We are sheep

July 6th Sermon (I Peter 1:1-5) from the official Grand Opening of Living Stone Bible Church:

Streaming Audio

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Outline

The Persecuted Church

Here's the sermon from June 29th (I Thessalonians 3:1-5):

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Sorry for the delay.

Crown of Victory

Amanda and I are working on a full-blown Sermon Library. But, in the meantime, click on the link below to listen to this morning's sermon on I Thessalonians 2:13-20:

Sermon Audio

Here is a link to my outline (MS Word format):

Sermon Outline

In Christ,

Grand Opening

After months of researching, inspecting, rejecting, and being rejected, we have finally signed a lease on a facility. Living Stone Bible Church will officially open to the public on July 6th, 2008.

We will be meeting in the Greenwood Oaks office park located at:
500 Polk St.
Suite 25
Greenwood, IN 46143
map

Service starts at 10am. Nursery for 0 - 24 months. Sunday school for 2-3 yrs old and 4-5 yrs old. Children's church for K-5th.

So, in an attempt to create excitement for the Grand Opening, I’ve been working on some tag lines. Here’s what I have so far:

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bible)
Live music!
Sermon delivered in 30 minutes or less or it’s free
Holy Spirit – free refills!
Festival seating
Free Wifi
Lifetime warranty
HOT Donuts!
Cops welcome!
Ladies eat free on Sundays!

What other tag lines do you think will work?

In Christ,

The Beauty of Mathematics

A friend emailed this to me today (I'm sure he didn't write it. So, in the spirit of the internet, I'm passing it on without any source):

1 x 8 + 1 = 9

2 x 8 + 2 = 98

123 x 8 + 3 = 987

1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876

12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765

123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654

1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543

12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432

123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11

12 x 9 + 3 = 111

123 x 9 + 4 = 1111

1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111

12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111

123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111

1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111

12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111

123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88

98 x 9 + 6 = 888

987 x 9 + 5 = 8888

9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888

98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888

987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888

9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888

98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1

11 x 11 = 121

111 x 111 = 12321

1111 x 1111 = 1234321

11111 x 11111 = 123454321

111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321

11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to

GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help

answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:

H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K

8+1+18+4+23+ 15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E

11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E

1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will

get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

It's up t o you if you share this with your friends & loved ones

just the way I did.

Have a nice day & God bless!!

I'm not a smart man

What kind of church will Living Stone be? What kind of building will we meet in? How will people describe the people that attend Living Stone? I've been thinking a lot about the church - envisioning what it will look like, sound like, feel like.

I have no doubt that my vision of the future will be wrong in many ways. If God has taught me anything the last few months, it's that he is in the driver's seat. I don't know where we he is taking us. But, I like what I see around every bend in the road and over every hill.

The church is described in the Bible as the body of Christ:

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. I Corinthians 12:27

So, how should the body of Christ look? 6ft - 6in. 200lb. 5% body fat. Full, thick, curly hair. 3 sport athlete in high school. Straight A student ... right? Wrong! Here's how the Bible describes Jesus:

... he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2

So what drew people to Jesus? What caused the 12 apostles to drop everything and follow him? What caused his friends and disciples to follow his teachings long after he was gone - even to the point of their own death?

The qualities that drew people to Jesus are the same that should draw people to our church like love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and grace. People should feel welcome at Living Stone Bible Church. There should be an overriding foundation of love that guides us in all that we do.

And, at the same time we should be like Jesus in that he was bold, daring, courageous, and unwavering in his commitment to speak the truth. It is not loving to agree with a dying world that they are not dying. It is not loving to agree with a lost world that they are not lost.

And, finally, Jesus was willing to lay down his life for those that he loved. He did not put himself first. He was not planning for retirement. He wasn't saving for a new boat. He wasn't concerned with fame or prestige. Instead, he put you and I first.

"I'm not a smart man... but I know what love is." - Forrest Gump.

In Christ,

Stay tuned

Months ago we set a goal for ourselves. Our goal was to meet for the first time as a church on May 11th. As of today, we still have not found a facility that we feel is right. Some doors have been closed on us. And, other doors we closed on our own.

We are confident that God will provide. But, his timing in this case is not the same as ours. When he decides the time is right, the perfect opportunity will present itself and we will jump in with both feet.

I will post any updates here. So, stay tuned. In the meantime, please continue to be diligent in prayer. We are unsure of where we are going to be meeting. But, God is not. He knows right where we will be and when we will be there.

In Christ,