Sunday Evening Reflections:

It was a quiet weekend for us. We did get a lot of work done around the house. Hope your weekend was profitable.

Reflections:

• Saturday evening we went to the Ron Blue Christmas gathering. Louise works for this fine company. The Baltimore office went out for appetizers & then to Mountain Christian Church for a comedy night. A stand-up comedian made us laugh and cry for over an hour. The church used the event to promote their outreach efforts. They also encouraged attenders to get involved with at least one of their initiatives. It was very creative & funny too!
• The weekend gatherings at LifePoint continued the series on the atonement by Joe. Once again a great teaching session on the mercy seat! What a great application about Jesus being our Mercy Seat.
• First hour I met with our Hands & Feet ministry. I am truly excited about the potential this new ministry has in the areas of compassion and social justice in our region.
• Finish the weekend watching the Giants battle the Eagles. What a game. I’m finishing this post before the game finishes.

Blessings,

Dave

Counted Worthy:

Once again I’m including my post from http://66books.wordpress.com. This is a great way to read through the Bible in a year. Hopefully you will find the words below helpful in these waning days of 2009.

This Leader’s View:

Scripture:

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12,  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to give thanks to God always to you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith growth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: if so be that it is righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, eveneternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and everywork of faith, with power; that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (American Standard Version)

Observation:

Paul calls the church in Thessalonica a model in his first letter to them. In the passage above and especially the bolded italicized section you see Paul’s burning love and pride for this church. They suffered for the gospel in ways that we have a hard time comprehending. What is fascinating is these first century Christ-followers were counted worthy to suffer. We usually think of suffering coming because of wrong-doing and sin, not as a privilege. What a revolutionary thought. I am taking a bit of license here to include a 21st century example of this attitude. During this past Thanksgiving weekend Pastor Matt Chandler was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was operated on last week.  You can click on the following link and hear his words for being counted worthy of his trials he is going through. This is as recent as just a couple of days ago. (http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/hvpastor/)

Application:

Do you, do I think of suffering or trials being something we can be worthy of? I think of the things I am struggling with right this minute — situations in my life that have been with me for over 30 years — do I see them as something God has brought my way because I’m worthy? Because I’ve been a model and now He can trust me to be a model through this struggle? If you’re like me, you will shy away from looking at it from that perspective.  And yet there it is! So I think what we need to do is search our own hearts, is it sin or is it because of worthiness? Only you can ascertain that. It gives me much food for thought in these waning days of 2009. Perhaps I’ve missed the whole point in some of these situations.

Prayer:

Father God help us all to be worthy of the suffering you bring our way. Help us to know what it is — sin, or privilege — that puts us in the situations we find ourselves in at the moment. We want to be models for You like the church in Thessalonica was. Help us to be those models to a watching world. We love you Father. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

dmbaldwin

Sunday Evening Reflections:

What a great weekend. It snowed in the Furnace Hills for the first time this season. We had about 5 inches of the white stuff. It has been a beautiful weekend.

Reflections:

• Before the snow arrived I led a memorial service on Friday evening for a man who passed away in his sleep before Thanksgiving. He was only 50 years old. It is always encouraging to see how many lives someone touches in a life-time. It was a two-hour service, but worth the time to reflect on God’s activity through this one life.
• The snow caused a low attendance on Saturday evening at LifePoint Church. It was cool, though, to see the people that were there. And you know the kind of atmosphere the bad weather breeds! It was a fun time.
• Joe kicked off a three-part series on the Atonement. You need to go to www.lifepointchurch.us and listen to it. It will blow you away. Some great biblical doctrines about the atonement shared in fresh insightful ways. I’m going to listen to/watch it again.
• I had a couple of meetings on Sunday morning during the services.
  • A group of men are really interested in serving the poor and orphans in Africa. They came with some ideas and it was encouraging to see their hearts.
  • We had a debrief of our trip last month to Guatemala. It was a great meeting. Much to do there in partnering with SETECA Seminary as well as with our good friends Oscar & Ana Maria Campos.
• Finished the weekend off with a GREAT NY Giants victory over the Cowboys! Perhaps there’s still hope.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Let’s look to God for the week ahead.

Blessings,

Dave

Equipping the Church:

As I have noted many times before I am a contributor for a great blog titled 66 Books In A Year. It’s a Bible reading blog that takes you through the Bible in a year. I strongly recommend it for those wanting a regular reading plan for a year. Below you’ll find my post from today. Hope you enjoy it.

Scripture

4:9-16,  (9In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Observation:

You know how there are just some passages of Scripture that grab you. That really speak to you. This is one of those passages for me. In fact these are probably the most favorite verses of mine in the entire Bible. As Jesus was ascending into heaven the Holy Spirit was dispensing spiritual gifts. He’s been doing it ever since. Anyone who has crossed the line of faith has been given at least one spiritual gift. The gifts mention in this passage are commonly called equipping gifts. People who have been given these gifts by the Holy Spirit have been given the supernatural ability to equip others in the body of Christ for acts of service. These are not like the other gifts mentioned in the New Testament. They are given so that the other gifts may be matured and grown and well stewarded in the lives of others. And with awesome results. As these Christ-followers use their gifts, the whole body is built up and attains unity in the Father. What a fantastic way the God of the church plans things out so that everyone has a function and all the parts work together to make the body all God wants it to be.

Application:

There seems to be at least two application points here. If you have one of these gifts mentioned in this passage you/I have a serious charge to keep. Our equipping of others in the body contributes to unity and spiritual growth to the point that those in the church grow up in knowledge and love for God and one another. If you/I don’t practice these gifts, not only are we not living up to our God-given potential, but the church isn’t either. So we need to use these gifts.

Second, if you don’t have one of these gifts, seek out those that do, so that you can grow to be all God is calling you to be. You need others to help equip you to use your gifts in ways that will build-up the body of Christ and to reach it’s God-given potential. Encourage those with these gifts to be active in the body.

Prayer:

Father God. Thank you for distributing Your Holy Spirit’s gifts in such a way that Your church can be all You have created her to be. Help us with the gifts mentioned in today’s passage to use them for Your glory. Help those that don’t to seek out those that do have these gifts, so that they can be all they can be in Christ. Your are the great designer of the church. Thank You for calling us to have a part in that design. I pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen!

Sunday Evening Reflections:

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was as restful as the Baldwin one was. We had our two daughters with us. One lives in Indianapolis, the other close to Milwaukee. We had a few close friends in and just hung out. We watched the debacle of the NY Giants loss. That was the only downer of the weekend. We also had several good skype calls with our kids and grand-kids in SE Asia.

So what was happening on the LifePoint Church front?

• We had the MWamba Children’s Choir in our services over the weekend. This choir is from Uganda. They did a great job, and it was an opportunity to highlight our emphasis in global poverty HIV/AIDS.
• Many great conversations in the lobby and hallways of LifePoint. People are going through some rough patches in life right now. Had an opportunity to pray with a mom who’s ten-year old has been diagnosed with a rapidly growing tumor in his face. Another guy I talked with is going through a bout of depression. Good times of encouragement and prayer.
• We celebrated communion over the weekend as well. These are powerful times in the life of our body.
• Joe’s teaching this weekend was on communion. I love his view (biblical) when it comes to this important part of church life.

Hope your times at church were refreshing and challenging this weekend. Have a great week.

Blessings,

Dave

Sunday Evening Reflections:

This has been an eclectic weekend. A bunch of stuff going on!

Reflections:

• I attended three conferences this past week. The Catalyst One Day conference here in Baltimore was excellent. Craig Groeschel & Andy Stanley spoke. Great ideas about how to maintain the momentum the Holy Spirit has brought our way at LifePoint Church.
• Friday I attended a conference in PA. It was a conference that discussed how to integrate business into mission. It was an excellent time as well.
• On Saturday I watched the Idea Camp on my laptop. I continue to be impressed with what Charles Lee is doing with the Idea Camp concept.  It’s free and deals with issues of social justice and compassion. I am impressed with the numbers of young people who are making this thing work.
• Our weekend gatherings were great. Joe finished out our Restless series. Lots of good stuff over the past three weeks.
• I had a lot of great conversations with individuals who love LifePoint and are jumping in to make our vision and mission a reality.

Hope your past week and weekend were equally good. Looking forward to another week that I’m sure will be punctuated with thankful things from God.

Blessings,

Dave

Sunday Evening Reflections:

What a great weekend! It really started on Thursday evening when I attended the DC/Baltimore Manager-Tools Meet-Up in Arlington, VA. Check it out below.

Reflections:

• Thursday evening six of us met at Ted’s in Arlington, VA for our quarterly Manager-Tools Meet-Up. I always enjoy these times because I get a chance to swap ideas with people in the trenches doing their best in managing their people in their respective corporations. It was a good time.
• Friday evening we had our first “official” community group meeting. We had dinner together and worked through our first study. It was thoroughly enjoyable. Our leader did the great job in leading our group. I think it’s going to be a great group to share life together.
• Saturday evening and Sunday morning we did Focus again. Focus is LifePoint new-comer orientation. I love the times we spend getting to know the new people at LifePoint and steer them in directions that lead to them becoming Christ-like Influencers.  We had 16 people Saturday evening and 22 on Sunday morning. Great questions too! Jodie & Adam did an awesome job as well with their respective presentations.
• Joe’s talk on the weekend was great. It was the second talk in our Restless series. Joe talked about Why a cool church isn’t good enough. Great thoughts on what makes a church great. And being cool isn’t one of them.
• We stayed after church on Sunday for the HUGS Thanksgiving Feast. There were 80 people there. Sandy McCann mentioned that the first time they had a Thanksgiving Feast the six people who attended could sit around one table. Our HUGS ministry — people with disabilities — is one of the great ministries in our church.

Hope you had a GREAT weekend as well.

Many Blessings,

Dave

Power Shaking Prayer:

This is the post I contributed to 66books Through the Year that I contribute to on a regular basis (http://66books.wordpress.com). If you are struggling in reading the Bible every day, I would encourage you to look at this very important blog.

Scripture:

4:31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly (NIV).

Observation:

Wow, what a result from a prayer meeting! The place where the disciples were meeting to pray was shaken by the power of the Holy Spirit. I haven’t been in a prayer meeting like that ever. The disciples were establishing the church in these early days. These men and women had been with Jesus and experienced the risen Christ. They were now absolutely sure of the message of the gospel. No faith here (faith was reality for them), they were living out their true eternal destiny on the streets of Jerusalem every day. They were fearless and stood up to the religious leaders of the time. These prayers were probably the most confident, powerful ones ever prayed. And the Holy Spirit replied by shaking the building. Being filled with the Holy Spirit helped obviously. Holy Spirit filled apostles who were sure of the message they preached is a recipe for a shaking building.

Application:

I sound a bit like a doubter. I am not. When I think of those first century Christ-followers I think of people who were with Jesus and experienced his resurrection ministry and ascension. They were the most confident — sure — of their faith than anyone ever has been. So much so I think their prayers reflected it. Not that I don’t pray in faith, or you don’t, it’s more they were experiencing something so powerful and real that they prayed in a fashion that brought glory to God. How can I pray more like these apostles? I believe I need to spend time with Jesus and ask for His filling everyday. A Spirit filled person is one who is more confident in her faith. A Spirit filled believer is spending time listening to what God is saying to him. By so doing one’s faith becomes stronger and our prayers more effectual.

Prayer:

Father God thank you that you raised Jesus from the dead through the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us to ask for that filling of the same Holy Spirit in our lives. I ask that our prayers would be earth-shaking prayers that further your kingdom. I pray these things in the strong and real Name of Jesus, Amen.

Sunday Evening Reflections:

Four of us spent the weekend in Guatemala City, Guatemala with missionaries that we support in that city. Oscar & Ana Maria Campos serve at SETECA. SETECA is one of the premier seminaries in Latin America, really in the world. I have included a picture of Oscar & Ana Maria. They are dear, sweet people. Oscar is the Academic Dean of the seminary and Ana Maria is the Dean of the School of Christian Education.  We are privileged as a church to partner with them in their world-wide ministry.

Oscar & Ana Maria

It was great, too, going with three other guys. Jeff Kite led our group. George Pasteur and Josh Redding were also a part of the team. Each brought their god-given skills and talents to make this a profitable trip. Our goal was to see how we could best support the ministry of Oscar & Ana Maria. Because of their ministry at the seminary it meant looking at what we could do there to help out in strong ways. We have a list of things we need to sift through now to make this partnership stronger.

George, Dave, Jeff & Josh

I hope you all had great weekends. May God bless you all.

Blessings,

Dave

Sunday Evening Reflections:

Greetings Everyone,

Had a great weekend! Hope yours was great as well. Below you’ll find my reflections.

Reflections:

• I attended Men’s Fraternity on Saturday morning. It was a profound teaching time by Dr. Robert Lewis. He spoke on the reality of heaven.
  • Heaven is a place where there will be resolution. Namely this life’s loose ends will be tied up.
  • There will be altered states there.
    • New Bodies
    • New Relationships
    • New Homes
  • Heaven will hold personal rewards for us.
  • There will be new status and positions for everyone. They won’t be the same, but there will be new ones for us all.
  • There will be action and new adventure there. It may even be dangerous.
  • Heaven will be a place of endless surprises!
• Saturday evening was small. It was Halloween night. At the 6:15 service we only had 4 children. Note to self, next time Halloween falls on a Saturday let’s do something different or special!
• Sunday morning was electric. For the sermon series Joe preached a bonus sermon. It was awesome.
• The NY Giants lost so it put a damper on the end of the weekend, but being a Giants fan for 52 years you take the good with the bad.

Have a GREAT week.

Blessings,

Dave