Big Day Sunday!

As I write this, we are just forty-eight hours and nineteen minutes away from Sunday morning's worship service. Is anybody other than me excited about what God's going to do at Eulaton this weekend? I'm incredibly excited because this Sunday we're going to be baptizing several (not sure how many yet) new believers! That will NEVER get old. In fact, like I told everyone Sunday, I hope we wear that baptismal pool out from overuse!

I'm also excited about continuing our new message series entitled Frequently Asked Questions. Last Sunday we only got through four questions, so we're going to pick up this week where we left off. If you missed this past Sunday's message, we answered the following questions:

-Is it wrong for Christians to celebrate Halloween?
-What about the people who've never heard about Jesus?
-Can a person lose their salvation?
-Is it biblical to speak in tongues?

If you'd like to hear that message, you can always go to www.eulaton.org and click on Online Sermons. Most every message from this past year is archived there. This Sunday, we're going to see how many of the following questions we can tackle:

-Is tithing a New Testament practice?
-Does God hear the prayers of non-Christians?
-What does the Bible say about tattoos and piercings?
-How were people saved in the Old Testament?
-Why don't Baptists allow women to be pastors?
-Where did Cain get his wife?
-Did God create evil?

Once again, I don't know if we'll get through all of those questions or not. We're just going to take them one at a time and see where God leads with each one. These messages may seem a bit odd to those who've been attending church for a long time because they are so disjointed. I believe, however, that for the person who's new to the church experience, this series is a breath of fresh air.

How many people, if we're honest, haven't asked one or more of these questions in their lifetimes? What new believer or seeker wouldn't want to have a list of the most frequently asked questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity answered in rapid-fire succession, regardless of how random they may be? Didn't Jesus sometimes preach this way?

Answering those questions leads me to the unmistakable conclusion that this is a series that is incredibly beneficial. And that's why I want to encourage you again this week to invite friends and family to come. They've got questions; we've got answers. Let them know about this informative series that we're doing at EFBC.

Eulaton, get ready for the ride of your lives because Jesus is alive, His Spirit is at work in our midst, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

Gearing Up For New Series

I'm already super-pumped this morning after having a chance to speak to the Wellborn football team and cheerleaders at their prayer breakfast. What an awesome opportunity it is to be able to minister in our local school like that. This was the second prayer breakfast that EFBC has been a part of at WHS, and Koy was able to speak to them at the one we did back in September. It's exciting to see the great things that are happening at the school, and we pray for even bigger and better things in the coming days (and I'm not talking about winning football games, although that's been great, too!).

I'm also stoked this morning about a new series of messages I'll be beginning this Sunday entitled Frequently Asked Questions. These messages will be a little different than what I usually preach, as we are going to try and tackle a myriad of difficult questions that are most often asked about Christianity and the things we believe. Here's the questions we're going to attempt to answer this Sunday:

1. Is it wrong for Christians to celebrate Halloween?
2. What about the people who've never heard about Jesus?
3. Can a person lose their salvation?
4. Is it biblical to speak in tongues?
5. Is tithing a New Testament practice?
6. Does God hear the prayers of non-Christians?
7. What does the Bible say about tattoos and piercings?
8. How were people saved in the Old Testament?

Now don't be alarmed by the number of questions, because I honestly don't know if we'll get through all eight of these this Sunday. We're going to start tackling questions one at a time and if we run out of time, we'll just go back and pick up the ones we missed on the next Sunday.

It's going to be different because there's going to be no real connection from question to question. But that's ok, and actually, that's the way I want it. And even though the questions may seem disjointed at times, I can promise you that in the end I'm going to tie it all back to the Gospel. Although I don't plan to make it a habit to preach like this, I believe we need to do things like this from time to time. In fact, I've got two very clear goals for this series:

1. To offer support to Christians who may not always know what to say when others have questions. (1 Peter 3:15)
2. To spark an interest in those who may have asked some of these very same questions.

Goal number 2 is going to provide an opportunity for you to invest and invite in your friends and family members who don't know Jesus. Let them know we're going to be tackling a lot of difficult questions. Let them know that we're going to try and answer as many of the frequently asked questions about Christianity as we can. And most importantly, let them know that you love them and that you'd love to sit with them in church this Sunday.

You may want to copy this web address and send it on to someone you think might be interested. Who knows? God may use something as simple as an electronic message to radically change their lives this weekend. I couldn't be more excited about what I believe God is going to do through this series of messages, and I can't wait to see how He is going to show up at Eulaton this Sunday!

Come expecting God to move! Come expecting lives to be changed! And come knowing that the best is yet to come!

Big Day Sunday!

This Sunday is going to be a HUGE day here at EFBC, and I am incredibly pumped! Our Harvest of Fun Fall Festival will be after the morning worship service and lunch. We're telling people 12 until 2, but I hope you'll invite people to come to church first, then stay for lunch, and then for the HOF.

Let me first talk about Sunday morning. I hope you'll invite your lost friends this Sunday. The message will be the third in our current series Show Me The Proof. This week's message is entitled Is There Really Life After Death?, and we're going to be talking about the evidence we have for the resurrection.

Many people who don't know Christ may have never taken very seriously the claims the Bible makes concerning the resurrection. This message will powerfully show them that this is something EVERYBODY needs to take seriously, because the Bible says in John 5:28-29: A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (NIV) That tells me that the truth of the resurrection affects every person on the planet, not just the Christian.

Following our morning worship service, we'll be having a lunch with hot dogs and chili. We need folks to please help us out by bringing crackers, chips, corn chips, cornbread, and desserts (and/or anything else that would go well with chili and hot dogs). For those who'll be working the HOF, we'll eat fairly quickly and then get ready to welcome all of our guests.

Let's pray that God will use this event as a powerful ministry outreach for our community! Let's pray that we'll see lives changed as a result of this ministry. And let's pray that God will show up in a HUGE way for everything that we're doing on Sunday!

By the way, we could still use more candy if anyone can bring some by. Donations are greatly appreciated! Let's also not forget that tonight we are feeding the coaches and referees at the Wellborn game. Your help is greatly appreciated!

One more thing before I close this: this past Wednesday night at EFBC we had 62 children (not counting youth and adults), and we fed every one of them! This is a new ministry that our Wednesday night workers have felt led to begin, and all I can say is, "What's God going to do next?" These are exciting times at EFBC! God is working in so many areas that it blows my mind! Thank you all for your faithfulness!

Keep praying! Keep investing and inviting! And keep yourself prepared, because the best is yet to come!

God Is So Good!

By now most of you have probably heard about the news we got late yesterday afternoon: the judge's ruling went our way concerning the children! Praise God!!! He is so good. He would still be good even if the ruling had went the other way, and He would still be just as worthy of our praise. However, this morning we are rejoicing in the fact that we're going to get to keep our children! Hopefully the adoption will be done very quickly!

That's not all that has me excited on this Friday morning, though. As usual, I'm looking forward to Sunday at Eulaton with eager anticipation! I'll be beginning a new series of messages entitled Show Me The Proof. These messages will be answers for the skeptics who question the validity of our faith. We'll look at some of the convincing proofs that there really IS a God, that He really DOES have a Son named Jesus, that He really DID come into this world as a man and die for our sins, and that He really DID rise again.

Being a Christian doesn't mean you have to check your brains at the door when you come to worship. There is overwhelming evidence that you can demonstrate for the skeptics to prove to them that the faith you have is neither unreasonable nor unintelligent. Some people see Christians as being "simple" and "weak-minded" because we place our faith in a God we have never seen. Well, I've never seen my brain either, but I know that I have one and I'm really glad that it's there (otherwise I wouldn't be able to type this message).

By the way, some of the most brilliant people who have ever lived have been Christians: Nicolaus Copernicus, Louis Pasteur, Isaac Newton, Max Planck, Johannes Kepler, and Blaise Pascal all professed faith in Christ. Modern-day Christian thinkers include men like Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. Gary Habermas, Dr. William A. Dembski, and Oxford University professor Dr. John Lennox. All are proof that being an intellectual and following Christ are not mutually exclusive.

This Sunday's first message in the new series is entitled Something Out Of Nothing. We'll be talking about how God created everything out of nothing. And we'll talk about the fact that the same God who created something out of nothing does the same thing with us. I don't know about you, but I know that my life was meaningless until Jesus found me and saved me. I'm incredibly excited about beginning this new series, and I hope you will be, too!

For some time now I've been repeating the words of Psalm 63:2: I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Well, today I thought I would share with you what verse 1 says: O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

Are you thirsty for God? Are you longing for His presence in a dry and thirsty land? Why not seek Him early this Sunday in the sanctuary, and come in expecting to see His power and glory? Why not seek Him right now, right where you are? He loves us! He wants to bless us! He wants to do wonderful things in our midst! But He's waiting on us to seek Him. Deut 4:29 says, You will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Let's seek Him with all our heart and soul; and let's prepare ourselves, because the best is yet to come!

What's Better Than Saturday's In The Fall?

I admit it: I love Saturdays in the fall. If you're a college football fan, there are few things that get you more excited than Saturdays in the fall. Cooler weather, college game day, and some chicken wings are, for me, a recipe for a great weekend. All year long I look forward to this time of year with eager anticipation.

But as much as I enjoy watching Alabama play football, I recently asked myself a simple question: "Why do I care so much?" I've never attended The University of Alabama, nor has anyone in my immediate family that I know of. In fact, I have no personal connection to the school of any kind, other than the fact that I live in the state that bears the same name.

So why do I get so excited when Saturdays in the fall roll around? Why do I cheer when the Crimson Tide makes a great play and groan when their quarterback gets sacked? Why will I put on an Alabama t-shirt and cap this Saturday and give up three or four hours of my weekend to watch college students move a pigskin back and forth across a cow pasture? The only answer I can come up with is this: it's FUN! So whether it makes sense or not, I'll be cheering for the Crimson Tide again this Saturday. And it will be FUN (especially if the Tide rolls!).

With that being said, however, there's something this year that I've been looking forward to even more than Saturdays in the fall. Can you guess what it is? It's SUNDAYS IN THE FALL! I've started counting the days every week in eager anticipation for worship at Eulaton. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next. My recent bout with the flu that caused me to miss a Sunday was a huge bummer. Having to miss being here made this sick boy even sicker. I seriously can't wait for the next opportunity to gather together as the church.

And here's the great thing: unlike college football, what we're doing on Sundays at Eulaton actually matters. I know some people think it's blasphemy to speak like that, but seriously folks: do you really think when we get to heaven anybody's going to care who won or lost last Saturday's game? In the grand scope of eternity, the importance of college football ranks right up there with a night out at the bowling alley. A few hours of good, clean fun, but nothing of eternal significance.

So go ahead and enjoy some college football this weekend. I will. But let's remember to keep it in perspective. If you're more fired up about your team than you are about your Lord, then maybe you ought to do a spiritual inventory. As fun as it is to cheer for the Tide or the Tigers, how much more fun is it to lift high the name of Jesus? And that's the kind of fun that really matters.