I LOVE MY CHURCH!

In the next six weeks we will grow as one as we begin to live out the life-changing reality of a church unified in God's purpose and plan for His people.  Here is the series synopsis of where we're going TOGETHER as we discover the power behind the statement...

I LOVE MY CHURCH! 

October 12 - We'll discover the real power of the gospel as "I LOVE MY CHURCH" is seen in its true context.  When the church is working right, there is noting quite like it.  So we don't just tolerate the church-we celebrate it!

October 19 - Whether we realize it or not, what "WE BELIEVE" dictates how we behave. This week I will lay out seven core beliefs of our church and how it affects everything that we do.

October 26 - The church has more reason to celebrate than anyone else. "WHY I LOVE MY CHURCH MORE" will open our eyes as we realize that we must never stay silent when people are finding hope and healing through the Lord Jesus!

November 2 - What was your "BEST WEEKEND EVER?"  When you are in Christ, your purpose becomes clear and your life has eternal meaning.  That's why the day you become "in Christ" will be the most important day of your life.

November 9 - What has been stolen from your life? Your joy?  Peace?  Confidence?  The enemy is out to steal, kill, and destroy, but God has promised that He will repay what has been taken from us.  "WHEN GOD BUILDS A CHURCH" everything changes!

November 16 - Jesus gives us a simple invitation: "FOLLOW ME."  It's not always easy, and you may not always love the process, but you will love the results.  It's time to take your first step.

There you go!  Here's four promises that WILL happen in YOUR life when the evidence clearly says, "I LOVE MY CHURCH!" 

#1 - "The church" (impersonal), will become MY CHURCH (very personal).

#2 - Everything will forever change in your life when "the church" becomes MY CHURCH.

#3 - Your un-churched friends will not be bored!  They too will discover the power of "the church" becoming MY CHURCH.

#4 - Jesus will change lives through this series!  After all...He did say,

"I will build MY CHURCH!"

I can' wait!!!

If you can't make it to the Tennessee Valley in person, then you can join us online.  But remember, the only way you should do that is if you're sick, traveling, or you're a distance partner who enjoys TVCC, but live far away. 

Full Access to Abba Father

This same Spirit...

50 Days of Transformation has begun in the Tennessee Valley...church that is.  We have embarked on a journey that will do just as the title suggests - Transform us.  And I will testify that the transformation is certainly in progress in the one who writes here.  And what a great place to begin!  In the pastor's heart!

Day 2 of our 50 Days devotional (you'd think we could have at least gotten past the first week! But Nooo...day 2!) reads,

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:12-13 (NIV)

Simple enough, right?  Right!  Then came what speakers know as the gotcha; you know, the clincher - it seals the deal.  And seal it did as I read, 

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" Romans 8:15 (NIV) 

Did you get it?  Maybe you had already grasp the depth of the reality of those verses.  But honestly, until I read them together I must admit, I'd missed the full impact of what God was trying to get me to see.  First, I am His son.  I knew this, right?  And if you've professed Christ as Lord & Savior of your life, you are His son or daughter too.  But then the full import of this profound truth hit me: The same Spirit...by Him, the selfsame Spirit, The Holy Spirit, is the same Spirit who gives me the right to say and live and breathe, Abba Father.  

I knew this!  And probably do you as well.  However, the power and reality of my standing with and in my Savior, providing me full access to and rights to Abba Father, will never be the same to me again.  I am truly, through and in the Spirit, at one with Christ, my elder brother.  And in Him I have full access!  It is my prayer that you do as well. 

Church - Dead or Alive?

The following was sent out from the Willow Creek Association earlier today on Twitter.  I cannot overestimate the eternal value of every person who professes the name of Christ.  Being radically sold out as a follower of Christ is the most valuable thing you'll ever do, period.

The local church is a paradox. In some places the church is flourishing and in others it is declining rapidly or dying out altogether. In regions of the world with limited religious freedom, the church is thriving. In China, for example, there are an estimated 100 million believers today, and the pace at which conversions are occurring will soon make China the largest Christian nation on the planet. In other regions where the church was once strong, the future is not as bright. In parts of Europe, less than 5 percent of the populace attends church regularly.

In the United States, with more than 162 million self-professed Christians, the news is sobering. Each year, between three to five thousand churches in the United States hold their last service, close their doors, and put up the "for sale" sign. Statistics indicate that from 1999 to 2009 the combined membership of the major Protestant denominations declined 6 percent, while the national population has increased 12 percent. The proportion of Americans who claim to have "no religion" has increased to 15 percent, up from 8.2 percent in 1990.

We want to be the best we can be for God.  So at TVCC we are beginning 2012 with the series, Just Walk Across The Room.  It will serve to help us better understand the how and why of reaching others with the Word we have and the lives we live.  

Fan or Follower?

Bill Hull states in The Disciple Making Church, that "The healthy church is a reproducing church." In our new series, Not A Fan, based on Kyle Idleman's book by the same name, you'll quickly discover that this DNA is found in every reproducing follower of Christ.  Read them, study them, and then follow Christ as you put them into practice in your life on a daily basis. In these blog postings we'll study each of these traits as they relate to every reproducing follower of Christ.

5 Commitments of a reproducing church are:

1. A commitment to Scripture (Acts 2:42).
2. A commitment to one another (Acts 2:42, 44, 46).
3. A commitment to prayer (Acts 2:42).
4. A commitment to praise and worship (Acts 2:43, 47).
5. A commitment to outreach (Acts 2:45-47).

Bill Hull. Disciple-Making Church, The (p. 64). Kindle Edition.