Faith from the home crowd

Today, I was reading in our Life Journal plan (okay I'm a day late), and wow, the verse that hit me, "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." Matthew 13:58

Jesus comes to his hometown to show how the kingdom of God is showing up. He's about to do miracles - heal people, proclaim the good news that God has offered eternal life, and share revolutionary teaching that it's time to have an abundant life. But what did he find, people who doubted his power, and questioned his calling from God...yikes is that us?

God really challenged me, Wow - would I welcome Jesus because of my faith in him? Am I recognized by my unwavering faith in God's unbelievable power?

Let's continue to believe in God, who's able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.

Easter Video worth watching

Ok, I wish I was able to come up with this type of video...but hey, I know my gifts.

But praise God, that other people have creativity - check out this moving video about Jesus' resurrection from Elevation Church:
http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/resurrection-injection-and-such/

A video describing the series on 1 John

Here's a short video about the Sunday morning series based in the book of "1 John."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63MefHn2c_s

A simple message...yah right

So this past Sunday, as we continued our series in 1 John, I was up to preach about love. Now this type of love isn't the erotic love (ie. "check out the singles in your area" ad that comes up on my hotmail account), but this is about a love that is much deeper.

John gives a command to "Love one another." (1 John 3:11). It's not just about being nice to people, it's about loving those around us. He's referring to a love that is self-sacrificing & unconditional. This act of love is displayed most perfectly in the example of Jesus. Jesus came to earth and laid down his life for us.

Are you following me? The type of love that Jesus calls us to show others, isn't based on how we feel, or if it's convenient. Loving one another is about stepping up and being sacrificial. Perhaps that's in doing the dishes for our spouse, or maybe spending time with our sick kids, or phoning a friend who is always negative. Loving one another challenges us to step up and be proactive about the relationships that need mending and the people who need encouragement around us.

Is it easy for you to love...one another? Why is it tough to love those who are annoying? Are we willing to accept God's strength and Spirit to help us show love to others?

Time to Celebrate

It's time to celebrate...really, it's time to party! This weekend, on Sunday April 5, Gateway Community Church is celebrating our 3 year anniversary! It's been 3 years of God doing some pretty big miracles. Lives being changed by a God who loves people and wants a relationship with them. We have seen people freed from alcohol consumption. We have seen people who were aimless and worried, now have hope and peace. We have seen people whom the doctors said couldn't have babies, get pregnant (God's the one in charge!!!).

This Sunday we are celebrating a really BIG GOD! I'm going to be looking at the reason to celebrate and what type of God we do celebrate.

If' you're reading this and you are within driving distance...come join us for an incredible Sunday.
Then next Sunday, it's the celebration of Resurrection. What a picture to see that Jesus could rise from the dead. No other religious leader has done it or even claimed to have done it - only Jesus...but why does this matter to us...come find out!