3…2…1… Launch!

This weekend is exciting and frightening at the same time. Our church has sent out a lot of post cards to the surrounding area and are hoping to get a large turn out this next weekend. I honestly don’t know what to expect but I know the Lord is watching over everything. There is no doubt in my mind that no matter what happens this week we will still praise God for what he has given us.

The whole reason I enjoy going to Crossroads is to experience the love of Christ through others at our church. Every week I’m amazed at how God is working in lives all around and how his hand is at work. We believe fully in what the bible says and while some churches may stray from the bible’s teaching we remain founded in the Word of God. Free Methodist doesn’t mean more liberal, it means freedom through Christ for anyone if they come to believe in him and turn from the ways of the world.

If you happen to be in the metro area of Des Moines, Iowa come stop by and join in fellowship and worship to our creator. God Bless.

A much needed facelift

For those of you who frequent the Crossroads Celebration website you might have noticed that the design changed quite a bit. We are working towards getting more dynamic content on the website and will be posting more about upcoming events and sermon series. For anyone who is interested in helping me with the website please contact me through email or catch me after church some day.

This is an exciting change for us and we hope to continue to evolve the website with more features and enhancements. If you have ideas for the website or would like to comment on the design feel free to contact me or leave a note after this point.

A book you can’t put down

Ted Dekker is possibly one of the best fiction authers I’ve read. I like to read science fiction novels and other strange tales from different authors but Dekker has something the others don’t, faith. His books take the bible and explain it in a way that is similar to C.S. Lewis but much more thrilling.

The first book I read of his was Thr3e. The entire book has you gripping the chair waiting for what is going to happen next. Towards the end there is a huge twist and you finally understand how it all comes together. If you read any of his book this should be the one you read first.

Next I came across a book called Showdown. It started out a bit like a horror film and much of the book is dark and intense. The plot follows a school hidden in the mountains where some of the kids find a bunch of magical books. By writting in the books they can make history come alive, or even write their own history. The end of the book should not be missed. If you catch on to the symbolism you will realize how closely it follows to an account in the Bible.

I’ll continue my list in a few days but for now… start reading! Or, if you are like me and don’t like to sit down with a book too often, go check out the book on CD.

A permanent solution for pain and suffering

Ever have that dream as a kid that you were going to live this perfect life and everything would be great? And when you finally grow up you realize that not everything in life is a blessing. The last few weeks my mom has been in the hospital and made me remind myself that this life isn’t forever. Some things in this life are bittersweet but we still have moments to hang onto.

My mom is doing better now. She is still in the hospital but on her way to recovery. Many things seemed to go wrong during her surgery and there were a few painful points along the way for my family. God sees us through these moments. He takes our sorrows and burdens from us and helps us move on.

Maybe you are going through a rough time in your life and don’t know where you are heading. The path seems long and the journey is difficult. In these times we need to lift our heads to the heavens to our Creator and yell for help. God listens during any situation and hears your cry. A famous passage from the book of Psalms says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;”.

If you are in a troubled moment in your life do you rely on your friends? Are there people you trust, who you can rely on? Sometimes it feels like no one is around and your pain is too great for anyone else to bear but know that Jesus Christ came to this earth to save you from death. He saves you from eternal life in Hell and is the only way to Heaven. If you give of your life and commit it to Christ he will turn you full circle and no problem on earth can pull you down.

May the Lord bless you and may you find in your heart a place of rest.

Camp was Xtreme this year

I helped at our church camp this year and it was XTREME! In over 10 years of camp I’ve never experienced the energy and enthusiasm that these kids had. It was like the entire camp was lit on fire for Jesus Christ! How incredible!

To be honest it didn’t start out that great. The first day we were rained out of the tent we were going to use for worship so we setup inside a small cabin. It was a little cramped with all of the parents there. However, God works through these minor setbacks and camp was off to a great start!

Each day we had electives that the campers could choose from. Everything from sports to clowing and the campers had a blast (and so did the adults). Afternoons were spent at the lake or at a shooting range. Other activities included horseback riding and paintball. By the time supper came around you were already wiped out.

Finally towards the evening we start winding down with a few more relaxed electives and finally our evening worship. There was an amazing energy in the campers this year and I still can’t believe how loud everyone was singing. Usually the first day you have to get the campers fired up for the rest of the week but this year was different. The minute everyone walked into the camp they were ready for an experience with God they couldn’t pass up.

All in all camp was an awesome experience. If you want to know more about Xtreme camp check out the website at xtremeampd.com. Please come join us next year!

Launching my new personal site

I try to keep my posts on this blog specific to Crossroads Celebration. Therefore I have created a new website for my personal interests. If anyone is interested in knowing what I’m working on that isn’t Crossroads related, check out http://heardtheword.net. It will mostly be based on programming topics and you may get a sneak peek at what we are going to be doing for Xtreme Amp’d camp.

That’s all for now.

Revitalized in Christ

Our church had an opportunity to fellowship with the men from Teen Challenge this last weekend. These men are devoted to Christ and come from all different backgrounds. Each one had a story to tell about their life and how Christ made an impact in it. One of the guys said that within the last few weeks his wife had been talking with him again and it had been around a year before that. Praise God!

The experience was eye opening. It made me look at my own life and see how blessed I am.  And sadly, I realized how complacent we get as believers when the world around us seems to be going “our way”. We get used to our routines and worship more out of obligation than the deep desire we had as new believers. We need to be revitalized and set of fire again for the Lord.

That’s why being in this group of new believers was so exhilarating. It reminded me of the pure joy I had when commiting my life to Christ and the promise I made to turn my life around. I’ve still got lots of work to do but it’s a life journey I am excited about.

Site updates

As most of you may have noticed the crossroadscelebration.org website has been undergoing some changes. We switched hosts a couple weeks ago and are just now starting to get back up on our feet again. I suggest checking out the forums at http://forums.crossroadscelebration.org where we keep a weekly prayer list. This list is not just for the church members of Crossroads, if you need prayer feel free to post on our message boards. Hope to see you there!

Living in a Desperate Household?

This month we’ve been doing a series on Desperate Households. The series is about how everything on the outside of a house can be nice and tidy but after you step through the door it is utter chaos. I’m sure we’ve all had moments of complete breakdown and realize that our house is in desperate need of attention. And I’m not just talking about the physical structure.

What about your life? Do you keep everything looking good from the outside but deep down you know the filth you carry around? Trust me, we’ve all been there. Christians, like all other people, will admit that they don’t have it all together. And it’s okay.

But what’s not good is when you carry around all the dirt and scum around with you. You hang onto your sins like a trophy for your suffering. That’s where Christ steps in. He can come in and clean out all the junk and clutter you’ve got sitting around and offers a brand new life. Granted, it won’t be perfect (we are all human after all) but you know that Jesus will give you the strength to carry on. And best of all, you are guaranteed a place in heaven. How cool is that?

So if you are looking at the cobwebs and mouse holes in your life and saying to yourself “There’s got to be something better than this” then know that Christ is the answer. Find a friend who can help you through and have Jesus come “clean up” your house.

Daily Cup: Genesis 44-45

This is the first podcast episode I have created. The reading for today is from Genesis. I am reading the story of Joseph.

 

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