Fall Back Sunday
This weekend is Fall Back weekend. Daylight Savings Time ends for us on Nov. 2.
Remember to set your clocks back 1 hour and enjoy the extra sleep!
Fall Prayer Initiative
As we prepare to transition to the high school in December, we are joining our hearts together in prayer each week with a specific focus.
This week’s prayer focus- Ask the Comforter to guide us:
- To focus and depend on God (Eph. 3:20-4:6)
- To triumph in desperate times over addictions (Gal. 2:20)
- To trust Him in daily decisions (Luke 11:9-10)
- To live in peace, God’s peace (John 14:27)
Momentum Expansion FAQs
In order to help the communication process with our December expansion, we’ve put together a Momentum Expansion FAQ page.
Communication is so important during such an exciting time of transition and growth. Take a moment to visit the FAQ page by clicking here. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at the church. The best is yet to come!
Walking With God
In the message Sunday I posed three questions related to walking with God and experiencing the life he intended us to live based on Joshua 3:6-17. They are helpful questions to ask ourselves as we grow in our walk with Christ.
1. What step of faith is God asking me to take?
Kids learn to walk by taking baby steps. Christians learn to walk with God by taking steps of faith. God doesn’t expect us to go from where we are to total Christlikeness in one step, just one step closer. Professional athletes didn’t roll out of bed one day and get signed by pro team. It took a lifetime of disciplined decisions. A great life isn’t built in one day, its built daily by taking the next step of faith that God has put right in front of us. Sometimes God’s word doesn’t make sense to us (giving generously, loving our enemies, etc.) but when we choose to obey we will experience life as God intended.
2. What fears are keeping me from fully obeying God?
Fear is basically a lack of trust in God. However, we can be certain of his faithfulness no matter what he has called us to do. When we choose to fully obey God we find that his presence has already gone before us and that he is with us. It is better to be in a dangerous place with God than a comfortable place without him. Because, you will find that the comfortable choice of disobedience is really the most dangerous place to be.
3. How will I choose to respond?
When God speaks to us we have 1 of 2 options: obey or disobey. If we fail to step out in faith, we will fail to see what God would have done through our obedience. He continually calls us to trust him. As we are faithful to step into the river, he will be faithful to part the waters.
Spiritual Preparation
This was the key verse from the message on Sunday:
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.“ Joshua 3:5
From time to time I hear the question “Why don’t we see as many miracles today as they did in Bible times?” I can’t help but wonder if the answer doesn’t have something to do with this verse. I wonder how many times we miss opportunities from God because we are not spiritually prepared. The previous generation of Israelites in Moses’ time really missed out on a lot! The more consecrated our hearts are to God, the more sensitive we are to his leading in our lives.
I firmly believe that God wants to do amazing things through his people today. God desires to demonstrate his power and work wonders in the earth today as much as any other time in history. He is just looking for a people who are willing to consecrate themselves fully to him. God can do anything with anyone who is fully devoted to him.
What are some things you do that help intensify devotion to God and prepare you spiritually?
Meet My New Best Friend
The new ESV Study Bible is my new best friend (no its not a puppy). Just received my copy this week! It is literally the best study Bible I’ve ever seen. It’s like a complete biblical studies library in one book.
It contains over 20,000 notes, 80,000 cross-references, 200 plus full-color maps, 40 all new illustrations, 50 articles (including articles on the Bible’s authority and reliability; on biblical archaeology, theology, ethics, and personal application), and more than 200 charts.
This is an investment worth every penny.
Leader’s Summit
I’ve been invited to teach a breakout session at this years Leader’s Summit hosted by Allison Park Church. It will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 8:00am-12:30pm. My session is called “How To Lead Others To Study The Bible For All It’s Worth.” I’m humbled by the opportunity and really excited to teach on this subject which I am so passionate about.
The Leader’s Summit is open to anyone currently volunteering in a local church or just desiring to increase effectiveness in ministry. Keynote speakers include Jeff Leake, Johannes Amritzer, and Marie Cartledge. You can register for the summit by clicking here.
2-Year Anniversary!
Today Jess and I are celebrating our 2-year anniversary! The last 2 years have been amazing with the love of my life!
Love truly grows deeper with time. I love you honey! You’re the best!
More Catalyst
The Catalyst conference was without doubt the most helpful, informative, and thought-provoking ministry and leadership conference I’ve ever attended. Highlight speakers for me on Friday were:
Tim Sanders, Dave Ramsey, Franklin Graham, Matt Chandler, and Andy Stanley
I’m going to be spending a lot of time going over my notes and absorbing the content. I’m definitely going next year.
Catalyst Conference
Yesterday was the first day of the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. There has been so much amazing information that it is difficult to absorb it all at once. Each speaker has been amazing.
It has been amazing to worship with about 12,000 Christian leaders from all over the country and to hear from some incredible speakers. Highlights for me have been:
Andy Stanley, Jim Collins, Steven Furtick, Seth Godin, and Craig Groeschel
Words really can’t express at this point how much I’ve been impacted by the sessions. Each one has been so different yet so insightful and applicable. I’ve reverted to handwriting my notes (for a change) but if you want a glimpse of some of the topics from the sessions, you can find them here on Jeff’s blog.
New Podcast
The day has finally arrived!
You can now subscribe to our weekly sermon podcast on itunes or visit this page to subscribe.
Special thanks to Mark Johnson for getting it up and running!
Minister’s Enrichment
Just arrived in Carlisle, PA where Jessica and I will be attending the annual Minister’s Enrichment conference for our district. The subject this year is Spiritual Gifts taught by Dr. David Lim, pastor of Grace Assembly in Singapore. I’m also getting class credit toward my master’s program for the conference!
Big Announcement
If you are an ACC‘er who was absent this week we want to make you aware of a really exciting, big announcement that was made on Sunday. We have been experiencing some significant growth in recent months and the inadequacy of our current facilities has been becoming more and more of an issue (which we praise God for!). These include inadequate worship space, inadequate parking, handicap inaccessibility, etc. When this happens, we have to pursue any means necessary to continue fulfilling the Great Commission and reaching more people for Jesus.
Our senior leadership team has been in prayer about this for a long time. We have felt the Lord leading us to pursue an exciting expansion opportunity. Therefore, on Sunday, December 7 we plan to transition our Sunday morning worship services to the auditorium at the new Ambridge Area High School!
We are very excited about this opportunity that the Lord has opened for us. This will allow us to more than triple in size as a congregation and reach more people for Christ. We will continue to maintain our facility at 424 Duss Ave. as our base of operations for offices, small groups, prayer meetings, special evening services, youth group, and fellowship activities.
I also find it amazing that this December also represents the 10-year anniversary of our church. It is so awesome that God would allow the celebration of our 10th year to mark the beginning of a brand new phase of ministry for our church. We follow an amazing God! Additional information about the transition will be forthcoming in the weeks to come.
My Bro’s New CD Is Out!
The day has finally arrived! My brother’s first professional album Near has just been released! These songs are all completely original and reflect Dave’s heart for God and passion for worship.
I encourage everybody to pick up a copy. It will soon be available on itunes, but in the meantime you can pick one up directly at Allison Park Church or place orders by emailing him at daves@allisonparkchurch.com. You can also hear clips of the album here.
Momentum Series Trailer
Check out the trailer for our new sermon series (This is a smoother version. I forgot to compress the original one for web).
