Abundance

First I want to make it very clear - I am not a "prosperity preacher!" God and wealth do not necessarily go hand in hand, nor does evil and poverty. I know wealthy people who are evil, and I know God fearing people who are also wealthy. I also know God fearing people who are poor as well as evil people. There is nothing wrong with being broke, except the obvious part of it ... it stinks, I've been there! And there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, unless your wealth has you rather then you having it! Having wealth gives you opportunity to do many great things! Do it.

All that said, I do believe that God wants to take care of His people and there is nothing wrong with asking God to give you more than enough, especially when you use it for His purposes. Often we pray for God to bless me and mine, when a better prayer would be to ask God to bless you so that you could be a blessing to others.

God knows our motives for wanting more, we can't trick Him, so be sincere ... but I dare ya to ask God for extra and commit to giving that extra away to help others.

We should all cultivate an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity mentality. Be generous!

10 Ways to Kill Your Church

1) A Jammin Bell Choir!

2) Lot's of Committees!

3) Allow anyone with a heart for God to sing a special!

4) When you pray for people try to push them over!

5) Have a 2 hour service with no order, just allow the "spirit to move".

6) No greeters, who needs 'em we all know each other!

7) A "not-a-people-person" type pastor.

8) Vote on everything, even when moving the flower pot in foyer 2 inches ... cuz that's where it's always been!

9) Double-breasted Suits and patent-leather shoes required!

10) Open Mic Sundays!

Sarcasm intended! :)

2011 Hanky Panky Challenge

The Hanky Panky challenge is for married couples to engage in some kind of hanky panky everyday for the entire month of February. Now, I looked up the definition of “hanky panky” and it was not the definition I was hoping for … so I thought I should clarify what I mean by hanky panky.

THE HANKY PANKY CHALLENGE

Here is what I have learned over the years of issuing this "Hanky Panky Challenge" ... for the guys it means one thing, and for the girls it may mean yet another, so let this blog be your guide. We are encouraging married couples to take the month of February to focus on their marriage by creating moments of intentional intimacy “hanky panky” with each other everyday, a total of 28 days. It's a challenge in itself just making time to connect everyday! So whether you connect for purely sexual intimacy (intercourse - hopefully no diagrams are needed here) which most dudes are probably hoping for – you are welcome guys!, or lots of kissing, touching, tickling, loving massages, foot rubs, hand massages, taking a bath together while listening to soft Jazz, washing each others hair, pillow talk, praying together (for each other and your family), read the book of the Bible entitled Song of Songs, reading a romantic book together, watch Dr. Phil – sorry, just kidding … watching a romantic movie (not Texas Chainsaw), cooking dinner together, talking a walk together, write a meaningful note to one another and read aloud, go on a romantic date … basically go back to what you did when you first met and fell so madly in love with each other! (I realize that was a massive run-on sentence!)

Side note here; many times this is what I see failing in marriages; everything that I have mentioned above is many times absent after a year of marriage. Simply, we take each other for granted, we are too busy (or we feel we are too busy). Yet when I talk to couples about their schedule I see that there are many many opportunities in their “busy schedule” for intimacy, but it’s filled up with TV, Sports, Hobbies, Kids stuff, facebook, and just a lot of worthless busy-work.

So there it is, the Hanky Panky Challenge ... I hope you take the challenge and comment here on this post or on my facebook ... oh yea, by the way ... I promise at the end of the 28 days your relationship with be better than ever!

I will blog more … I just had to rush to get something up here so if you heard something on TV or Radio you’ll know what it is all about!

Happy Hanky Panky!

10 Leadership Secrets of Timmy Gibson

1) Be true to yourself only if you are aligned with who God made you to be.

2) Pick your friends very carefully because they play a huge role in your life.

3) Be concerned with how your decision will effect others.

4) Always get both sides of the story.

5) Talk after you think.

6) Doing the right thing is always right.

7) Doing the wrong thing is always wrong.

8) Always listen to those you lead.

9) A wife will make or break you.

10) You never lose putting God first.

S.O.A.P Prayer Guide

What is S.O.A.P.?

 
S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. It is a way of getting more out of your time in God's word. I did not invent it; I just decided to post it here to help you in your prayer life.

How does it work?

 
It's quite simple. When you sit for your daily quiet time read the bible as you normally would with one simple difference. Underline or make note of any verses that jump out at you with special significance. This is the basis for diving deeper and using S.O.A.P.

Now comes the cool part. Login and create a new SOAP entry. There are four fields to fill in and I bet you can guess what they are:

 Scripture Type in the verse or verses that stuck out to you in your reading. You can show the verses and even have them read to you with the click of a button. No copying and pasting blocks of text.

 Observation What did you observe about the scripture that struck you. This can be one sentence or a whole book.

 Application How can you apply the observation so that it affects your life today.

 Prayer Write out a prayer to God based on what you just learned and ask him to help you apply this truth in your life.

Close the Gap

2 Corinthians 3:18 "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."

Let's be honest here, you read a scripture like that and think; "what does that mean?" At least I do. But it's actually pretty simple really when you break it down. First the veil is the veil of disobedience, or the veil of not having a teachable spirit ... and when that is removed we want to do right, it's not so much a discipline as much as it is something that flows from who we are, rather then something we must make ourselves do. I have felt for sometime now that Christianity isn't about "DOING" as much as it is about "BEING."

And as the veil is removed we do indeed become like Him, and as that happens we close the gap between WHO WE ARE and WHO WE WANT TO BE. All of us suffer from the GAP disease. And I personal beleive that that the bigger the GAP the bigger the unhappiness in our lives.

So let's CLOSE THE GAP in 2011!



Do Over

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

I really do not know where to begin! If I am truly being open and vulnerable 2010 was a challenging year for Mercy Church. We changed our location, had big staff changes - nothing bad, simply staff moving away or staff taking a new role within the church and new staff coming in to replace those who left. We had major budget changes as well because of the move and the economic down-turn our nation is facing. Not including all the things going on in our community with businesses closing, job loss, foreclosures, and people filing for bankruptcy … all within the Mercy Church family. As well as all the personal struggles that went on with …anxiety, depression, divorce, drug addiction, loss of family … etc. etc. Tough year for a lot of people, and when people in Mercy Church hurt or suffer, we all suffer.

The good news is, WE MADE IT! And I believe we are stronger for it! What is it they say, “Tough times never last but tough people do!” That’s Mercy Church for ya … we are tough! In the midst of all that yucky stuff we were still able to provide Christmas for 150 underprivileged children in third world countries, help plant 15 life-giving churches throughout the United States, provide 36 children with a coat for the winter, serve over a 100 homeless down at the soup kitchen, provide much needed supplies to the Safe House for battered women and children, provide hundreds of dollars in groceries cards and gas cards for those struggling right here in our own church family. And that’s just what I am pulling off the top of my head … we are a giving church because you are a giving people! Thank you!  

I always get excited at the end of a year because there is something about a New Year that brings a new hope, a new expectation, a fresh start … a place to start over … it’s time for a “do-over,” as we used to say as children when we didn’t get the kick we wanted in kickball. Even as adults we look around and want to call for a do-over now and again. I know I do! And I take advantage of the New Year with renewed hope, renewed vision, re-establishing lost habits, committing to do the things I know I should do! I hope you to will take advantage of the New Year to do the same.

I want to close with saying that I am stirred in the depth of my soul for what God is doing, and what He will continue to do through Mercy Church and those who call Mercy home. I believe that with change comes the opportunity for growth, improvement, and progress and that is just what I am expecting in 2011! I hope you will participate!

Please join me in praying for 3 things for Mercy Church this year:

1)      Renewed Passion for Christ and His message of Hope.

2)      A hunger and commitment to help hurting people.

3)      Finding a place to call home. (a permanent facility)

Ephesians 3:14-21 “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”