LOSE TO GAIN...AND GROW

Philippians 3: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

Paradoxical thought isn't it? Lose to gain? I don't believe it is a stretch for us to relate to the Jews of Paul's time. Think about it. They were God's chosen people. They knew that God has picked them to be a great nation. They hear about this Jesus who some say is the Messiah and were asked to follow a new Way. Their response…."Give up all this? For this maverick from Nazereth? I have everything I could possibly want. You want me to give up my reputation, my power, my money, my camels with spinners and boots with the furs? For some carpenter rabbi? I would be thought crazy. People would mock me. I would be the fodder for gossip. They would laugh at me at the Wal-market when I invited them to church or talked about Him. NO THANK YOU! I am happy right where I am. I know God loves me, and that is enough".

Paul goes on to share his desire: 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… His words to me are saying “I want to be like Jesus, one of His disciples.” Sunday I quoted Charles Spurgeon who said “an ounce of heart knowledge is worth more than a ton of head learning”. This may be where the rubber meets the road in our spiritual growth. Do we really desire to know Jesus intimately? Or just socially so we can be thought to be a part of His crowd?

The "F" Word

The enemy of our souls has a very specific strategy to destroy relationships. Whether these relationships are in business, marriage, friendships or the church, the strategy is the same. A conflict arises, judgments are made, and feelings are hurt. What happens next is the defining point of whether the enemy gains a foothold, or the grace of God covers the wrong.

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." Hebrews 12:15

When a root of bitterness is allowed to be planted and grown, it not only affects that person, but it also affects all others who are involved. It is like a cancer. Breaking satan's foothold requires at least one person to press into God's grace. It cannot happen when either party "feels" like it, for none of us will ever feel like forgiving. None of us feel like talking when we have been hurt. Our natural response is to withdraw or lash out at the offending party. It is only obedience that allows God's grace to cover the wrongs incurred. This grace prevents the parties from becoming victims who will seek compensation for their pain.

Let us choose grace instead of bitterness and grow together not apart, praying that we will be able to work through the hurt, and a root of bitterness will not be given opportunity to grow.

GROWING IN HIS GRACE

Driving to a funeral I was officiating the other day, I drove past a gas station where an old friend was filling up. I still consider him a friend but he has chosen to sever ties due to his disagreeing with decisions leadership of TPH has made. As it happened, he noticed my car, we made eye contact, and I waved. He turned, without any response and proceeded to grab a sweatshirt out of his truck.
Now, I can understand people disagreeing. Everyone has opinions, thoughts and expectations...me certainly being all in on that. (some of you are laughing at that understatement) What I can't understand is how "disagreeable" some folks can be and how they can be that way for a LONG time. There have been events in my life, disagreements with others, even harsh arguments that have strained and/or ended relationships. Several times things have caused me to "disassociate" with the other person. I understand all those feelings and actions.
God calls us to a higher commitment though when we become His disciple. My explanation to people in these type of situations is this: some day, if both sides have Jesus as Lord of their life, there will be a reunion. They are going to HAVE to get along in heaven. Father will see to that! Now if that is the case, then shouldn't we try to do the same with our relationships here on earth? Someone once said that our life here is practice for eternity. I like that!!
At the end of his teaching on the mount, Jesus said "For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing." MATTHEW 6:14-15
Tough to hear....harder to live out...but no less our directive.
If you find yourself as I have, holding on to "stuff", make amends, forgive and move toward Jesus likeness......Let's Grow!!

Love+friendship=Brotherhood

A friend posted this on their Facebook page today....

They say everlasting friends can go long periods of time without speaking and never question the friendship. These types of friends pick up like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long it has been or how far away they live, and they don't hold grudges. They understand that life is busy but you will ALWAYS love them.

I think this is the kind of friend/brother that Solomon was speaking of in Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24. And also that John was describing in 1 John 4:19-21. It came as a gentle reminder to me.

Will you be that kind of friend/brother in this lost and hurting world today?

BE THE CHURCH!! Blessings as you GROW.....

Lake Sun Church of the Week

CHURCH PROFILE

THE POTTER’S HOUSE OF CAMDENTON

YEAR ESTABLISHED 2001

Founding and Senior Pastor- Tom Ford

FAITH Non-denominational

CHURCH MEMBERS 400+

EXECUTIVE PASTOR’S QUOTE “We are faith filled, big thinking, bet the farm, risk takers and we will never insult God with small thinking and safe living,” Executive

Pastor Guy Lombardo.

VISION BA2C = Becoming an Acts 2 church. To help believers become fully devoted followers of Christ to the point their lives resemble Jesus.

About the church

WORSHIP SERVICES

Children and Adult worship 10 a.m. Sunday

Celebrate Recovery 5:15 p.m. Tuesday for help recovering from life’s harmful hurts, habits and hang ups.

COMMUNITY OUTREACHES The church is involved in the planning stages with the Child Advocacy Council, for a back to school effort for summer 2011. To provide back packs filled with school supplies and essentials to help children have a fresh start and be successful in school. The council hopes several other churches will partner with the project.

MISSIONS Samaritan’s Purse/Operation Christmas Child Christmas Boxes; According to Guy, for each box given, 10 people are affected by the gospel. Members have a goal of packing and collecting 500 shoe boxes, filled with small items for children, to be shipped overseas, which equals to 5,000 lives impacted. A prayer and packing party is scheduled 11:30 a.m. Sunday, November 7 after the morning service.

EVENTS The church is planning a special Christmas series Sunday, November 28 through Sunday, December 26. 2010 entitled He Came.

ADRESS 2073 South Business Route 5 Camdenton

INFO (573) 346-3951 www.tphoc.com

Potter’s House uses multi-media to present the gospel

Potter’s House endeavors to communicate God’s unchanging truths in culturally compelling ways. “Some say we are contemporary, we do things differently than traditional churches,” said Executive Pastor Guy Lombardo. Guy believes that because the culture is ever changing, methodology should be ever changing. “The truth never changes, but the way we present it does,” said Guy. Such as giving away eight IPODS during a sermon series, dropping balloons from the ceiling, and riding a motorcycle into the building. A recent popular series of services was an ‘at the movies’ series using the movies Blind Side and Bucket List to pull out scriptural allegories in order to teach how to apply them in everyday life. For the series the Potter’s House changed their church into a movie theater complete with pop corn and soda dispensers. “It felt like you were actually in the lobby of a movie theater,” said Guy. “There are creative ways to make spiritual truths come alive in order to drive home a scriptural point through visual effects,” said Guy.

Time to ‘be’ the church, not ‘do’ church

“We want to teach believers to stop doing church, and start being the church,” said Guy. The Pastors encourage their people to go out and live their faith outside the walls of the church by reaching out to people in need. “We can do lot of meaningful things in the church like studying the word and worshipping with like believers, but unless we step outside the walls of the church, and apply these things we are just a social club. The bible says faith without works is dead,” said Guy.

The goal of helping people find their gift

According to Guy, there are five things God gives everyone; a spiritual gift, a heart or passion for something, natural abilities, or things they are naturally good at, a personality, and life experiences. “Our goal is to help people identify their giftings. Once we discover what it is that God has called us to do, we can then go ‘be’ the church,” said Guy.

Family is most important in teaching children

The Potter’s House believes that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church. “American culture started looking to the church to teach their children faith. God’s word mandates the spiritual head of the family should teach children faith. Families have been in crisis for 20 years because we have gotten away from this God given mandate. Our goal is to come along side the parent and partner with them. In one way they do this is regularly scheduled Sunday’s where the children and adults worship together. After a sermon, they move into age appropriate groups to discuss the lesson and bring it into real life perspective. “Hopefully families will take these discussions home with them and continue to communicate and teach faith,” said Guy.

Freedom Splash at Captain Ron’s

The Potter’s House holds “Church at the Beach” 10:30 a.m. Sundays, Easter through Labor Day, at Captain Ron’s in Sunrise Beach. The attendance has doubled since starting one year ago. They recently held “Freedom Splash 2010” on the 4^th of July celebrating our freedom as a nation and freedom in Christ. It included a time where 13 people followed the Lord in baptism. One of those baptized said the church on the beach was the first church they ever attended and felt accepted.

Guy invites everyone to come and pay them a visit. The atmosphere is relaxed and the dress is casual. “We would love the chance to serve people. We are more concerned about meeting the life needs of people than in what they are wearing,” said Guy.

Don't SETTLE for Good

I can’t stand to do something that’s just good enough. It torments me when I feel like I pass with a C+. I am constantly evaluating each area of ministry and looking for ways to do it better.

Some people don't like that part of me. Most of our society wants us to buy into the lie that good enough is...well...good enough. Do they really think that good honors God? I don't!

Reject mediocrity. Don’t hand in a rough draft. Mediocrity never inspired anyone. And I just can’t believe it brings honor to our great God. Finish any job you start with a spirit of excellence...and always look for ways to do it even better. I think that's what honors Him.

See you Sunday folks....it's going to be the BEST ONE YET!! Radical Generosity. Bring a friend and a spirit of excellence to worship.

Sell EVERYTHING?

Recently I was reading the story of the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18+). He had it all. God had truly blessed him...probably lived in a gated community, had the latest camels for transportation. Can't believe he wouldn't have had the newest flat panel HD stone tablets in his living room for entertainment. He had to be a GOOD man...a stand-up citizen supporting lots of GREAT humanitarian efforts as well as making certain that he tithed to the local temple. He may even have had a position on one of the temple committees. Yet something with his life troubled him to the point to ask a question of Jesus. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It seems he had it all except the security of what eternity held for him.

As with all of us, when we ask Jesus a question, His answer will usually rock our world. "Sell EVERYTHING you have and give to the poor....then, come and follow me." The story goes that he went away sad. HE WENT AWAY........SAD.

As I read that, I couldn't help but wonder what the young man was thinking. But then my thoughts turned to Jesus. Why didn't He go after the man? Tell him it was what was best for him? Explain that if he just maybe started selling a little bit and see how it went that He would help him? No...Jesus didn't pursue or conj ole. He just challenged the man's heart and let him make his own choice.

I think that's the way Jesus chooses to grow us. When we come face to face with Him and have the courage (or fear) to ask Him what's on our mind, He sometimes brings a hard word. Something that will either deepen our devotion to Him or leave us going away...sad.

These last couple of months I have been looking at my life and asking myself "where is God asking me to sell everything"? There have been times when I have gone away from the hard word God has shared with me...not defiantly or lacking understanding what He was asking. But with sorrow because I lack the faith needed to respond. I am trying to change that and be obedient to the hard ask of Jesus.

Today, is God asking you to "sell" something? What will your response be? Keep growing.....

FREEDOM SPLASH 2010

When the idea to close the main building and have everyone head out to Captain Ron's for church was first discussed, it seemed like a neat option....one of those out of the box things that fit PH. As the date slowly approached, second thoughts crept in allowing fears and doubts to add an element of worry. A few offered warnings that it might not be a good idea. To top it off, Sunday morning's weather looked ominous at best.

As I drove north on 5 with my windshield wipers wisking away the "liquid sunshine", God and I had a talk. I told him that I couldn't believe He was doing this. After all our prep and prayer, it is raining and will probably keep many from coming out...and even let the nay sayers condemn the decision more vocally..." I tried to tell you"... The last thing I remember saying was "God, this is your day. I believe this was your idea to have this BIG event on the beach on the 4th of July. If you want it to rain, let it rain. If you want it to clear up, so be it. But I am going to head to the beach and worship YOU no matter what. And if there are only a hand-full of folks that show up, those are the ones you wanted this for."

Well, I am soooo glad that He is God and I'm not. His day was BETTER than any one of us could have scripted. The rain stopped, the light cloud cover kept it cool and unbelievably pleasant and hundreds showed up to celebrate our FREEDOM. The number of "new" faces nearly out numbered the familiar and God used the music, message and multitude to lead at least one young person to take Jesus into his heart and make Him Lord.

Thanks Potter's House for understanding that the church is not a building and for your willingness to take church to the beach. Did FREEDOM SPLASH 2010 spur any ideas for other venues or opportunities? Let's GROW some more.....

God-honoring obedience

We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ. To reach people no one is reaching, we’ll have to do things no one is doing.

The above statement is one of the values that we believe God has called us to live out at the Potter's House. You'll be hearing more on "The Code", a collection of 13 values honoring God's direction for TPH, in a series in late July entitled I Love My Church.

Today we witnessed how God is blessing our obedience as a church through that value. As of 9 AM Sunday morning, 15 people had registered to attend the Intro to Membership Class. So we prepared for 20. Well.....God did His thing and BAM! 36 showed up. Unbelievable. We have not had a membership class that large since we moved into our new building. (God also stretched the deli tray for 16-20 so that EVERYONE was fed! Remember the story of the loaves and fish...this time it was turkey and wheat bread.)

GREAT work PH! Keep living out the faith in community and inviting those that cross your path to experience a weekend service. Your staff is committed to staying the course of creative and innovative worship and God is growing His KIngdom through the efforts of all involved. The mission He has called us to is being fulfilled, one transformed life at a time!!

Have a Blessed week! And don't miss next week...BAPTISM Sunday!!! It's going to be AWESOME...the BEST Sunday yet!

LOVE GOD LOVE OTHERS SERVE THE WORLD

EASTER AT TPH AND CAPT RON'S

Easter Sunday was a landmark day for Potter's House once again. Not only did God bless us with a record number of folks (563) at the Launching Pad (the name we have given our main campus) but we also had a record number of people (110) at the second annual Easter service on the beach at Captain Ron's Bar and Grill in Sunrise Beach.

God continues to lead us to things that no one else is doing and our prayer is that we are reaching people no one else is reaching with these efforts.

At the main campus, our adults saw a beautiful painting take life right before their eyes as the service progressed. This use of the arts touched hearts and drew people to a place and to an emotion that only visual art can. At Capt Ron's, the beach setting (God's creation) provides a backdrop that also evokes emotion and draws our attention to God's Grace as nothing else can. I am so thankful that our church understands and supports these kind of "out of the box" ministries for God to use in growing His kingdom.

Do you have any ideas or inspirations for other God venues or experiences? I'd love to hear them!! We are always looking for new ways to share the old stories of Jesus and His love!! Have a GREAT week as we continue to celebrate the empty tomb. He's Alive!!

Orange Sunday

WOW!!!! What a day!! Our third Orange Sunday may have been the best one yet. If you missed it, I'm not sure how else to explain what happened except to say God blessed us with His presence and families were inspired to pass along the stories of God's provisions, especially that of a Saviour, to the next generation. We witnessed 24 families come forward to dedicate their child/children to the Lord and commit to raising them up in the faith....making the home the place where spiritual growth and biblical grounding takes place. Congratulations to all who made that commitment. Know that as a church, we stand committed to help you as you take your role as spiritual leader in your family to fulfill what Moses instructed:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. Write them down, and tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Easter Sunday this week. It is going to be the best Sunday ever!! Invite a friend, neighbor or family member to join you as we will worship and celebrate the Risen King!!

RUT OR RELEVANCE

This week, Pastor Tom's message speaks to vocation and attitude in our day to day jobs or responsibilities. To often we lose sight of the fact that God has us uniquely positioned to accomplish His will in His Kingdom. Thursday evening, our small group watched a talk by Andy Stanley entitled 'He STILL has the whole world in His Hand". Do we live each day in that assurance? And is that belief supported in our words and actions on Monday through Friday?

Many times we fall into "the rut"...the day to day things that turn our jobs and responsibilities into nothing more than routine. A means to a paycheck.

What if we believed that every interaction with someone else was God-appointed? That God Himself was who we were working for and our responsibilities were a direct reflection of Him? Would it change our attitude or how we went about our business?

God's purpose for our lives is always one of relevance. He hasn't given you today just to make it through it. He doesn't have you at Wal Mart just to get that bar of soap or gallon of milk. You're not working along side a fellow employee just to earn a living. It is a God appointment and how you treat your assignment will determine your understanding of The Blessed Life for which He has created you. See you Sunday! It is going to be the BEST one yet!!

Our Bodies are God's Temples

Chris and I got to sit in the hospital for a couple of days this week. Bradley had some scary symptoms and was really sick so at 1 AM Thursday morning we were off to the Emergency Room. He is home now and recuperating. (BTW-We appreciate all the prayers, texts, visits and calls that we received. We love our church family and you displayed your love for us. Thx!!)

But after multiple tests and 36 hours of observation, there really are no definite reasons he experienced the pain and symptoms he did. The doctor's parting words were "we may never know what caused this but he looks to be getting over it".

As I reflect on those words, it is clear that God's design for our bodies is so amazing. Brad no doubt was sick and somewhere in his body was a severe infection. His white blood cell count on the first check was 23000. Normal, we were told, is between 700 and 1100. Recalling from my high school and college educational years (yes, back in the day...) the body uses white blood cells (wbc) to fight infection and produces them on a need basis. The body was treating itself.

One of Tom's points in his message this week is taking care of the body through rest and down time. The time Brad spent in a hospital bed allowed his body the healing time it needed to take care of itself. God's amazing design worked and it took about 36 hours or so of down time and rest to let it do what it does.

This week as we look at the physical side of the BLESSED LIFE, know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and if we take care of it and treat it as God desires of us, it will last us for as long as is needed... until He calls us home.

What do you need to pay attention to starting this week to care for your body? It's speaking to you. Are you listening?

RENDER TO CAESAR...

Have you finished your taxes yet? I decided to "get a jump" on mine this year and today would be the day. It isn't one of my most favorite things to do but it has to be done, so.....

As is my habit, I started the day with some bible reading, first some Old Testament and then some New, occasionally throwing in a Psalm or Proverb. Well as luck (sure!) would have it, I am starting Deuteronomy and it begins where Moses is recapping for the people where they have been. As I read, it was clear that God "gave" them everything... every victory and every provision, every piece of land, EVERYTHING. And yet they still did not trust God.

Next was the New Testament where I am in Mark. Today's reading was chapter 12. Jesus was questioned about paying a "poll-tax" to Caesar. To answer, He asked for a denarius (a coin) and inquired as to whose inscription they saw. Of course, it was Caesar's. And the response grabbed me. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's".

Now Moses was quite clear to the Israelites that all they had came from God and every good Pharisee in Jesus' time would have known that story from Moses. So when Jesus directs them to give to Caesar all that is his, what exactly was he going to get?

I'll get my taxes finished and "pay up" what I am asked. But today, I am reminded that nothing I possess is mine and Jesus says, "render....to God the things that are God's." I'm still learning how to live "the Blessed life". What about you?

FAMILY CEO

Good leadership is the key to any successful organization. The old saying that stuff (there's a more flowery word but I'll refrain) "runs down hill" applies in the area of leadership. Jim Collins, author of the book Good to Great, relates this to having the right person driving the bus. Other authors like Malcolm Gladwell and John Maxwell offer suggestions about how to become a great leader. And the reason their books are always on the best seller lists is that we ALL desire to be at least a good leader.

Today's families need great leaders. Leaders who understand God's organizational chart and then work at the part they play in it. This week we have the opportunity to look at the family and how God has called each of us to fit in it. God offers this mom and dad, "Impress them on your children" when it comes to priorities of right living. Lead your children into right living or to use a religious word, righteous living by teaching them to love the Lord with all their heart and soul and strength. Deuteronomy 6:5-6

It may be time for some parents to do a takeover and become the CEO of the family. Check out this weeks message and small group lesson and let's start living it....The Blessed Life!

HIGH DEFINITION LOVE

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.” Genesis 2:18 GWT

Last year, Chris and I bought each other a High Definition flat screen TV for Christmas. WOW!! You can really see the difference between high definition television and regular television. As you get closer, you can see all the snow and the pixels in regular tv. But the HD set is all color and detail.

The same can be related in our relationships... especially the sacred one God established long ago, the one between man and woman. As we get closer and closer to His definition of marriage and love, it becomes brighter, clearer and more vivid. On the other hand, as we look at marriage from the world’s perspective or the way that society thinks, it’s kind of blurry. We can see the pixels and the snow and everything else clouding the picture.

As the watching world gets up close and personal to our marriages, what do they see? Let's work to insure that it is the High Definition Love that God designed it to be! Have a BLESSED week!

RADICAL RELATIONSHIP

I was listening in on a conference this week. It was called Radicalis. One of the speakers shared that the word is latin and it means "from the root". We get our word radical from that latin word so as it is broken down, we see that something radical is rooted.

Although not a botanist, I don't think plants share roots, at least I have never seen that to be the case. Each healthy plant has it own root structure. And the healthier the roots, the more stable the plant. When a plant has deep roots, it is less effected by heat, drought, wind, etc. And each plant has to have its' own root system. Likewise, each of us has to have our own faith root system. When we come to Christ, our root structure begins its' descent. The old saying, "No root, no fruit" takes on a new meaning in a believers life. Paul says it a couple of ways. "Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him" from Colossians 2:7 and "May your roots do down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love....Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God" Ephesians 3:17-19.

Do you want your relationship with Jesus to be characterized as "radical"? Me too! Let's take Paul's advise and work on our roots!! BL90X

The Blessed Life-BL90X

In my younger years, many hours in the summer were spent around a pool. Swimming was a pass time that provided both fun and relief from the heat. But to be honest with you, I had some fear and reservations each and every time I suited up. I was afraid of the deep end. It seemed that I had no control if I got in over my head. I didn’t like that feeling. But…that’s where the diving board was. The most exciting activity in the pool I played was the diving board and that thing was ALWAYS at the deep end of the pool. Over time though and through good experiences, I finally grew comfortable in the deep end.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to have an opportunity to “go to the deep end”, to dive head first into a pool, a pool deeper than any ocean and richer than Donald Trump and Bill Gates combined. And we will be challenged. It will seem scary at first…change and fear of the unknown are not things many of us like to consider. But to get to the Blessed Life that God wants to share with us, it is going to require change on our part. None of us can ever expect growth if we are unwilling to make necessary adjustments to our fragmented and busy agendas.

So…are you in? Will you take the “BL90X Challenge” to make the changes and live according to God’s design and not the world’s in the areas of your relationships, your body, your finances and your occupation? These next 50 days could be some of the most challenging you have ever experienced in your spiritual journey. But believe this, God wants you to dive deep pursuing Him and His Way as you swim through life.

That’s where this site comes in. It exists for your thoughts and discussions. Each week we want to hear from you. Our hope is that as you take the BL90X challenges and make adjustments to old habits and worldly influences, that God will bless you. And you in turn will bless us and inspire others by sharing what He has done through being obedient to Him.

Let’s get started!! Take the spiritual evaluation. How are you doing with the spiritual side of your life? What adjustments is God leading you to make? Let us hear from you!

“And I am sure that God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.”

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)