Idea of Christmas



A friend sent me this poem about Christmas. So many Christians are soooo afraid or mad that our society is taking Christ out of Christmas. I preached last year about the true spirit of Christmas. The true spirit of Christmas is giving to others. That's what God did. He gave Himself in the form of Jesus Christ. We are to give always and especially this time of the year. It's all about giving as Christ gave and not about shopping, Santa, reindeer, etc. Take a few minutes and read the poem and leave your thoughts.

Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday !*

RIPLEY IS HERE!

Teresa and I are so happy that our little girl has arrived. We are thankful to God every day but with the nation's official day of thanks coming up on Thursday, it means a little more to me. Below are some pic. Enjoy.

Teresa talking to her mom.

Checking my e-mails as we wait for Ripley to come.

My dad and mom made it in time for Ripley's arrival.

Eileen Frost spent most of the day with us; she is a great friend.

Ripley just came out and is clearing her lungs.

Ripley being weighed; 7 pounds 4 oz.

Ripley is soooo beautiful.

Just minutes old and getting cleaned.

Almost Here



Teresa and I are at the medical center and we are listening to Ripley’s heartbeat. These 9 months are flown by soooo fast. I feel we are ready; as ready as anyone can be for their first child. We are very loved by our friends and fellow Christian s from Common Ground. We have many people praying for us and I can feel it. My number one prayer for Teresa is for peace. As I read this, Teresa and talking with Eileen Frost and she is nice and claim. Again, I know this will pass but Teresa is doing soooo well. I am a very lucky man to have her. God knew what He was doing when He gave her to me; and He gave me to her.

Ripley will be here before we know it. My number one prayer is for God to draw her to Himself at an early age. That she will know Him as Savior and not just as her parents’ God. I am very thankful to God for saving me at 7 and I have been able to follow Him for over 32 years (sometimes not so faithfully as I should).

I take my role as Ripley’s daddy very seriously. How Ripley views God will be a reflection of how I treat her. I’ve counseled so many young women who struggle with seeing God as a loving Father because their fathers weren’t so loving. My role as Ripley’s daddy is to point her to the Father with my love and actions. I pray that God will help me with this role.

The Offering



I read today in Genesis 22 the offering of Isaac account. I’ve read this passage many times over the years but God showed me something rather awesome. Allow me to point some things out regarding this event in the lives of Abraham and Isaac.

1. Abraham never debated with God when God asked him to offer up his son (Gen. 22:2-3). If Abraham did question the command, we are not shown this discussion.
2. Abraham believed that God would either step in before he killed his son (Gen. 22:7-8) or restore his son to life. Abraham knew that God keeps His word, and they had an agreement (covenant) that his son would carry on his name.
3. Isaac did not fight his father (Gen. 22:9). Abraham was over 100 years old and Isaac was a young man. Isaac could have fought his father but the passage leads us to believe he willing allowed his father to tie him up. Isaac was willing to be a sacrifice; after all, he grew up listening to the stories of the greatness of God from his father. He may have thought, “If God wants my life, there must be a good reason for it so I’ll lay it down.”
4. God did step in and stopped Abraham from doing what He commanded him to do (Gen. 22:11-12). Since God is all knowing (omniscience), He knew how Abraham would react. Even if he did killed Isaac God could have restore him with little effort (He is God after all).
5. God provided an animal for Abraham and Isaac to offer as a sacrifice instead (Gen. 22: 13).

God was testing Abraham to see just how much he loved Him. God wanted to see if Abraham loved his son more than he loved his God. In Isaac, Abraham had the fulfilled promise God made to him. Children were everything in this culture. Isaac represented the Abraham’s name living on past his death. Isaac was his hopes and dreams. Abraham was willing to give up his hopes, dreams, and his legacy because God told him to. That’s what God’s test for Abraham was. Did his hopes and dreams have more priority or his faithfulness to God?

That comes home for me and I’m thinking for you, too. What or who is Isaac to us? Or better asked what are your hopes and dreams or who is most dear to you? Do they have a higher priority in your life than your faithfulness to your heavenly Father? As God gave Isaac to Abraham, He gave you everything; job, money, home, spouse, children, everything. Be willing to give them up if He asks you to, because He the God of your life; not the hopes, dreams, or children. It’s something to think about.

Final Countdown



Teresa and I are on the final 2 weeks of our journey with our baby. Teresa’s doctor told her yesterday that Ripley is currently 7.5 pounds and they project her to be 8 to 8.5 pounds on November 22. We will check in to Maryview Hospital at 4pm on Sunday, November 22 and they will start to induce Teresa. Lord willing, Ripley will arrive on Monday, November 23; one week ahead of her due date.

Teresa and I are so excited to know that in less than 2 weeks we will have our gift from God in our hands. This little girl will be so loved. With her pending arrival, God has taught Teresa and me so much about His love. Ripley isn’t even here yet and we love her so much its unbelievable. We have friends joking with us about the sleep or the lack thereof after the birth, but we’re not even thinking about that right now.

I’m thinking about how we can show Ripley the Love of God. Teresa and I want so much to be examples of God’s love for Ripley so she will know Him at an early age. We both know that Ripley is not ours. She belongs to God and He has entrusted her into our care. That is mind blowing to me. I know it will be hard to commit Ripley over to God but she is His.

I just can’t want to meet this little gift from God. To hold her in my arms; to kiss her little face, toes, and stomach; to bath her; to read her stories and see her reaction to the stories; to teach her things that daddy can only teach; love her like I have never loved before. We are in the final countdown; 13 days, 22 plus hours, and change until her possible arrival.

How great is out GOD!!!!!!!!????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Commitment to Personal Growth



We are called to commit ourselves as disciples. Disciples are learners. We should never reach a point in life at which we are no longer learners. We never reach a point in life at which we have arrived. On this side of heaven, no one is perfect. Even Paul said about himself in Phil. 3:12;

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

The truth is that most believers have never reached past the point of feeding on milk when they should be ready for meat. Again, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:2;

I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able.

Make a commitment to continue to grow spiritually. Take positive steps to do so. Start a Bible reading plan. Set aside time each day to pray. Read good Christian books. Use the internet to find good sites that will food your soul and not your flesh. Never give up on learning.

Committed To Christ



Why do you suppose that there are close to 100 million church members in America yet they are not making more of a moral and spiritual impact? Why is it that on Sunday morning thousands of churches have more empty seats than full? Why is it that the average Sunday School in America has less than 66 in attendance and that the average worship service has 84? Why is it that only 50% of church memberships attend on Sunday mornings? If Christians really believe in a real heaven and a real Hell, how can we be so silent? . . . The answer to all of these questions is tragically simple! Commitment; God’s people have made a decision about Jesus….but have never made a commitment to Him.

There is of course a difference between a decision and a commitment. Perhaps this cannot be seen any clearer than it is in the failure rate of marriages in America. According to statistics at least 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. Why do you suppose that is happening? Not to sound too judgmental, but some of couples made a decision but did not make a commitment. Every person who is married made a decision! They stood before a preacher and made promises and recited vows. They made a decision, they kissed each other and walked out together to live but not necessarily “happily ever after” and not necessarily together. So why did they divorce? The answer is that they made a decision, but they did not truly commit their lives to each other. But when a couple marries and makes a commitment to one another that is a different story.

The same is true in the church. The reason that the church is not making more of an impact in our society is that many church members made a decision about Christ, but have not made a commitment to Christ.

Trunk or Treat Report



It really shouldn’t surprise us but I do get surprised on how great our God truly is. He is always faithful to do what He says He will do so why am I surprised. The surprised I mention is how God blessed Common Ground Community Church’s “Trunk or Treat” event on Saturday. The Elders decided on doing simple instead of going overboard with the bells and whistles; to be honest we can’t afford the bells or the whistles anyway. The concept is a simple one; have people put candy in their cars’ trunks and when kids come, give them candy. It’s so simple but so great for outreach. The community sees that we care enough to make sure their children are safe while trick or treating.

God blessed our event first of all by giving us great weather. At first I thought it would be raining but that stopped several hours before the event. It was very warm for October; 75 degrees. Our people came out to show the love. We normally run 80 to 90 in a weekly attendance and we had around 30 of our people come to help; most had their car trunks/truck beds full of candy. We had our faithful grilling master, Doug, on the grill making sure the hot dogs were ready for the people. We had 4 types of chili, along with drinks. Thank you Becky Allen for heading the food side of this for us; great work.

We had bought 192 grab bags, and we ran out toward the end. According to our greeter (Teresa Thomasson), some people had their own so we are guessing that we had 300 children come through plus their parents. Our guess on total attendance is 500 people. That is a testament on how great our God is. We followed His lead and reached out to the community and the community came.

It’s not about giving candy out on October 31, it’s about showing the community that we care for them. People don’t care what you know until they know that you care for them. Our desire is for our community to know that Jesus Christ died for them, and that we at Common Ground Community Church love them where they are in the life journey.

Thank you for those who were able to help on Saturday, October 31.