Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness and Food!

The weekly update on the important things in my life:

Faith- Our Easter Egg Hunt Outreach is this Saturday!  I'm stoked. We passed out door hangers over the weekend and put up signs.  It's going to be a great time. 

Family- Ty got his own World of Warcraft account, Ariel finally gave in to our begging!  Now Tech Support Tom is helping me with some PC issues so that Ty and I can play together.  Been playing some WoW with my Sister and her Husband.
Ariel has been in overdrive in youth ministry.  I'm so proud of how much she is doing, and how much God is using her to make an impact.  She is rockin'!  I love her so much.

Friends- Got to hang out with my good friends Keith and Jessica Friday night.  They were kind enough to make the signs for our Easter egg hunt.  God is really moving in their lives.

Fitness- Last week wasn't so good for working out, this week is "shaping up" to be better!  Still training for the 5k.  I've been really tired......

Food-I've eaten way too much over the last week, time to buckle back down on my diet. Looking forward to a good dinner with some good friends this weekend!

Foreclosure of the Soul

It seems in these tough economic times that a lot of people are facing foreclosure on their homes.  I have even been threatened with foreclosure, however we are working it out.  God will provide for us, He always has, He always will.  God has brought us through many tough storms and we always seem to come out the other side a little stronger and a little wiser.

It's easy to lose faith in tough times, like foreclosure.  But that is what Satan wants, for us to lose faith so that he can foreclose on our souls.  But the great thing about being a follower of Christ, is that Satan cannot foreclose my soul.  It belongs to Jesus!

I decided to look into the process of foreclosure to get a better idea of what I could have been facing.  I found this explanation:
"Foreclosure is a process that allows a lender to recover the amount owed on a defaulted loan by selling or taking ownership (repossession) of the property securing the loan.  The foreclosure process begins when a borrower/owner defaults on loan payments (usually mortgage payments) and the lender files a public default notice, called a notice of default or Lis Pendens."

Satan wants to put out a "Lis Pendens" on our souls. He wants to foreclose..... lets take a closer look at the process.

1. "The process that allows a lender to recover the amount owed on a defaulted loan."
The Bible tells us that the wadges of sin is death.  So just like I owe money on a loan that the bank wants to collect on, so it is with my soul.  I sin; as a result I deserve death, eternal separation from God in hell.  Satan wants to collect on the debt that I am building up with my sins.  He is waiting for me to mess up and he is hungry for payment.  Satan: the ultimate loan shark!

2. "The lender files a public default notice."
Satan loves to tell you how much you have messed up, doesn't he?  You're not good enough, you'll just mess up again, and no one can love someone like you.  Any of this sound familiar?  He uses our doubts and anxieties against us.  1 Peter 5:8 tells us "Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Sounds like he is trying to file that "public default notice" against us.  He wants our doubts, fears and anxieties to be maxed out.  The good news comes in the verse prior to that one!  In 1 Peter 5:7 it says "Cast all your anxiety on Him (God) because He cares for you."  He cares for you so much, He doesn't want Satan to foreclose on your soul.  Which leads me to my last point!

3. "Your debt has been paid in full!"
John 19:30 shows us that our debt has been paid in full; it is finished, it is completed!  It says "when he received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed His head and gave up His spirit."  And in Ephesian 1:7-8 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."  Putting your faith and trust in Christ alone as your savior wipes away all the debt that sin has against your soul!

Don't allow Satan to foreclose on your soul, Jesus paid the debt, it IS completed!

Worship outside the box!

I've been stressed lately......really tense, like something really needs to be released.  And a lot of that was released last night in one of the most worshipful moments that I have experienced in a long, long time.  It didn't happen at a church service in "worship set a, song number 2".  It didn't happen in an auditorium packed with Christians united in voice singing along with Steve Fee .  Nope.  It was at a small church, in a small town at 1:00am.

A good friend of mine was helping me by making signs for the Easter Egg Hunt Outreach we are doing at my home church .  We sat in the sanctuary of the church where he leads worship, making signs.  It did my heart good to hear how God is moving in his life.  After the signs were made, he picked up his Taylor guitar, his wife got on the piano, and my wife got on one of the mics.  Then God's Spirit rested on the building.

What I heard next was some of the most beautiful and genuine lifting of voices and instruments to the Lord God Almighty!  The first song made tears run down my cheeks.  I felt free and released.  There is power in worship.  Power to change lives, move souls and allow for rest.

Open up and give God some authentic worship!

God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality). John 4:24

I Surrender!

No, I'm not french! (oh wait, Boyer is a french name) I have officially submitted my registration for the United Brethren Annual Youth Leaders Summit: Surrender. Looks like I will be spending four days in sunny Florida in April, rubbing elbows with other UB youth leaders.
I've never been to the summit, so I'm really looking forward to connecting with other youth pastors within the UB denomination.  I've signed up for two different work shops.  First one is called "Using Technology in Ministry" and the second one is "Sabbath Habits for Highly Effective People."
Sounds like it will be a great time, if nothing else I guess I will get some beach time!

Vision of Ministry or What Raze Means

About a Year and 4 months ago, I was given the opportunity to preach at my home church, Northpointe Community Church. This in itself is not an uncommon event, I have had many opportunities to preach before. What was uncommon about this time, was that God spoke to me in a powerful way through the Scripture he gave me to preach about.

He gave me Mark 2:1-12. After I read this passage I felt God calling me into church planting. His word burned through my veins like wildfire.

I saw four main aspects of ministry in this passage:
1. Compassion- For the lost and the hurting (verse 3)
2. Community- Working together towards a common goal (verse 3)
3. Chutzpah- Doing whatever it takes to bring someone to the feet of Jesus (verse 4)
4. Change- Seeing the change that only the healing power of Jesus can bring about (verse 12)

This passage has become my vision for ministry not only for church planting but also in my current ministry setting. Be radical, be intentional, be willing to Raze the Roof and get people to the feet of Jesus.

I'll expand on the four aspects above in future posts.....

Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness and Food!

The weekly update on the important things in my life:

Faith- Had an awesome youth group meeting last night. We finished stuffing Easter eggs for our church Easter Egg Hunt outreach event. We also had two new visitors!

Family- Got to hang out with my little bro at a concert Friday night. My maturity level drops about 3 notches when I hang out with him, but we always have a good time.

Friends- My good friend David filled in as bass guitarist for The Great Transparency Friday night in Findlay, Ohio(the concert I went to). Good show, it was great to see David in action.
Saturday night My family and I hung out with our Good friends Keith, Jessica, Kevin and Becky. I made some epic pizza and we played Dominion until almost midnight!

Fitness- My wife and I are training to run in the Race for the Cure I think my wife is getting sick of my "I didn't know that band was still around" joke.

Food- I made some amazing Guinness and Beef Pie at work in honor of St. Patrick's Day, served with a side of Champ and caramelized baby carrots. I'm also getting back on track with my diet after putting 8 pounds back on =(

More on these subjects next Monday.......