every part of my body.

In that seat, I felt that same sense of helplessness. I was sinking; sinking because of my own stupidity. I was trying to do life alone, and He just wouldn’t let me. I fought Him, but He didn’t give up. God never left no matter how hard I pushed Him away. He wouldn’t relent in His pursuit. He was waiting for me to make a choice.

I zoned out of every other speaker. When it came time for worship, something inside me changed. It was no longer a one sided love affair. I wanted Him. Brokenness hit me like I’ve never experienced before. For the first time in two years, I didn’t want to leave. I would have stayed there all day, just to feel Him that close…and to think that I fought Him all the way there.

I’m so thankful for theTURN; I can’t wait to get there on Thursdays. I love my church. The enemy can try, but if I have to walk over him I will to get to Free Chapel. He won’t win, and he won’t come that close again.

I don’t have to do life alone. I don’t have to always be the strong one. If I’m going through something I can talk to someone about it. It’s not an obligation; it’s a place where I can run after God. It’s a place of safety and friendship. Real friendship. I still don’t understand why Linda died. I don’t have to understand it; I just trust that He knows what He’s doing. If I’m feeling down, I talk to Him. His ways are not my ways, and I’m thankful they aren’t. I would have completely messed it up by now. Yeah, I still have my moments where I let me get in the way and I try to fight Him, but I’ve realized it’s so much easier to reach for His hand than to push Him away. It takes a lot of energy to run from someone who loves you like He does. You won’t win the spiritual foot race, and you won’t be successful at life without Him. It’s better to just give in.

He won’t relent, and neither will I. Pastor Franklin said He’s a motion sensitive God. Well I’m running after Him, and the most beautiful thing about it is He’s running towards me too. I talk to Him. I talk to Him all the way to school, and we talk about my day on the way home. I raise my hands out of surrender, not tradition. I dance around my house and just have a praise fest. I want to be with Him all the time.

He’s so good to me even when I’m so undeserving. I’m not going through this life alone. He’s holding my hand, and it feels great to just let Him have it all.

Romans 8:37-39
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Haley Brannon

Much love,
pcraig

A Milemarker

Would you join me in praying for what I am believing to be one of the most profound weeks ever for the life of theblend, theNINE, and theTURN?

SOLUTION Conference is now 2 days away - and my spirit is infused. I feel that we as a team are ever so prepared for what God is about to do. Lives are about to be changed, purpose will be found, and redemption will be realized - all of which are miracles. We are so dependent upon the Lord and His Spirit to do only what He can do - that is His supernatural power at work in us.

Let's pray with more passion than we have before.

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." - James 5:16

SOLUTION is upon us. And we were born for this time.

Much love,

pcraig

Another Reason I Love theTURN!

Linda is a TURN leader that has captured the heart of everyone that is a part of theTURN! She is one of the greatest inspirations to our team and to others as she shares her testimony of God's faithfulness in her life! She sent me this email the other day and with her permission I wanted to share with you all of the impact that you and this ministry has had on her life.

For more of Linda's story, click here.

You wanna' know just one more reason why I love theTURN? Read below.

Pastor Craig,

"Turn your misery into your ministry" - that phrase has stuck with me Pastor Craig. You wanna' talk about revelation for me. God is using you, He has, and He will continue.

How amazing is it that a year ago, on this very day, I was taking a trip to Washington DC to visit the daughter of a pastor who happens to be one of my bff, because my ex-boyfriend told me that he didn't know if he loved me wholly and I decided on the 7th to move out from his house. I thought of this day just one year ago, on the tragedy of mine, but of others as well because of 9/11. I was experiencing this thing called loss.....I don't know what where u doing that day, but when I closed my eyes before the plane took off, I prayed that this trip to visit my friend would be the beginning of my healing; that I would find a pastor that would love God with all of His heart, that I would find a new group of friends that reminded me of Him; little did I know where I was landing... where I am now... the pastor God gave me... the friends He gave me... you didn't even know my face. But I think your spirit already was praying for me, because you prayed, I want the brokenhearted, the very lost, the ones without hope... healing started two months later and you didn't even know me. My prayer on 9/11 a year ago was answered!

I love you my pastor, with the deepest appreciation and gratitude I've never experienced before. I am the product of what was on the other side of your obedience to God all those nights you prayed and sought Him.

Sincerely,
Linda Reyes

WE love you Linda! Feel free to show her some encouragement by contacting her on facebook or leaving comments below!

A Power Reservoir

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

-Acts 1:8

I heard of a story a few years ago about a farmer in the pan-handle of Texas. This farmer and his wife had squeezed out a meager living in the dusty panhandle for 30 years when a man dressed in a three-piece suit and driving a fancy car came to their door. He told the farmer that he had good reason to believe there was a reservoir of oil underneath the farmer's property. If the farmer would allow the gentleman the right to drill, perhaps the farmer would become a wealthy man.

The farmer emphatically stated that he did not want anyone messing up his property and asked the gentleman to leave. The next year about the same time, the gentleman returned again with his nice clothes and another fancy car. The oilman pleaded with the farmer, and again the farmer said no.

This same experience went on for the next 8 years. During those 8 years the farmer and his wife really struggled to make ends meet. Nine years after the first visit from the oilman, the farmer came down with a disease that put him in the hospital. When the gentleman arrived to plead his case for oil, he spoke to the farmer's wife. Reluctantly she gave permission to drill.

Within a week, huge oil rigs began the process of drilling for oil. The first day nothing happened. The second day was filled with only disappointment and dust. But on the third day, right about noon, black bubbly liquid began to squirt up in the air. The oilman had found "black gold," and the farmer and his wife were instantly millionaires.

You have a reservoir of power in your life. If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit works in your life. You can tap into His power and live your life with resurrection power. The Holy Spirit will empower you to live a life on a greater level, but you have to tap into His power just as the farmer needed to drill for the oil. The Bible says to, "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) and to "live by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16). People are searching for the power to change their lives when, in fact, the power is already dwelling within them in the form of God's Holy Spirit. Tap into His reservoir of power!

See you tonight!

pcraig

Consumerism - Kills the Mission of the Church

The church as a vendor of religious goods and services?

Yikes. Those are strong words. But I have started thinking about this. Have we, over time and with good intentions and pure motivation, turned our churches into vendors of religious good and services? In our desire to attract people to our churches, have we taught that church is where you come to learn about how God can help you fix your problems? Where you come to have others teach your children about God for you? Where you come for your weekly feeding in the Word of God? Where you come for quality programs to help you live life better and develop a social network? Where you come to experience high quality worship music?

If the church has become the place instead of the people on a mission, leaders only naturally start focusing their efforts on what people experience when they come to the place on Sundays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. In recent years, churches have added the words excellence and relevance to their value statements for the church. In doing so, have our churches naturally began to spend more time focusing on the quality of the music, sound system, and bulletins? As the church grows, the pressure to continue this focus increases and the problem escalates.

The bigger the church gets, the better the preaching needs to be with more dynamic presentations and better PowerPoint slides. The music needs to be more professional with better sound systems and lighting. The youth ministries need to be better to keep the teenagers happy and paying attention so their parents can sit in the larger gathering where religious goods and services are dispensed. Great intentions, but as a result the church can subtly lose sight of its identity and missional function, and people come to church to have their needs met by others, volunteering only if they have time to spare. We must be careful not to create a culture where people come to church; if so, people generally are content to remain spectators.

Remember, we don't go to church. We are the church.

pcraig

A Word Study: Image of the Invisible God

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." - Colossians 1:15

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him." - Colossians 1:19

So, I wanted to share a little word study from one of my favorite passages in all of scripture. The scripture states that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Let's unpack that a bit.

First, He is supreme in that He is the image of the invisible God. To understand this concept, there are words we must briefly illuminate in order to apply. First – image – the Greek word here is icon but rid your mind of the idea of an American icon and also rid your mind of the idea of a mere representational image like a knockoff of a fine fashion or a bad print of a great painting. The word icon doesn’t mean representation. It means manifestation. Not simply a photo of, but the presence of. How do we know that? Second word

– God was pleased to have His fullness dwell in Him. In other words, when one beheld the person of Jesus, it was not a semi-sort of view of God. You were beholding a full manifestation of God. Third word – God was pleased in this – to take infinity and place it inside the skin of this man for what purpose? To image – it implies someone has to behold. Who is it? You, me, anyone who will behold Jesus. God was pleased to do this so that we would know Him. Wow!

This is why Jesus said in John 14:9, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” This is why John the Apostle writes, “Jesus is the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the Father that has made him…..known.”

Let me make the idea of manifestation a little more clear.

When you go outside today, look up and look briefly at the sun. It is 93 million miles away. It is 109.3 times the diameter of this planet. Its surface is 12,000 times that of Earth, and in it Hydrogen and Helium are heated to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, but who cares you say? You need to know that energy bursts from the sun, and it travels 93 million miles to us and hits the ground and you with this much power – 4 million horsepower per square mile. And when you put your hand in it, your body produces Vitamin D. And if you keep it there unshielded, it will burn you and if it weren’t there, you could see nothing and wou

ld die from exposure to cold temperature. Keep in mind that the sun doesn’t want to manifest itself to you. It has no feeling, but God who is billions infinitely greater than any of us, manifested, produces, lets you see by His Son. Now THAT is manifestation!

Thank God for His manifestation in Jesus Christ!

We love you Lord!

pcraig

Bible Reading Plan

"As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success." - 2 Chronicles 26:5

A Bible reading plan is critical to your development as a Christian. It may not always seem like it in this time-pressured world we live in, but spending time with God and reading His Word is the most important part of your day. The Bible should be studied as eagerly as a hungry person seeks for bread. We must take its truth and appropriate it to our lives. The delivery person on a bakery truck may handle a 1,000 loaves a day, and yet go home hungry at night; so when we read the Bible we must not peruse large portions of the Word of God with little profit. We must make it our own and feed on it.

We must study the Word as a miner digs for gold or as a diver plunges into the depths of the sea for pearls. Most great truths do not lie on the surface. They must be brought up into the light by patient toil.

So for your targeted growth, it's important for you to find a plan that works well for you. Once you've identified that plan, you need to be faithful to follow it.

Each Bible reading plan is different. They are as varied as each individual, so you have many to choose from. Consider the following options on the posted link, but remember to choose one. For the effective Christian disciple, regular reading in God's Word is not optional. It's a necessity!

Here is a link to get you started on a Bible reading plan (I personally use the "Old and New" plan in the NIV found on the following website):

http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/

I pray this is a help!

pcraig

Top 10 Reads

As I promised you tonight, here are the top ten books that I have read that are my favorites. This list has helped me most in my walk with God over the past 8 years!

1. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
2. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
3. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
4. Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
5. The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer by Bounds
6. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala
7. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
8. Learning Theology with the Church Fathers by Christopher A. Hall
9. Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God by Greg Ogden
10. Recapturing the Wesleys' Vision by Paul Wesley Chilcote

And I must give you some very close honorable mentions:

• Power, Passion, and Prayer: Greatest Sermons on Revival Through Prayer by Charles G. Finney
• The Wigglesworth Standard by P.J. Madden
• Basic Christianity by John Stott
• Healing is a Choice by Stephen Arterburn
• Knowing God by J.I. Packer

The Cost of Discipleship

Mere Christianity

The Cross of Christ

Celebration of Discipline

EM Bounds on Prayer

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

The Pilgrim's Progress

Learning Theology with the Church Fathers

Unfinished Business

Recapturing the Wesleys' Vision

Keep tuned in for our monthly recommended reads!

Seeking Him together!

pcraig

Worship - Cultivated out of a Fear of God

So we are back to the subject of worship.

We need to be reminded that we are called in the Old Testament to worship God in fear; to truly worship God in fear. When we worship God at all times in all places, because God is always available to the true worshiper, wherever that true worshiper is, we also need to understand that when we come to God, there is a foundational reality about Him that is to be understood. And here it comes from Psalm 96:9, “Worship the Lord in holy array, tremble before Him, all the earth.” Listen to those words: Worship the Lord in holy array. Tremble before Him, all the earth.

I was sharing this Scripture the other day with my leadership team. To whom does the Lord look? To whom does He look? “To this one I will look.” Isaiah 66:2, “To him who is humble, contrite of spirit, who trembles at My Word.”

Where does this fear come from you ask? This fear comes from the fact that God is holy. Take a look again at the way in which Isaiah responds to God in His presence in Isaiah 6. This chapter takes us, in a sense, to the essential attribute of God that relates to us worshiping in holy array, worshiping with fear. And that is God’s holiness.

It’s one thing to say God is spirit. It’s something else to say God is spirit but God is holy, holy, holy (like the angels sing). The true worshiper goes to worship in holy attire out of sense of fear. How many times in the Old Testament are we instructed to fear the Lord? Holiness inspires fear because we realize our sinfulness. It results in brokenness. It results in trembling at the Word of God, as we saw in Isaiah 66. True worship rises out of that context. It is essential if you’re going to be a true worshiper to have a vision of the true God, the God who is spirit but the God who is spirit who is holy, holy, holy. And I believe the true worshiper starts with an awareness of the awesome holiness of God and his own utter unholiness.

I really think what Christians need is a vision of the holiness of God. It was Habakkuk, you remember in Habakkuk 3:16, that trembled at the voice of the Holy One. The restored remnant feared the Lord when they heard His holy Word spoken by Haggai, the prophet in chapter 1, verse 12.

You say well that is just the Old Testament. Well even when you come in to the New Testament, God incarnate in Jesus Christ was a frightening, frightening person...truly. When on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus pulled His flesh aside and revealed His manifest divine blazing glory, Peter, James and John who were there were literally scared into a coma. They fell over like dead people, like Ezekiel did when he had a vision of God, like Isaiah did in the sheer fear of being a sinner exposed to holy God.

Do you remember when the disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee, a storm came up and it says they were afraid. Jesus stilled the storm, and then the Bible says they were exceedingly afraid. It is more frightening to have God in the boat than a storm outside the boat. They knew who was in their boat, they were exposed. They knew they were in the presence of the Creator who controls the wind and the waves and they were terrified. And they should have been terrified. It’s a terrifying thing to be in the presence of absolute holiness when you are a wretched sinner.

Peter was fishing, Luke 5, couldn’t catch anything. “The Lord said to him, ‘Put out into the deep water, let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon said, ‘Look, Master, we worked all night, caught nothing. Do You think we did that on one side of the boat? What do You mean put out your nets for a catch, You think we missed something out there?’ But they obeyed.” And you remember what happened. They had so many fish they filled both boats and both boats started to sink. “And then Simon Peter fell at Jesus feet.” This is what he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Why did he say that? Next verse, “For amazement had seized him.” (McArthur)

Trauma had seized him. He was panicked because he was in the presence of the One who controlled fish. And Jesus did this in His miracles to traumatize people. His authority was so apparent, it says, the people were astonished at His teaching.

A burning heart of worship is cultivated in the fear and holiness of God. Have you seen Him for who He is?

Let's ask for a spirit of revelation together (Ephesians 1:17)!

pcraig