will the real heroes please stand up and speak up?

Will the real heroes please stand up and speak up? What every school needs is a hero! Real heroes see things and say things differently! What you see will make a difference in what you do! For instance if you cant see God wants to use you, then you wont be used by him! If you cant see what God is capable of doing, then you wont pursue him to see it happen. The bottom line is simple…If you can’t see it, then you wont do it! Your vision matters! 3 types of students. The first one is distracted…they are oblivious to everything around them and they cannot see what God can do! The second student is defeated…everything is bad before it even happens, there is no hope for anything or anyone! The only thing they can see is how big bad and ugly everything is. The third student is dangerous…they see God moving. They see the potential to be great and make a huge difference because god is on their side! Which one are you? The real heroes are going to see life differently…life painted by the power of Gods hand. Seeing is believing, so open your eyes and see what god sees!
To have eyes that can see what’s really up is not enough. It’s not enough to see that God is moving or see that God can show up big.

A real hero will take their stand and open their mouth! Ezekiel 37:1-10 tells a story about a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel saw the bones and then was told to speak to the situation! He was specifically told to prophesy! To say what the lord says about it! God has something to say about every school, but someone has to step up and declare the word of the Lord! When Ezekiel prophesied the bones made a greater noise and snapped back into place and tendons and skin covered them! Nothing happened until he opened his mouth! Then he was told to prophesy that the wind will blow and bring life to these bodies. When he prophesied the wind came and the bodies stood up at attention…an army! No matter what the situation may be, its time to speak life and declare the word and watch an army stand up and be dangerous! The time is NOW! Real heroes see things that cause them to say things that bring about big things! Go ahead I dare you…see things the way God sees them and declare the word of the Lord! Life and Death are in the power of your tongue!

your words count…

Your words count…the bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue! Today it needs to say that life and death are in the power of your words! The reason why I say that is this…we text, we email, we post tweets, we make comments on facebook etc…but do they words we type carry lose their power when they are typed as opposed to being spoken? I know more than one time where I have responded in an email or wrote a blog about a specific situation and the situation did not get better it got worse! The problem with words on a screen is they are absent of tone, emotion and context…you have to read into the emotion and thought process of a person and many leave out any thought to what they type or text and it turns around and bites them back…so don’t read into the emotion, tone and thought process of this blog. let your words count! whatever you text, tweet, post, email, or blog…remember your words count!

sermon series…GI Joe pt 2 the heart of a hero!

The heart of a hero…what’s in the heart of a hero?

The heart in biblical times was refereed to as the center of vital action…decisions, actions. the heart represents man himself and was considered to be the seat of his emotions, passions, and appetites!

1 samuel 14:1-17 Jonathon and his armor bearer take on a philistine outpost, and what you see in the story is nothing but pure heart. Jonathan’s heart is revealed in his words and his actions. Matthew 12:34 Out of the overflow of your heart your mouth will speak! the heart of a hero is willing to step out and act. Nothing will happen until you choose to act!

What’s in the heart of a hero?
1. No fear here! A hero will show up and show out! jonathons plan was to show himself to the enemy and see what happens. either way he was looking for a fight by showing out! So many believers are hiding when its time to show out! the word show here means to advertise, to reveal! we are challenging our students to step out and be seen this year!

2. Determination….a hero climbs up and over any every obstacle!
there will always be Obstacles…and the obstacles that students face are oh s familiar. we look at 3 obstacles and 2 answers…
Popularity…is it the popular thing to do?
Presentation…is it the cool thing to do?
Property…is it going to make a difference in my school?

the answer to these obstacles is simple…
What about the power of God! Ephesians 1:18 – 21
What about the promises of God! Mark 15:15-19

what’s in the heart of a hero?
3. Perseverance…The heart of a hero never gives up!
They started something they could not finish, but God could finish!

When you go to school this year…will you start something that only God can finish?

5 or so annoying things i see on twitter!

1. typos…even when you have an iphone…you will be subject to typos…so be careful!

2. talking to people in the twitterverse (this is a for real place) and not at each other…this is why you have texting on your phone…duh!

3. posting pics of nothing…like your dog, your food, your car, your hair…sorry i do this regularly!

4. hash tags…what is that anyway!

5. talking really bad about your home, your parents, your dog, your peers…as if they could not read it!

6. Dr. Mike, the exterminator, and weird shows on tv that follow you simply because you tweet about them!

7. following way more people than follow you! following 800 people and only only having 10 followers…

8. profile pics…its so small that you need a magnifying glass and you have 24 people in your pic!

9. no profile pic…or the extreme close up profile pic…or a pic of some random object…

10. stalkers…people that walk up to you and talk to you about your tweets…as if they know you….ohhhhh snap!

shake what your mama gave you!

read this blog and it brings alot into focus!

I love my ibook..i call it my pinwheel, but its what i got to do what i need to do! blog, surf, research, sermon prep, photoshop, final cut…whatever it takes. thanks God for a great tool for ministry!

a blast from the past…

If you have been in youth ministry long enough kids will grow up (they all do) get married have kids and some will even marry again. This weekend I took a walk back in time to see some kids from the past get married. They both were enamored with each other in high school, yet tied up in relationships with others. We have such amazing history with these two, that when we were invited to they’re wedding we decided we could not miss this one. People make all kinds of decisions in life, some good and some not so good. Kids will break your heart and hand it to you when you are giving them your best! The beautiful thing is that if you continue to sow into a life, it will eventually reap a great harvest. God will show up and you will see His hand move! Keep believing! Keep sowing! Keep seeing God move in his way! We believed in these kids and in their destiny! We now see them serving in church along with so many others. They are talented, passionate and creative people! It is such a blessing to see the kids you worked with for so many years turn around and bless you by the way they live and what they choose to do with their lives. Looking back, probably nobody would have picked some of these kids to do what they now do. They even said with their own mouths, i’ll never…well, God gets all the glory and he has the last word!

Youth pastor…don’t be weary in well doing…you will reap!

sermon series…GI Joe a real american hero!

This week we started a 3 week series getting our students ready for the new school year. Night one we focused on the Hero David when he took on the Giant Goliath. David was a the real deal Hero, even though he was a boy! You see, what our students school needs is not another athlete, not another musician and not another academic wonder…what their school needs is another hero! The heroes of today are sitting in youth churches all over America! They just need to step up to the challenge!

We are challenging our students to pray like never before for their school…nothing happens unless you pray! 4 truths about the story of David!
1. Goliath was big and David was small! Size is not an issue in a fight! What really matters is who has your back! David understood that The Lord was on his side and the Lord and him would conquer anything!

2. Goliath was well equipped to fight but David was more equipped! Goliath had all the latest and greatest in armor but it was not enough! David on the other hand was given Saul’s armor and he said ” i can’t use this i am not used to it” you can’t go into battle with someone else’s armor! our greatest weapon is prayer and we need to use it! you can’t win with someone else’s armor…Ephesians 6:10-17 say be strong and put on the whole armor of God! it does not say someone else’s armor! So, be armed and dangerous.

3. Goliath was all noise but no action! Goliath talked smack, but could not back up what he was saying! David on the other hand talked more smack and backed it up with action! I love the fact that a boy stands up to a Giant and opens his mouth no fear here!

4. Goliath was an obstacle…it only takes one to overcome! It only took ONE to kill the giant…the response is what’s amazing. The entire israelite army surged forward and chased the philistines! ONE person, one fight…one massive victory! It only takes one to change the face of a school! Who is gonna be the hero? Who is gonna be the one?

Few creative notes…a trip to the army navy store to dress up the stage and show movie clips from the trailer, we chopped up the part where they get the excelerator suits and used it for point 2 being well equipped!