Let me start this blog with an apology.  I can't get the 7:00 pm service out of my head.  As bad as I wish we could just erase it and put it in the "better luck next time" file, we can't.  Teresa, who is our weekend service director, carefully selects the service to put on DVD and on the website.  Keep in mind, the shelf life is a long time, so we pray Teresa makes the right choice,...right?  Well I just pray for grace, because the "Salsa burp" on stage, yes in front of hundreds of people was not intentional.  If you are a Christian, you have to extend forgiveness to me.  You may never come back, but forgiveness is a command...  If you haven't seen that particular service, you may want to check out the beginning 'salsa' demonstration.  You will smile, I think.

Secondly, we just got home from a little family outing.  My daughter Katie turned 17 today.  She has wanted a Golden Retriever puppy for 7 years.  Today was the day, I finally gave in.  To see the joy on my daughters face when she picked the 7 week old puppy out was so priceless.  God has given me love that I can't explain for the three kids He has entrusted me with.  They are each amazing in so many ways.  They all make me laugh, they love people and mostly each of them loves Jesus, what more could I ask for?    I love each of them the most, just at different times.   Anyway, today was a special day for katie.   I am a blessed daddy.  Interestingly, I feel especially blessed she didn't ask for a cat (just joking, well kinda) 

Lastly, I am excited for Danny and his team to go spread the amazing love story of God to another part of the world. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, to literally say goodbye to someone I love so so much, not once but six times.  Not easy.  Think about it:  Living Hope New Zealand.  Part of the Living Hope DNA will be transplanted to a different country around the world.  This church I know will touch so many people.  You are part of this.  Please be praying for them.  Danny leaves next week, on the 7th.  They travel up to Seattle and fly out of there to Auckland, where the journey of faith begins.  I can't wait to hear all the ways God will open doors and touch lives.  Danny will be sorely missed, but you can keep up to date on their (awesome) website and his blog at  www.livinghopenewzealand.com . 

Honestly, it has been a bit of a tough day.  I could use your prayers.  Can I just say THANK YOU Living Hope Church for your love, for your sacrifices, for your commitment to being purple salt, for dreaming big for God, for never giving up on me. You get and give love and I am so inspired by the way you live.  Eric Dattola is just one example of someone who has been so gripped by God's amazing love.  Seeing Eric serve Christ and seeing him love his family helps me to know what we do really matters.   I just love you all so much.   

I am excited for the season in front of us.  Pray also for our student ministries team.  So many changes, so many opportunities and so many people who need Jesus.

Keep letting love win in every relationship.  In the end God, people and love will remain.

John

It is Saturday.  I am supposed to have a message, but I think I taught just about everything I know this week to a few hundred students. 

First, students thanks for listening.  I honestly won't forget this week.  I hope we all remember the great things God did, the friends we met and the things we learned.  I have been a bit away from youth ministry and am excited to be back, involved in your lives again.  Thanks.

Secondly, remember what I said that the closer to follow Jesus, the more chance we have of staying on top of the proverbial camp mountain top.  In Jesus' day community, and the Scriptures were so important to his disciples (or students).  Be involved in a house church.  Stay in God's Word and get in community.

Third, I will always remember the adult and student volunteers and staff.  You all did so good.  I am so proud of you and I love seeing God work through you.  THANKS FOR ALLOWING GOD TO USE YOU.

Fourth, I will remember the purity talk and how 200 students stood up indicating their commitment to stay pure until marriage.  Still there are more and more students signing up for the purity services.  I want to do them at every service and every campus during the High School Years Series.  Again, it just means alot to God when His followers will stand up for what matters.

Lastly, I will remember paintball.  I will remember all your idle words, and I will remember how sore I am.  Let me remind you that I was shot one time and shot people 15 times (and that is a low count).  If I wasn't a pastor I am pretty certain I could be a professional paint ball guy.  the problem is I can't move.  We have so much paint left over, maybe we need another day in the field?

Simply remember!

John

I can hear the students at midnight from across camp clapping and yelling at the camp talent show.  They are so excited, so weird and so not in need of sleep.  They are also so moldable to do what God says.  This morning I felt on my heart to talk about the topic of purity.  Purity in any relationship is always the pathway to intimacy.  We talked from Romans 12:1, and then 1 Corinthians 6:18, where Paul tells the church at Corinth to "run from sexual immorality..."  The word for run is only used here.  It can be translated "flee" as well.  Isn't it true that we flirt more than we flee.  Isn't it true we really don't like boundaries in regards to relationships?  I wonder if we are about convenience more than conviction at times?  It is at these times that God becomes very unreal and what we want takes over.  I knew it was a topic that students needed to hear.  I have been teaching about this one thing over and over for 16 or so years.  Sexual sin is in a class all by itself.  Not worse, just different.  It isn't (as we are taught to believe) an isolated, physical event.  It is an emotional and spiritual thing, as well as a physical event.   What if we could begin to understand that God created sex.  It was really His idea and WHEN it works the way He designed it there is nothing like it.  When we misuse and abuse it, there is no sin like it.  Purity just matters.  I am determined to make it part of our student curriculum, so that by the time they graduate they will at least understand (over and over) what God says.

I wasn't sure where to take students or what God was up to.  I was clear about the message, but the application is so different for so many people.  Think about it, we have Middle School students and College students in the same room.  That can be a bit risky, but I just knew God wanted us to talk about this topic with gut level honesty and that we needed to call for commitment.  What I didn't want is for emotions to take over and then in 72 hours it is all for not.  So I just simply said who in this room is commited to sexual purity until they are married?  I said, if you aren't please don't stand up.  Be courageous enough to stick to your convictions.  IF you are willing to take a stand for sexual purity than stand up right now.  I couldn't believe it when I saw over 200 students stand up, indicating they were commited to staying pure until married.  God is so good.

Then I broke up students to gender and age appropriate small group discussion.  Obviously college girls have different questions then middle school age students.  We divided up the entire camp into groups and they spent time talking, praying and asking appropriate questions.  Awesome time.

Then I felt  God prompting me to initiate the possibility with students of doing a purity service. We asked them in their respective groups to "sign up" and we would call them.  Again, no hype, just are you serious about this following Christ thing?  We gave them the chance and can you believe we had 75 girls and 64 guys sign up to do a service for purity.  Isn't that so cool? Isn't God so amazing?  Details will be forthcoming and others can join.  You can sponsor a teens ring.  I am hoping the cost will be manageable.  The point is, God is moving in a way I can't really explain.

One more full day of camp.  Again, it has been such a great experience for so many.  I want to thank personally all of the people who gave sacrifically so students could go to camp without being burdened by finances.  You will be rewarded and blessed by God.  Thank you so much. 

I also want to thank the volunteer leaders.  You have done well.  God is pleased.  The staff of Living Hope who are here serving are tired, but it is a good tired.  The staff at home, thanks for holding down the fort while we at camp. 

I am teaching both in the morning and in the evening.  I am having such a great time.  Except all the kids want pictures with me.  I feel a bit like Donald Duck at DisneyLand.  They are excited, so it is all good, but I hope no one ever puts any human above anyone else.  We are all in this together, I just get to be the picture duck?

Pray for the remaining moments of camp.  Pray God's best for these students.  Pray for endurance for the leaders.  Pray for the unveiling of the new vision for LSM.  Pray for momentum.  Pray that students all across Clark County will find Christ, get plugged into a Bible believing church and change their world.  Pray for me.  I am a bit more tired than usual.  Students inspire you and drain you all in the same day.  Go figure?

Stay blessable

John

I am currently at our youth summer camp.  Youth remind you of how old you are, not by what they "say" but how much they move and run and never seem to get tired.  There are amazing students that make up Living Hope Church.  They are so passionate, so helpful, so serious about wanting what God has for them.  I have been able to help with the teaching here and am actually getting ready to go talk to them about purity.  With the theme 'Simplicity' I am talking about things that are 'simple' and 'powerful'.  Check out this verse in Proverbs 18:21

"The tongue has the power of life and death."

One Word changes everything.  Think about the word "Guilty."  It is such a simple word, but when spoken can change the course of a person's life for years.  One word changes everything.  For me, the word "benign" was a simple word that meant so much to me when I was dealing with cancer and after the third surgery/procedure, and after weeks of waiting, it brought alot of joy and hope to my emotions.  One Word changes everything.  The Bible has so much to say about our words.  Did you know there are 150 proverbs that deal with words/speech/tongue alone?   Did you know in Matthew 12, Jesus talked about our incredibly important and powerful are words are.  He says by our words will be justified or we will be condemned.  Words are amazingly simple and simply powerful. 

In the first three chapters of Genesis there is this little 2 word refrain over and over, "God spoke."  Think about this.  God spoke everything into existence, except us.  He 'made' us in His image.  But everything else, He spoke and it was.  He could have chosen anything, but used words to create everything.

Words change everything.  I had the students write letters to people who have hurt them with words.  Then I asked them to forgive the person by throwing away the letter.  Then I asked them to write a letter to "encourage" someone at camp.  We know to encourage means to put 'courage' into someone.  To discourage then means to extract courage from them.  It has been a very meaningful time for me to be here.  I began ministry because of students.  They are so pliable, so sensitive, so moldable and so afraid.  They need us to encourage them and be to them the church God has called us to be. 

Thanks for letting me and the others here minister to your teenagers.  They will not soon forget the stuff God is doing in their hearts.  Promise.  Your investment was worth it.

Words change everything.  I hope your words will matter today.

One more verse.  "In the beginning The Word already existed.  He was with God, and He was God.  So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father."  (John 1:1, 14)

Words matter...alot

John

I love Psalm 117:15.  It says, "The LORD's loved ones are precious to him; it grieves him when they die."  What an incredible thought.  A personal, loving God stays close to us EVEN in and through death.   I just returned from doing a funeral for Nellie Whitney who was one of the first people ever to visit Living Hope almost 10 years ago.  She and her husband Harold both made commitments to Christ (she at 60, he at 70) and were the first people I had the privilege of baptizing.  At the funeral I shared two things about her life.  One, that she loved well.  She just was so passionate about people and about sharing Jesus with everyone.  Secondly, that she left well.  Last Saturday I went to visit her and serve her communion with Michelle, Duane, Trinette and Teresa.  What was amazing is despite the fact that she looked like she was 70 pounds, and despite the fact that her death was close and real, she was at peace.  She was ready to be reunited with her family, and to see Jesus face to face. The irony is, I didn't want to do the funeral and asked her if she would be ok with that.  Get this, she began coaching me telling me how I could do her funeral.  I was crying and she put her hand on my face and thanked me for helping her come to Christ and told me she loved me like a son.  OK, at this point I was a wreck.  The pastor is supposed to bring clarity and help bring peace to the situation, but I was being consoled by the person who was in a few days going to die. 

So, I did the funeral an hour ago.  She asked, I honored her request and shared this verse with everyone. 

"Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.  They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish.  Do you believe this..."  John 11:25-26

I asked the small crowd of 40-50 people if they "believed" this.  That Jesus really died, really rose, really loves them?  I gave them an opportunity to pray the same prayer that Nellie did and that so many have prayed.  Then I did something I have NEVER done at a service before.  I said if you prayed that prayer would you please stand up, and I just couldn't believe that every person in her family stood affirming their decision to "believe." 

Living Hope is a church made up of people who just "believe" and live love.  If you can, take a look at the article that featured our church this month.  It is cool that we are one of the fastest growing churches in America, but it is a tribute to understand why.  You are a church that gets and gives love. 

I love you all so much.  The article reminded me how loved I felt as a pastor, but more as a person  when I walked through the cancer stuff.  You prayed and poured your love (Jesus' love) out to my family and me.  I will simply never forget it.

Here is the link to the article.  You can download it.  As you read it, give the praise and honor and glory to the One who defines Himself as love. "God is love." 1 John 4:8b, "God is love, and all who live in love, live in God and God lives in them.  1 John 4:16b.  I love that verse.  It so defines Living Hope. 

Keep reaching people, keep staying humble and keep letting love win.    Download Here 

ONLY GOD....AGAIN

John

PS

Thanks to so many who served the almost 300 children here at our Brush Prairie campus this week.  The best days are ahead of us as we trust Him.

I am sitting at my home office, preparing for this week's message.  I can't stop thinking about the gift God gave in spending time with my 'pop' last week.  He called today, wanting to get copies of the DVD to mail to his friends and relatives in Myrtle Beach.  He is so cute.   Sometimes you never know what God will do for you or through you until you step out and Do what's right. 

I want to put this verse for us in this blog, so we don't forget.  It is one of my favorite passages.  If you haven't read through to verse 11. 

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better (superior) than yourselves.  Each of you should look (SKOPEO..to fix one's eyes upon, direct attention to) not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."  Philippians 2:3-4

I hope this week you can look to the interests of others.  It happened kind of on accident for me, and I am better because of it.  Remember when you do the right things for the right reasons we get the right result and in addition feel right things. 

Hopefully you are using the devotional in your family.  You can download each weeks devotional.  If you have children take the time and sit down and talk about what it means to put God first and others second.  I promise some of our best times our times we just sit down and "talk" as families.  What I appreciate about this series is we are building it on PRINCIPLES.  They apply to all of us.

On a personal note, thank you so much for allowing me to learn and share what God is showing me in my life.  Thanks to so many of you who came and hugged my grandpa, he is still (and will be) talking about it.  He said it was one of the best services ever, to which I said I wonder why pop. 

You are an amazing church family.  I can't imagine not being able to do life together.

Pray for the services this week.  Maybe think about bringing someone.  As we build homes and families that honor God, I am excited about what is ahead of us.

john