Here are my random thoughts, observations and insights from yesterday followed by Justin’s message notes.

• No matter what campus I’m at, I’m always missing the others and wishing I could be everywhere at once.
• I recognize that I wear my team out with details on Sunday mornings.  Some things you just have to coach in the moment, but there are other things that can wait.  I’m trying to learn to save what can wait and follow that up with good overall feedback on Mondays.
• I’m amazed and excited by the fact that the more campuses we have the more we rely on volunteer leaders to really lead and run the show.  We should have volunteer leaders already leading at this capacity, but multi-site has forced us to really equip leaders that way.  Did I mention I’m thankful for our volunteers?
• Justin continued our Chronicles series with the parable of The Two Debtors.  I have never heard anyone tell the story of the woman who washed Jesus feet with such passion and beauty.  Truly powerful.  The notes won’t do it justice so be sure to go listen online.

The Two Debtors by Justin Davis

Luke 7:36-50

When Jesus looks into this woman’s eyes, she feels love for who she is, not what she does.

An absence of gratitude allows religion to replace relationship.

What word would you use to describe your relationship with God right now? 

Numb, guarded, repetitive, distant, absent, controlled, exhausted, dull, beat up, disappointed, mechanical, uninspiring

Has gratitude for grace leaked out of your life?

When God doesn’t react the way we think he should react, we’re quick to question Him.

It’s hard to be overwhelmed by grace when you’ve convinced yourself you don’t need it.

We are the big debtors in this story.  We’re in the biggest need of grace.

What we need to bring Jesus:

Gift of Repentance. Religion can put you at the table with Jesus but only repentance will put you at his feet.

Gift of Adoration. When was the last time you shamelessly adored God?  Does your worship to God reflect your gratitude for grace?

He who has been forgiven of much, loves much.

Will you bring Jesus your gift of repentance and adoration?

I spent my day at the Nashville campus today serving as the Worship Assistant.  I love this role because it provides me the opportunity to help set up our teaching pastor and to finish out the service with opportunities for people to respond and connect.  You could say I just did “announcements” but I always hope I can make it much more about helping people connect.

Before I give you the notes from the message today, I thought I would give you some additional highlights from today at the Nashville Campus:

• So proud of our worship team.  For those of you that don’t know, our entire band is made up of extraordinarily talented VOLUNTEERS every weekend at every campus.  These guys & gals are amazing.  Today we hit a hiccup and our drummer wasn’t able to be here, so our keyboard player (who also is an excellent drummer) changed gears, moved to the drum kit and brought his keyboard with him.  He played BOTH drums and keyboards for all four services!  That’s crazy dedication!
• After the 3rd service, I had the opportunity to reconnect with Gloria.  Gloria was one of the amazing people we met during flood week.  Her neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by the Nashville Flood just a little over 2 months ago and honestly Gloria still is struggling to figure out what to do.  I was so honored to pray for her, but left that conversation burdened by the work that still needs to be done to help families like hers get back on their feet.  Please pray for Gloria this week.
• We celebrated over a dozen baptisms today in our services.  Somehow this expression of a changed life never gets old to me… and I hope it never does.

Blake’s message today about The Good Shepherd was a powerful reminder of just how passionately God loves us.  I’m not sure we get it.  At least, I’m not sure that I get it.

Blake made one statement in his message that really stuck out to me.  He said “The mark of a true leader is self-sacrifice.”  Read his notes, ponder that statement and then let’s talk about it.

The Good Shepherd by Blake Bergstrom

John 9:24-25

Are you aware of the spiritual stories happening all around you?

Do you ever allow your agenda to get in the way of what God is doing?

John 10:1-5

Sheep trust the voice of their shepherd implicitly.

Sheep don’t need cowboys they need a shepherd.  The shepherd has earned the right to be heard.

What voices are you allowing to lead you?

Do you recognize the voice of God?  Are you listening to the voice of your shepherd to lead you?

John 10:6-10

Are you about sacrifice or self-promotion?

Do you represent the Cross or are you simply a hired hand?

John 10:11-14

The mark of a true leader is always self-sacrifice.

The Good Shepherd wants to tend to your every need.  Do you trust him?

The enemy is a thief, a robber of life and of love.

Do you understand that Christ is jealous for you?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you really truly understand just how deeply He loves you?

I’m really enjoying our Chronicles series.  Although I’ve heard these parables before, I think sometimes it’s easy to brush over them and miss many of the points that Jesus was trying to communicate.  Justin did a great job with this one today.  I needed to be reminded of the power of a little seed… of a little hope!

The Mustard Seed & Yeast by Justin Davis

Parable – an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Matthew 13:31-34

Have you ever had an unmet expectation of God?

When you’ve had enough unmet expectations, you lose hope.

Just because you can’t see it working doesn’t mean He’s not working.

Unmet expectations turn into hope deferred and hope deferred turns into spiritual disappointment.

Small beginnings from an unlikely source = Irresistible growth

We have unmet expectations of God because we’ve placed our culture’s measuring standards on a kingdom that can’t be measured.

We miss mustard seed moments because we resent small beginnings.

God’s work is not always instant, but it’s inevitable.

Don’t lose hope.

Hope waits patiently.

• God’s timing isn’t always our timing.
• God is much more concerned about your character than your calendar.
• What area of your life do you need to wait patiently?

Hope lives courageously.

• Courage is not the absence of fear.
• Courage is overcoming fear with faith.
• Is there an area of your life that you’ve allowed fear to overtake your faith?

God has placed a list of dreams in your heart… they may be your mustard see moments.

Once the seed is in the ground, once the yeast is in the dough, it’s only a matter of time.

Jesus knows all about broken dreams.

Don’t give up.

Don’t lose hope.

Is there an area of your life that you’ve lost hope?  How can I pray for you this week?

We wrapped up the Be Rich series today.  I told you this series would start some paradigm shifts for you.  Here are my notes from Pete’s message today.

New Math by Pete Wilson

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Proverbs 21:20

You create more margin in your money by either:

1. Making more
2. Spending less

You create more margin in your time by learning to say “no”.  What is normal (crazy, hectic, frenzied schedules) in our culture is no longer healthy.

What you do with your money here on this earth impacts what happens to you in eternity.  We don’t know exactly how, but we know that it will matter somehow because of what Jesus says.

Luke 12:13-21, 33-34

The problem: we believe that “more” is always for “me”.  As soon as I get a little margin of time or money, I believe it is for me.  We consume the margin for ourselves.

So many of our money issues are God issues.

We have to decide when enough is enough.

We have to come to grips with the fact that our identity is not in what we have, what we earn or how we rank.

Everything we own eventually becomes a pile of trash.

If you don’t declare in your life when enough is enough, enough will never be enough.

We’ve failed the test of prosperity because we’ve made it all about us/we’ve assumed it’s all for us.

The wise person is thinking beyond this life.

To break the cycle of “get, get, get”, I have to “give, give, give.”

How to Be Rich:

1. Admit your rich.
2. Don’t trust in it.
3. Become a systematic percentage giver of your time and money.
4. View it realizing there is more to life than this life.

So do you believe that you are rich?  What is one thing you can do this week to live richly?

Justin Davis continued our “Be Rich” series today.  Such an important discussion that we’re often too afraid of to engage honestly, especially in church.  I appreciate Justin’s transparency today.  Be challenged but be encouraged!

Leftovers by Justin Davis

There is no correlation between money and peace.

What is the best financial advice you’ve ever received and did you take it?

Those of you that are rich will always have something competing for your heart.

If you don’t view yourself as rich, you won’t take Jesus’ principles to heart.

I Timothy 6:17-19

Be rich in good deeds and be generous and willing to share.

The greatest barrier to doing good is margin.  We have to intentionally create the space in our lives to live generously.

We are rich in time and money, but we aren’t always purposeful with them.

Create margin in your time.

• We equate busyness with significance.
• We’re rich in activities, meetings, appointments, etc
• You can be rich in busyness and bankrupt in good deeds.

Create margin in your finances.

• We equate possessions with wealth.
• You can be reach in possessions and bankrupt in generosity.

You will have to choose this.  You will have to be intentional about this.

Rich people plan ahead.

If you don’t plan ahead, you will be giving God and others the leftovers.

If you don’t plan ahead to give God your time and your money, you will be giving him leftovers.

Rich people purposely give away their time and money.

1. Pre-decide to give your time in service.
2. Pre-decide to be a percentage giver.

Rich people don’t operate in the urgent, they operate in the important.

How you treat money reflects the priorities of your life.

Determine to trust God with your time and money.

When you give God and others the best, God somehow allows the leftovers to be satisfying and sufficient.

Are you being purposeful with your time and money or are you giving God and others the leftovers?

Today we kicked off a brand new series “Be Rich”.  Looking forward to this one!!  I feel a major paradigm shift coming our way!

Who’s Rich? by Pete Wilson

We’re talking about how to BE rich, not how to GET rich.

I Timothy 6:17-19

This passage is geared to a very specific group of people -  the passage says “command those who are rich”

Rich people have unique responsibilities, problems and situations.

Who are these rich people that God is talking to?  Most rich people don’t know they are rich because they always find someone else who is richer than they are.

PROBLEM – Rich is a moving target.

If you have a combined income in your house of $37,000 you are in the top 4% of wealth in the world.  If you have a combined income of $45,000 or more you are in the top 1% of wealth in the world.

God has blessed me with more than I need.  I am rich!

If you are rich, you should be grateful.

I shouldn’t feel guilty about being rich because everything I have has been placed in my hand by God.  I need to learn to be grateful.

The more money you get, the more important you feel.  We blend our identity with our wealth.

Your wealth is not who you are, it’s just something that you have.

Proverbs 18:11

Ecclesiastes 5:10

The #1 competitor for your heart is money.

Matthew 6:24

Every day I battle the temptation to lean into money for my identity and my safety.

There is zero correlation between money and peace.

Are you going to choose to lean more into money or into God?

Questions to Consider:

1. Which of these statements creates the most anxiety in you?  There is no God or there is no money in the bank.
2. Is the fear of not having enough impeding you ability to give?
3. Do you have money in the bank but no peace in your heart?
4. How hard is it for you to do the right thing when you know it’s going to cost you?

I’m back from vacation and was excited to catch the last week of our People of the Second Chance series.  Today Pete wrapped up the story from Luke 15 and talked about the role that the father played in this story.  You hear a lot about the sons, namely the prodigal son, but the role of the father is such a beautiful reminder of how our Heavenly Father responds to us.  I pray you know the joy of a Father who runs to meet you.

Surprised by God by Pete Wilson

The two sons represent different ways that we are alienated from God as well as the different ways we try to find forgiveness.

“We have to be gracious to the grace-killers” Matt Chandler

You have to give grace to the grace-killers, because if you don’t you are them.

We struggle with sin and yet we struggle with being self-righteous.

Luke 15:11-24

With every distortion you have about God there is a corresponding consequence.  This story clarifies so many distortions that we have about who God really is.

3 Observations about the Father:

1)  No ordinary (middle eastern) dad would give his inheritance away.

God created us like Him, capable of making choices that are only limited by character and knowledge.

James 1:2-4

2)  No ordinary (middle eastern) dad would ever run in public.

He takes on the form of a servant and he runs to reconcile with his son.

Philippians 2:5-8

Ephesians 1:4

He chose to love us.  God runs to us.

3)  No ordinary (middle eastern) dad would wipe the slate clean.

Instead of a ceremony of rejection, the father threw a party of reconciliation.

Sin does not make you second-class.

We teach forgiveness but we still treat people like sin makes them second-class.

When God looks at you, He doesn’t see a prodigal, a second-class citizen.  He sees his son or daughter whom he loves.

Do you understand the level of grace and forgiveness God extends to you?  Do you know and believe He loves you and wants to run to you if you’ll only just turn towards home?

In addition to launching our Bellevue campus, we launched our new series “People of the Second Chance” (big thanks to Jud Wilhite & Mike Foster for letting us use their name)

The Prodigal by Pete Wilson

Luke 15:1-2, 11-32

People that were nothing like Jesus, liked Jesus.

If our actions don’t have the same affect on people that Jesus’ actions did, are we really living our life like He did?

The two brothers represent the ways we are alienated from God and how we try to work our way back to God.

Both the irreligious and the religious can be spiritually lost.

Foundation for temptation: There is a life I want that God is trying to keep me from.

When we’re running from God, we tend to run into some pretty destructive places.

When you run from God, you start to make decisions that aren’t logical.

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

We all have the capacity for self-deception.

When you think you know better, you are going to get yourself into all kinds of messes.

The Prodigal:

• Runs because he thinks he knows better
• Turns around because he longs for home
• Is reluctant because he fears the reaction of his father

You can’t earn God’s acceptance by serving Him.  God says “You are my son/daughter.  You are not going to work for me.  You are my family.”

God allows you to experience the consequences of your running from Him, not to pay you back, but to bring you back.

There is a God that is not just waiting for you, but who is going to run to you and meet you as soon as you start to take a step towards Him.

**Resource Recommendation: The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller

I have very few words right now.

My heart is very full!

We had an amazing day at the launch of our Bellevue Campus.  Here are a few pics from my iphone and a few pics from the twitterverse.

To everyone who gave of their time, resources and prayers… THANK YOU!

• I’m so proud of our staff and volunteers who gave tirelessly to make this happen
• I’m so grateful to hundreds of people who are giving faithfully to Faith, Hope & Love to fund this campus

God used a community of people to create a new community ready to love and serve the people of Bellevue.  We could never have planned for or predicted just how important this campus would be for this moment.

It’s just beginning!!

“Hope Through the Cross” by Pete Wilson

God shouts through our pain.  It’s a megaphone to a distracted world.

There are not always simple answers to life’s difficulties.

Being a Christian doesn’t mean you know how to respond to everything in life that comes your way.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble  But take heart!  I have overcome the world. John 16:33

There are two opposing realities:

1. A God who is big and loving
2. A World that is falling apart

You are not exempt from trouble, but you can take heart that Jesus has overcome.  There is hope in that.

The cross is not just something that gets you into heaven.  It’s an anchor to hold you when your life has been rocked.

The cross is not the starting line of our faith.  It’s the centerpiece of our life.

The Cross Reminds Us…

God LOVES us.

His love for you supercedes anything you may be going through.

God allows FREEDOM but He maintains CONTROL.

Faith is saying “God, I choose to believe in You more than this tragedy.”

There’s a huge difference between trust and understanding.  Can you trust that God is bigger than this tragedy in your life?

God can use our WORST to create something BEAUTIFUL.

So often, I want my dreams more than I want God.

If God never gives us one more thing, we still owe Him everything.  I want to get to the point where I embrace that.

My greatest fear for our lives is that we settle for mediocrity.  It would be horrible to have everything this world has to offer and be separated from Jesus Christ.

Pain is usually involved in transforming our lives.

There is no shattered dream that is so great that God can’t redeem.

Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe God is using your current pain to form something beautiful inside of you?  Is it possible that God is using your shattered dream as a megaphone to rattle your mediocre, unexamined life.

We have a seed that has the possibility to grow into hope and change.  (paraphrased from Henri Nouwen)

Sometimes it’s in the middle of the shattered dream… in the middle of the flood… that God speaks most clearly.