Binkieless Brennan

We try to take pictures of both of our boys but Brennan and that binky are hardly ever separated. So when we get a good picture of Brennan without that binkee we have to take it. So here are a couple of pictures of Brennan from out Texas trip where he was without the binkie.

Evangelism for the Rest of Us

Evangelism is something most Christians cringe at the sound of. "This Saturday we have an evangelism opportunity." Half the congregation immediately closes their ears because it scares them, a fourth of the congregation begins to get uncomfortable, Should I go? What excuse can I come up with?, the other fourth is still confused on what evangelism is. Then somewhere is a very small percent who says, I am there.

But for many of us, we are scared of evangelism because it is so uncomfortable. Talking to strangers. Bechtle brings down to the everyday non-outgoing person a view of evangelism that truly takes their personality and uses that to an effective and faithful evangelistic method.

Here are some quotes from this great book:

(One church chose to stop Sunday morning worship and begin having their service Sunday evening and this is what they did:) [They] spent Sunday mornings running together and going to bagel shops for coffee. They would invite their friends to come with them to worship, the response was amazing. They didn't look at their friends as projects. They just genuinely cared, got involved in their lives, and built relationships. As a natural result, the Sunday morning connection time brought more people to faith than most churches see in a year of services.

How the introvert views people when looking at a room full of cubicles:
This person needs Christ. I need to get to know him better and learn about the people in these pictures. If I learn what's important to him, I can find out where Christ might fit in his life.

[Jesus] did things "spiritual" people thought were inappropriate, but he was more concerned with the function than the form.

Too often we think we need to shine the gospel on people's shortcomings and sins so it will be obvious where the problem is. But that's not our job. Through our lives, our words, and our relationships, we should be shining light so they get a clear, accurate view of Christ.

Rating: 5 stars

Two More Pictures

Meet Big Jake. We went to the Forth Worth Stockyards while in Ft. Worth and Oma gave Connor and Brennan a chance to sit on Big Jake a local Longhorn.


Connor & Mommy on Big Jake


Brennan & Mommy on Big Jake

Sunday June 24- Who Are You?

Psalm 15

In our text there are four characteristics of a believer in Christ. This is to be characterized and displayed in our lives as believers, those who profess faith in Christ.

1. Loves Purity

2. Loves Others

3. Loves the Truth

4. Loves the Helpless

If I were to compose a purpose statement for the Christian life or even for this church, this would be it.

· First, Love the Truth. This includes a love for God because Christ is the Truth.

· Second, Love Others. As believers we are to love other believers, and we are commanded to love our neighbor.

· Third, Love Purity. We are to grow in godliness and righteousness and purity, holiness. This is a continual growth process.

· Fourth, Love the Helpless. As we grow, we should come to a point where we are willing to serve and love those who will not be able to give us anything in return.

Sunday June 3- Christ Our Foundation

1 Peter 2:4-8

He had always dreamed of a beach front home. Throughout his career he saved as much money as possible and even added the maximum amount to his retirement account as possible. He would have so much money in retirement that his dreams of a beach front house would be realized. As his retirement came closer he began looking for that perfect beach front lot. He found it and bought it. Then he found a reputable builder. He told the builder what he wanted and they discussed the different options for different aspects of the home. The builder told him, “Your home should be built on stilts down to the bedrock.” “Sir, I insist on a slab foundation. That is what I want.” They went back and forth on this issue and finally the builder refused to build his home. So the man found another builder who was willing to build him a slab foundation home. The home was built and retirement came. He went to his new home and enjoyed the ocean, salt breezes from the water and beautiful sunrises. Hurricane season came, and a hurricane that year was headed his way. As the storm grew closer, the water began to rise. As the storm was only hours away water was nearly to his porch. The storm came and the surge was rising halfway up his house. The water crashed against the house with a fury he had never seen. Soon water was coming through the doors and windows. Within a couple of hours there was two inches of water standing in his home. By the time the storm had passed his furniture was ruined and the walls were falling apart. The next day as he was pulling his furniture out he saw the first builder he talked to. The builder told him, “You needed a proper foundation.”

As we look at 1 Peter 2:4-8, we see a description of a proper foundation for the church. Within our passage this morning there are two truths we will see concerning the foundation of the church.

The first truth we see this morning is that Christ is the foundation of a new work of God. In verse 4 we are told that we should come to Christ as a living stone. How many of you have ever met a stone that was alive? Now I am not talking about the Rolling Stones, but a rock or boulder. How many of you really appreciate rocks in your yard or stuck in the bottom of your shoes or stepping on a rock when you are barefoot? Most of the time rocks are really kind of pointless. They have some value and uses. They do not do anything for themselves they just sit there but we are coming to Him as a living stone. He is alive there is more to him than something that just sits there. If he is a living stone and is being used to build something then that something is alive. Think about the temple of the Old Testament. It was beautiful. It was known throughout the world because of its beauty, but it was never alive. Yet Christ is alive, and the temple being built now is alive spiritually in the hearts of the people of God. Christ is a precious and choice stone in the sight of God. He is desired and beautiful. It is as if he is a beautiful diamond as the cornerstone rather than a boulder of stone that is covered in gold. He is precious in and of himself rather than having to be made precious. Verse 5 you are being built up as a spiritual house. A reminder that this is not necessarily an earthly physical building but is something spiritual! We are a spiritual people and the work that Christ seeks is a spiritual work. IT says we are being built up for a holy priesthood. We are becoming the priests. The sacrifices are over and now we can come to God through the Spirit by way of the work of Christ. Now our lives are the sacrifices we offer up. They are acceptable through Christ. By way of his work. What Christ is building is a new work of God. It is through people who are found alive in Christ. It is through the church. Does this replace the Jews? No. The Jews are welcome to this new work. They are not being excluded, but this new work is apart from the temple. The sacrifice is complete in the temple. Christ offered it already and it was accepted. The new work is through Christ, the gospel.

In the Old Testament, they were having faith that God would provide means to atone for their sins. They were trusting that God would one day provide the sacrifice that was great enough to cover all of their sins. From birth till death. Now it has been done and the work of God is being founded upon the fact that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the Living God. And He died to pay for our sins. The Gospel is the foundation of the church. The believer is a member of the church because of the gospel. The church is expanded through the gospel message being proclaimed. It is about people as individuals being saved through grace and being brought into the body. The Gospel is the foundation of the church.

The second truth we see this morning is that Christ is an offense to human pride. We are told in verse 6 that God is laying a choice corner stone in Zion. God is replacing the old temple and building a new one. As we saw at the beginning of the passage, it is one that is spiritual and being built of those who are believers in Christ. Those who have faith in this cornerstone they will not be disappointed in having faith in Christ. Then we are told that the builders rejected the cornerstone which God had laid. They picked it up and tossed it out. I am sure most supervisors of construction projects would not be happy if the workers rejected his work. When I worked at a grocery store it was always amusing when the stockers would complain about the manager’s lack of skill in stocking. He was the manager he should know what he is doing. But when it comes to the spiritual, we will never exceed the need for God. He is far greater than ourselves and he is perfect and we are not. We have need for his perfection. But what the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone. The elders of Israel are the builders, or Israel itself, and they are the ones who rejected Christ who is the cornerstone. They rejected him and had him crucified, but through that he became the powerful chief corner stone. Christ was ultimately exalted through his rejection. Are we willing to humble ourselves as Christ? Are we willing to allow others to be greater than ourselves? Are we willing to admit that no scheme or plan or ministry that we come up with is great enough to not need to be driven by the gospel? It amazes me when I hear or read about the latest church or ministry fad that is out there and the gospel is not the focus? We are saved through Christ’s death which is our good news. We cannot expect others to come to Christ apart from the gospel! We just cannot! The gospel is the central focus and foundation of the church. You are the Christ the Son of the Living God. Why is the gospel offensive? Because it says there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Nothing. Yes you have faith but praise God you have it. The church cannot reject the gospel. It is the foundation on which we work. The goal of VBS ought to be to bring children and teens to Christ through the gospel. The goal of our family nights ought to be to bring people into the fellowship of the church in order that they might come to accept the gospel. Have we in our minds rejected the power of the gospel? Unfortunately I think some of us have. Have some of us overlooked the importance and the centrality of the gospel? Unfortunately, I think some of us have. It is bitter to take the fact that we cannot help ourselves spiritually. It hurts our pride. Christ took the most bitter cup any of us will ever experience. He tasted and enjoyed the sweet fellowship of his heavenly father and then he allowed himself to be separated from him. We must be founded upon the gospel and we cannot allow ourselves to overlook or reject it as the foundation of the church.

Pictures From Our Texas Trip

We returned from our trip to TX late Thursday evening. It was a long trip but well worth it. We were able to see family and see them more often than most trips to TX. I will post more pictures in the days ahead and also finally post from my sermon on June 3 plus tomorrow's as well (that will mostly be an outline). Enjoy the pictures!


Sunset during our first week at my parent's house.


Same sunset but later in the evening. One thing about TX that I really enjoy is the huge sky. Hardly any hills or tall trees, so when you get a beautiful sunset it is HUGE! The trees in this picture only seem tall because I was close to them. They are actually only about 1/3 of the size of the trees at our house.


The Riverwalk in San Antonio at night. I used the aperture setting to take this picture.


Connor enjoyed the tricycle at Oma and Opa's house. I couldn't help but take some pictures of him riding it. This is probably one of my favorite shots from the trip. Connor does a good job of posing for me, but he didn't need to pose for this one.