What's God Going To Do Next?

Did anybody else notice how many people were here Wednesday night? WOW! I don't think I've ever seen so much excitement about church in the seven years I've been at Eulaton. Is our God not AWESOME?!?! I truly believe we are on the verge of an incredible and unusual movement of the Spirit that will be unexplainable to anyone who doesn't know my God.

I hope you will come to worship this Sunday with a sense of expectation. Let's come in expecting God to show up in a BIG way. Let's remember the words of David that we looked at in last Sunday night's message: I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory (Ps 63:2). I think we should come into the sanctuary EVERY Sunday looking to see God's power and glory! And I believe that the more people who are expecting great things, the more great things He is going to do.

The last two weeks we've been using cars as an illustration: first with Christ For Clunkers and then last week with Take It For A Spin. This Sunday morning we're going to continue the "car" analogy and the title of my message is Keep It Serviced. We're going to talk about how to keep your new creation purring like a kitten. I hope you'll be here and invite somebody else to come, too! I promise you that the Gospel will be shared in the message.

Sunday night is going to be exciting as we are hosting a fifth Sunday singing here at EFBC. West Park Heights and Ruhama Baptist Church will be joining us, and possibly even another church. It's going to be a glorious night, and I believe it will be a service to be remembered for a long time to come. We need folks who can to please bring some side items that will go well with our Boston Butts that we'll be having. Things like cole slaw, baked beans, chips, etc.

OK, now I'm hungry! Aubrey is the man when it comes to barbecue (and food in general). I can already smell it and taste it!

That's about it for now. I'm just eagerly anticipating Sunday. Come expecting God to do great things. Come expecting lives to be changed. Come expecting the fires of renewal and revival to be all consuming. And come remembering that as good as things have been, the best is still yet to come!

Three More Days...

It's Thursday afternoon and I'm counting the minutes until Sunday at EFBC. I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for us this week. If last week is any indicator of what we can expect this week, then we'd better all get prepared to be blown away by the power of God. I'm expecting even bigger and better things this week, and I hope you are, too.

I truly believe that God honored the prayers and efforts of many of you who invited friends and family members to come to church this past Sunday. Some of you may have been disappointed that the person you've been investing in didn't show up, and that's understandable. But let me encourage you: DON'T LET SATAN DISCOURAGE YOU!

Just because they weren't here last week doesn't mean they won't be here this week. Just because they didn't show doesn't mean that God is not working in their hearts. Just because you were disappointed last week doesn't mean you should be discouraged about this week. Keep praying, keep sharing, keep investing and keep inviting. And remember the words of Galatians 6:9: And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Translation: Never give up!

I believe this past Sunday was just the beginning of something big that God wants to do in our church and our community. Let's keep coming expecting God to work. Let's keep praying for His blessings on our church. And let's be careful that we don't do anything to quench the Spirit or hinder what He wants to do in our midst. I believe we're about to see something AWESOME!!!

Don't blink now, cause the best is yet to come!

Sunday's On The Way

I'm struggling to stay awake today. Why, you ask? Because the thought of so many people whose names I don't even know kept me up for the better part of last night. All I know is their initials, but I know that every set of initials on our dry erase board in the sanctuary represents a precious soul. And I'm seriously praying for these people.

Did you write somebody's initials on that board this past Sunday? If you did, let me encourage you to not forget about that person this week. Let me remind you of the commitment you made to God about that person. Let me cheer you on as you seek to share Jesus with that person and/or get them here this Sunday.

I am insanely excited about this week's Sunday morning message (message title: Christ For Clunkers). My promise to you is that if you get your person here, they will hear the Gospel presented in a creative way and in a language that they can easily understand. Don't give up on them. Pray for them. Talk with them. Keep encouraging them to come and see what God is doing at EFBC.

Perhaps you didn't come forward last Sunday, but God put somebody on your heart that you know needs Jesus. Don't let the fact that you didn't put their initials on the board keep you from investing in their life. Pray for them. Talk with them. Invite them to come and worship with you this Sunday. God wants to use you; you've just got to let Him.

Now, let me give everybody a warning. God is up to something big, and we all know what that means: Satan is up to something, too. When fires of renewal and revival begin to burn, everybody will have the opportunity to pick up one of two buckets to throw on those fires. One bucket contains water, and we all know what water does to a fire. The other bucket contains gasoline. Need I say more?

Make sure you pick up the bucket with gasoline, so that we might see these fires of renewal and revival spread and burn white hot. Please don't try and throw water on the fires that God has ignited in so many people's hearts. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 tells us, "Do not quench the Spirit." 2 Timothy 1:6 tells us to, "Fan into flame the gift of God." (NIV) Let's do everything we can to keep this fire burning that the Lord has lit in our church.

And remember; fasten your seatbelts, because the best is yet to come.

A Challenge For Sunday

I am incredibily PUMPED about the next two Sundays here at Eulaton First Baptist. This Sunday will be the final message in our series What Would It Look Like If... and I can't wait to stand before you and preach! In preparation for this Sunday, I have a challenge for you:

I want to ask everybody who reads this to be thinking about the people you know who need Jesus. When you come to church this Sunday, I want you to come with that person or those persons in your mind and on your heart. I want you to be thinking about them while I am preaching. And then I want to ask you to commit to doing whatever God lays on your heart this Sunday.

If you will take this challenge seriously, I truly believe that the following Sunday (August 16) will be one to remember in the history of EFBC. If very few people or nobody takes this challenge seriously, then the best we can expect is to maintain the status quo. I don't know about you, but I seriously want to see God show up, and show up in a BIG WAY! Let's make history. Or more appropriately, let's let God use us so that He can make history in the Eulaton community.

Please try to get this message out to those who don't have Internet access. I want as many people as possible to come to church Sunday prepared to see this challenge through.

Are you ready? I hope so, because God is up to something HUGE and He wants you to be a part of it. Hold on tight, because the best is yet to come!