Sunday, October 24, 2010

Sunday Splash!

Today's service was jam packed with numerous "defining moments"! Webster's Dictionary defines "a moment" as "a point in time". A moment can make a difference. It can move us. It can change us. As life becomes more complicated, more demanding and more hectic. We must become more mindful of the moments God offers us. If we treat them as insignificant, that's exactly what they become. I've observed that many people don't lead their lives... they just accept them. They wait for memorable experiences to happen, never giving a thought to creating an experience that will make a memory. Memories don't find us. We make them.

We welcomed back Douglas Flores to the platform today after having been gone on vacation for the past two weekends. What an exceptional job he and the worship team did today as they created an experience that increased our awareness of God's presence! My heart just swelled as I saw so many of the people I deeply love visibly respond to the Spirit's leading! A young pastor I admire from a distance Steve Furtick recently stated "The greatest moves of God might start with the prayer of one, but their sustained by the prayers of many". As our church absorbed the unmatched presence and power of God you could just sense that many were being replenished in their hearts. I followed my heart and I'm so glad I did and invited people to gather around the altar. What occurred was a"defining moment" for so many.

Families remain front and center in our current series "How To Build A Dream Home". These messages are designed to help you discover God's insights and enhance your marriage and family! Today's focus was upon the "Healthy Ingredients For A Happy Home". I am so appreciative of the positive feedback that I've been receiving as we unpacked these messages. I truly believe that God is working in our most important relationships! I am very excited to share the remaining messages with you in the coming weeks!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Replicating Christ

I loved watching our people take the necessary steps to draw closer to God. There is no doubt that during our prayer time God's presence showed up BIG TIME! People came forward with multiple needs and presented them to the Lord who has the solution to all our challenges and difficulties! There was a real consciousness that the Holy Spirit's power was being released around the altar! If you missed the service...YOU REALLY MISSED IT!!

Tonight we looked at 1 Thessalonians 1:4-9 and the zeal this new church plant exhibited in serving the Lord! The Apostle Paul was extremely ecstatic over the tremendous growth these young and energetic converts were making! He applauds them and holds them up as an example for others to follow. Everyone was talking about this new church! It was all positive conversation! Nothing negative was being expressed. 1 Timothy 4:12 says "Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." This is what the Thessalonians were doing!

Read Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 11:1 "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." Paul imitated Christ. The Thessalonians copied him. And all neighboring Christians took notice of them and replicated their lifestyle and works. That's how "EXAMPLE" spreads!

If we will love God completely and others unselfishly, then all our attitudes and actions will end up aligning with all the commands, instructions, guidelines and standards of God's Word.

A church is to bring people in, build them up, train them and send them out. I reminded our attenders tonight that when we leave the service and scatter throughout our city, like the Thessalonians we are to take God, His message, your testimony, your faith and His power with you AND GIVE IT AWAY!!

As long as there remains one person in the world who does not know Christ, the church has a mandate to grow. Growth is not optional. It is commanded by Jesus. We shouldn't seek church growth for our own benefit, but because God wants people saved! It never gets old watching individuals far from God come and surrender their lives to Him!!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Sunday Splash!

Yesterday at Sunset Chapel I lead the church in praise and worship! I haven't attempted that to often in recent years! Douglas Flores was away on a well deserved vacation, so I stepped up this week as his replacement and with the assistance of all our outstanding musicians and vocalists we saw move deeply in people's lives as the altar area became jam packed! And i hadn't even preached yet!!! By the time we got to the last chorus "I need You More" you could sense that God was working in our service in a tremendous way. I still don't have my mind around all that He accomplished around the altar, but I know that many were feeling His presence and power in their hearts and circumstances!

I am still amazed at how many first time guests we are seeing week after week! Can you believe what is taking place!! We are beginning to see God cause a new momentum take place in our weekend services! I am so thankful for what our Lord is allowing to happen here at SC!! Keep inviting and investing in the lives of those around you!!

Our current series "How to Build Your Dream Home" focused our attention on the topic of "Communication". I was delighted to see how many of you were tracking with the message! We discussed together the "Introductory Levels and the Deeper Levels of geniune communication! Thanks Luis and Neyda Teijeiro for coming forward and role playing at a crucial point of my message! So many have been coming up to me and expressing how much they've appreciated these messages! For the past several weeks I've become aware of how critical these really are to our church family. If you have missed any of them you can listen online by going to the church website.

My personal times with God this past week have been just phenomenal! God has been sharing a number of things in my heart that I can't wait to share with you in His timing!

God deserves our very best! Each person who attends SC is important to His plans for our church! In his book "Doing Church as a Team" author Wayne Cordeiro writes "As Christians, we absorb teaching, instruction, God's Word and His promises; but at some point along the way, we stop growing. We get saturated and our capacity to absorb is diminished. No matter how many more messages we hear, we are unable to absorb any more until we wring out our sponges. Then, and only then, will our absorbency return. Wring out your sponge and serve! Don't hang on to the water. Give it freely away. There's plenty more where that came from!" As we continue to grow we need more people to volunteer their time and talents! Nearly every ministry here at SC needs additional workers. God is stretching us! This is one of the most opportunistic times we've experienced in recent years here at Sunset Chapel! This is all so very exciting!

I am really looking forward to this Wednesday's Prayer and Bible study time together! If you own a Bible bring it with you. Last Wednesday, I shared a lot about what's been going on inside me spiritually and what God is doing in my life. Together we looked at 1 Thessalonians Chapter One. God has some incredible plans for us all and I can't wait till He reveals more of that specific plan to us this Wednesday! I hope to see you then!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

What Should The Church Look Like?

Last night we looked at 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 and the description the Apostle Paul gives of a church that functions well. Their example still proves instructive today. While many individuals are choosing to live isolated lives and put great distances between themselves and the needs of the world. God's Word challenges us to engage the world and penetrate it with the light of God's love.

In a world that lacks for faith, love and hope...we can point to Christ who offers all three! The Message Bible closes verse 3 of this passage with the following words..."it is very clear to us friends that God not only loves you very much but also has his hand on you for something special." This very young church demonstrated remarkable vigor, moral courage and activity! Highlighted in these verses are 3 distinguishing features...their work of faith, their labor of love and their patience of hope! All of which caused Paul to rejoice! Paul carried these people in his heart! His prayers for them were constant. His prayer of thanksgiving was genuine.

Who are you praying for? Do you have a prayer list? Do you mention others by name in your conversations with God? At the end of our prayer and study time I requested each person to come forward and sign my notebook. I made the commitment that for the next seven days I would personally "make mention of them" in my prayer times with God! This so simple and something we all can do.

A church that desires to function well, will follow this churches model.

*They loved their brothers and sisters in Christ
*Their love was real and tangible
*They demonstrated it in various ways and in speech
*They considered each others needs
*They were genuinely concerned about each others well being
*They worked together
*They encouraged each other in the faith
*They demonstrated remarkable unity and harmony
*They excelled in serving, honoring, preferring, and praying for one another
*They carried these values and traits outside the walls of their church
*They touched the lives of people all around them
*They had a fearless testimony for Christ before the world
*They weren't intimidated or embarrassed to share Christ
*Their compassion, concern and servants heart towards others in their city was well known

While we have a huge task in front of us in reaching Miami for Christ, I am so grateful to see the positive strides forward we are making! God is giving us the opportunity of a lifetime to grow as a church! I so appreciate the commitment and support that I sense from so many!! Sunset Chapel is undergoing a number of changes and I am pleased to see so many adapting and following His vision for our church! I really love where God has us right now as a church. Our best and brightest days are ahead of us!!

In recent weeks, I've benefited greatly from the extra hours that have been spent in prayer and study with God. His leading and wisdom has been regularly sought and valued in my heart. The fact that our church ministry teams are all on the same page now that we completed our recent leadership retreat is of tremendous help and encouragement! They are truly a gift from God to me! While there are constant reminders that we have made the devil mad, the resolve to remain steadfast to the vision hasn't changed! God is leading Sunset Chapel to new levels for His glory!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sunday Splash!

*Today was such an uplifting day here at Sunset Chapel!
*Our worship was one of the most anointed atmospheres we've experienced in some time! You could sense that people were really pressing in!
*Thanks Calvin De Bord for stepping in this week and leading us deeper into God's presence. A special shout out also to Michelle Mlacker for playing the keyboard for us this weekend! It was great to welcome back home Frederico Gosalvez and his gifted talents on the bass guitar..we missed you dude!
*Today I preached the second message in our new series "Building Your Dream Home". We discussed that it's our job as men to provide the right covering for our families! God gave this divine assignment specifically to us. Over and over we looked at several scripture passages that demonstrated the role and responsibilities we have as the head of our households. We are the ones who set the spiritual temperature in our homes. A better home requires us to become better men! We need to take our leadership to a new level and become men of faith, prayer and integrity! Guy's we can do this!!
*I was definitely caught off guard today while speaking when someone shouted out from the crowd "What was that verse you just gave?" I love the fact that people are tracking closely to the message!
*I am really looking forward to next week and sharing some insightful principles with everyone as we look to download our third message together in our new series "The Living Room-learning how to communicate"!! All of us could use some refinement in this critical area!
*I announced today that we are looking forward to participating in the Pen. Florida District's Men's Gathering to be held at Masterpiece Gardens in mid November. Cost is $40.00 per man and includes registration, lodging and meals. A sign up sheet is located in our foyer area or you can call the church to get your name on the list. I am looking forward to hanging out with the guy's from SC and receiving some great encouragement from some of our district's leading pastors!
*Ladies don't forget that a new Bible study just started for you on Thursday mornings at 10 am for fellowship, prayer and an in depth look into God's Word! Call the church office for additional details and directions!
*Today was the kick off to a new membership class taught by Russ Barbour. If you would like to know more about our beliefs, how to better your relationship with Christ, meet and make some new friends, then this class is for you! Once you've completed it you can apply for membership here at Sunset Chapel. I am really loving the growth that is taking place here at SC right now! Every week there is a constant stream of new faces in the crowd!
*Right now there are a lot of new opportunities available for people to connect together here at SC.
*Hey everybody have a blessed week!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Our next New Member's Class begins this Sunday October 10th at 9:30 am in the cafeteria. If you are confident that God has brought you to Sunset Chapel to be part of this church family...then we're confident that God has a purpose here for you to fulfill! We want everyone who considers SC to be their church home to become a participating member!

Russ Barbour, our facilitator for this class will share the importance of becoming a part of the SC church family and committing ourselves to the Body of Christ. During this informative class every participant will learn about our 16 distinctive beliefs, our denominational affiliation and will be given the opportunity to apply for church membership. It is our vision to partner with you on your spiritual journey by helping you establish healthy spiritual habits and connecting you with other maturing Christ followers!

Sunset Chapel is quickly becoming a blessing to many! It's a new day and we are very excited about the many possibilities that are ahead of us! As God continues to accomplish incredible things throughout our church and in our ministries, we are elated that he is adding new people to our church family!!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Leading like Jesus

Recently all of our ministry leadership teams (pastors, deacon board, support staff, SCA school administrators and their spouses) met for a combined weekend to develop and sharpening our leadership abilities, clarify our roles and responsibilities, conduct some strategic planning and cast vision! I see each one of them as a gift from God to help me fulfill God's revealed vision for Sunset Chapel!! Our time together was both meaningful and significant in blending our hearts as we allowed God to form us into a spiritual team.



I shared with them that a core value of our church needs to be "excellence"...which does not mean perfection...but it does mean giving your best effort! I truly believe that God works through people who are willing to go all out for Him!!








We spoke about leading at the highest levels require us all to be willing to serve at the lowest levels first. A leader must touch the heart of others before it can ever ask them for a hand. Using the example in scripture of Christ washing his disciples feet each of us made the commitment to join "The Order of the Towel" and lead and serve like Jesus.

I am looking forward to seeing the results of this time spent together impacting our efforts and causing SC to become the church God fully intends for us to become. Please continue to keep all our leaders in prayer!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Sunday Splash!


Thank you Sunset Chapel for another standout weekend! Let me try to recap briefly a few of the highlights from Sunday. We experienced a tremendous kick off to our new teaching series! Our attendance was better than anticipated! I was able to meet so many new guests...Daphine, Bengee, Agnes, Andre, Antoinette and many others! What really encouraged me was the many people who are beginning to make SC their church home! God is allowing something really special to take place here each weekend! I love our church!!

Our ministry to children "Kid's Inc." achieved a new 2010 fall attendance mark of "42"!!! Caught somewhat by surprise at this turnout they responded quickly and turned it up a notch and from the feedback we've been receiving it has become one of the best ministry weekend's they've experienced in sometime! Our kid's experienced a real move of God in their own service!! Our volunteers are doing a great job in this area! "Kerwin the Krazy Kat" made his entrance into the Kid's Inc. ministry and the kid's were really excited about their new mascot and all wanted to hang out with him!! I'm told that he's going to be popping up all over the place! You can keep posted on his adventures by checking out the Kid's Inc. blog!!