Keep Pointing in Osage

Inviting Jesus Into My Financial Life

We are currently in week two of a sermon series called The Great Omission.  We are looking at how often in our relationship with Jesus some steps, practices and rhythms are missing.  It's not that we aren't serious about following Jesus, but simply that we are missing out on the fullness of joy and purpose that He gives because we are missing one or a few crucial steps of obedience.  You can catch up with the messages from the series if you've missed one. 

This is the third post in a series of blog posts looking at six different areas of our lives.  The purpose of these posts are to ask questions that allow you to examine your life rhythms and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and convict you to where the Great Omission might be visible.  The outcome that I hope you experience is greater clarity on where you need to change and repent and include Jesus into your life in a greater way.  It would probably work best if you pray and journal through these questions each week.

This post is adapted from an article in Neue Quarterly by pastor and author Josh Loveless called When Life Change Is Forgotten.  Here are the second set of questions to pray through as you consider how The Great Omission might be experienced in your life.

Inviting Jesus Into My Financial Life 

• Am I tithing?
• How do I spend the other 90%?
• Am I paying down debt?
• Do I need to create or recreate a budget?
• Am I on time with my bills?
• Am I using my financial resources to support everyday needs of others?

 

Inviting Jesus Into My Gifts And Talents

Over the next three weeks we are going through a sermon series called The Great Omission.  We are looking at how often in our relationship with Jesus some steps, practices and rhythms are missing.  It's not that we aren't serious about following Jesus, but simply that we are missing out on the fullness of joy and purpose that He gives because we are missing one or a few crucial steps of obedience.  You can catch up with the messages from the series if you've missed one. 

This is the second post in a series of blog posts looking at six different areas of our lives.  The purpose of these posts are to ask questions that allow you to examine your life rhythms and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and convict you to where the Great Omission might be visible.  The outcome that I hope you experience is greater clarity on where you need to change and repent and include Jesus into your life in a greater way.  It would probably work best if you pray and journal through these questions each week.

This post is adapted from an article in Neue Quarterly by pastor and author Josh Loveless called When Life Change Is Forgotten.  Here are the second set of questions to pray through as you consider how The Great Omission might be experienced in your life.

Inviting Jesus Into My Gifts And Talents 

• Do I know my spiritual gifts and strengths?
• What gifts and strengths am I not using?
• What am I passionate about?
• Am I passionate about the things that I give my time to?
• Am I using my time and talents for others or mostly for myself?

 

Inviting Jesus Into My Spiritual Practices

Over the next three weeks we are going through a sermon series called The Great Omission.  We are looking at how often in our relationship with Jesus some steps, practices and rhythms are missing.  It's not that we aren't serious about following Jesus, but simply that we are missing out on the fullness of joy and purpose that He gives because we are missing one or a few crucial steps of obedience.  You can catch up with the messages from the series if you've missed one. 

Over the next three weeks I will post a series of blog posts looking at six different areas of our lives.  The purpose of these posts are to ask questions that allow you to examine your life rhythms and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and convict you to where the Great Omission might be visible.  The outcome that I hope you experience is greater clarity on where you need to change and repent and include Jesus into your life in a greater way.  It would probably work best if you pray and journal through these questions each week.

All of these posts are adapted from an article in Neue Quarterly by pastor and author Josh Loveless called When Life Change Is Forgotten.  Here are the first set of questions to pray through as you consider how The Great Omission might be experienced in your life.

Inviting Jesus Into My Spiritual Practices - What Should I Be Doing About...

• Serving locally?
• Serving globally?
• Studying scripture?
• Fasting?
• Prayer?
• Evangelism?
• Journaling?
• Giving?
• Book Reading?

Thanks Chuck!

Chuck Crail recently donated 320 bottles of Coke to PLC Osage.  Trust me when I say that our students have already enjoyed a bunch of it.  I'm constantly amazed by the generosity of people at PLC.  So cool to see how transformed hearts by Jesus translates into generosity in all different kinds of ways!

I Love My Church!

Yesterday was Celebrate Impact Sunday and it was an amazing time of celebration and worship.  It was great for me as your pastor to have the opportunity to recognize all the impact that our volunteers are having inside and outside of the church walls.  The picture above is of 255 people in the worship service waving glow sticks during worship.  Our Kidventure kids were in the service this weekend and so we added a fun song from their weekly worship to our service with the glow sticks.  It was fun to see all of the kids dancing and singing!

We were able to tell stories of individuals and families who are living out their faith and being a blessing.  We also had Kountry Kupboard's famous cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit before and after the service.  It was pretty amazing to see 150 people crammed into our lobby eating breakfast.  It's a good thing when you run out of chairs!

We topped the day off by baptizing four people who have stepped over the faithline.  It is always refreshing and encouraging to see people take a bold step of faith and identify with Jesus and our church community.

What a weekend.  What an amazing group of the Body of Christ we have at our campus.  What an amazing Savior we have that is responsible for all of it!  I love my church!

Excellent In Ministry

Last week I was reading a book called Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp and I came across this quote that arrested me.

"Excellence in ministry flows from a heart that is in holy, reverential, life-rearranging, motivation-capturing awe of the Lord of glory.  In fact, it is even deeper than that.  Excellence is, in fact, a relationship (with God)."

I think that this is a truth that we often overlook in the church today.  We get hung up on principles, best practices, program tips and leadership lessons.  We listen to podcasts and read books on mission or ministry from our favorite authors.  These are all good things to do and we should be doing them.  But the motivation for excellence in ministry must always be the excellence of our God.  And the more we are captured by Jesus by spending time with Him, the less we can tolerate medocrity in how we love and serve Him.  Excellence is found in knowing Jesus and spending time with Him.  As we do so, our awe and wonder grows and our calling, priorities and focus are shaped.

Here are some questions to ponder.  Allow the Holy Spirit some room this week as you ask and pray thought these.

In what areas of your life have you gravitated toward mediocrity?  You marriage?  Your parenting?  Your private, daily worship of God?  Your work?

What areas of ministry at Prairie Lakes Church and in your community has God called you to?  What does excellence look like in those ministries?  How can your daily worship of God allow you pursue excellence in those ministries?

Excellence is knowing the most excellent - God Himself.  The more you know and experience God the more excellent you will want to be and the less you can tolerate mediocrity.  The more intimate you are with Jesus the less you can simply go through the motions.

Allow the most excellent Savoir to shape your heart and mind again this week and see how He opens your eyes to needs around you.  I'm praying for you all as you do so this week.

Celebrate Impact On May 5

 
Every year, we try to find a way to express just a little bit of how incredible we think our volunteers are, how important what they do is, and the truth that we just couldn't do this thing without them.  What they do is so important that this year, we're going to take an entire weekend to show them just how much they matter to us and how grateful we are.  But even more than that, we're going to see an amazing picture of WHY what they do every week matters.  We're going to witness the life change that they make possible as they hold babies and strum guitars and make visitors feel welcomed and at home. 

So on Sunday, May 5 we are going to take an entire weekend experience and dedicate it to celebrating all that God is doing at our campus and how he's using each one of you to expand His Kingdom.  Here's what you need to know about the weekend.

 

•  This weekend is open to anyone.  It isn't by invitation only and is not simply for those who currently volunteer.  This weekend is for everyone at PLC-Osage and in fact, is a great weekend to invite new folks.  It will give everyone a picture of what God is doing at our campus.
• Kidventure will be cancelled for the weekend.  We want our Kidventure volunteers to be able to worship and celebrate with us, so we are bringing the children into the worship center for the weekend.  We will have Wee Kids as usual, but children 5-12 will be in the worship center.  We have some fun things planned during the service so that kids will love the experience too.
• We are ramping up our cafe for the weekend.  We are ordering a few hundred rolls and caramel rolls from Kountry Kupboard and getting fresh fruit.  We are asking folks to come early and stay late so that you can enjoy the goodies.
• Baptismal Celebration will occur after the service.  What better way to celebrate the impact of volunteers that with baptism?  We will baptize folks who have stepped over the Faithline at 11:30am in the CRC pool.
• This will be a special and memorable service.  This is one weekend you don't want to miss.  It will be an encourager to all and a great chance to celebrate.

Don't miss this chance to say Thank You, and to celebrate the reason we serve — a God who is in the business of bringing us to life and making us new!

Simple Ways To Be Missional In Your Neighborhood

One of the key questions that our church is asking right now is, "How can we be a blessing to those around us?"  Most of our small groups are studying The Tangible Kingdom, a book that helps address this question.  There have already been some amazing stories that are coming out of groups that have been asking this question and have begun to bless others in very tangible ways.

Sometimes being missional and reaching out to bless others seems like a difficult or confusing process.  But is doesn't have to be.  Here are 25 simple ways to bless others adapted from a blog post where you can download a list of 100.  Check out this list and pray about how God might be nudging you, your family or your small group to be a blessing in the following ways.

1. Stay outside in the front yard longer while watering the yard

2. Walk your dog regularly around the same time in your neighborhood

3. Sit on the front porch and letting kids play in the front yard

4. Pass out baked goods (fresh bread, cookies, brownies, etc.)

5. Invite neighbors over for dinner

6. Attend and participate in HOA functions

7. Attend the parties invited to by neighbors

8. Do a food drive or coat drive in winter and get neighbors involved

9. Have a game night (yard games outside, or board games inside)

10. Art swap night – bring out what you’re tired of and trade with neighbors

11. Grow a garden and give out extra produce to neighbors

12. Have an Easter egg hunt on your block and invite neighbors use their front yards

13. Start a weekly open meal night in your home

14. Do a summer BBQ every Friday night and invite others to contribute

15. Create a block/ street email and phone contact list for safety

16. Host a sports game watching party

17. Host a coffee and dessert night

18. Organize and host a ladies artistic creation night

19. Organize a tasting tour on your street (everyone sets up food and table on front porch)

20. Host a movie night and discussion afterwards

21. Start a walking/running group in the neighborhood

22. Start hosting a play date weekly for other stay at home parents

23. Organize a carpool for your neighborhood to help save gas

24. Volunteer to coach a local little league sports team

25. Have a front yard ice cream party in the summer

 

Next Steps

Here's a rundown of the upcoming opportunities to take your next step at Prairie Lakes.

Child Dedication - at the Osage Campus we have Child Dedications during the worship service throughout the year.  We don't have certain weeks for Child Dedications.  This means that as parents you have a lot of flexablity with the date and can schedule the dedication when family can be present.  Here's more information about Child Dedication. If you are interested in having your child or children dedicated, simply contact the Osage office and let us know.

Membership Class - Membership at Prairie Lakes is more than your name on a membership roster or attending church meetings. Members are called to a higher degree of responsibility, service and even sacrifice. By becoming a member, you become part of a family, a “spiritual” family who will provide support and encouragement in your walk with Christ. It is moving beyond attending on the weekends to joining us in creating and leading our various ministries.  our next class is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 from 6:30-8:00pm at the church office at 614 State Street in Osage.  You can register for the class online .

Baptism - If you've stepped over the Faith Line and are a follower of Christ, baptism may be the next step in your spiritual journey. Jesus described it as a step of obedience and instructed, "Believe and be baptized," Mark 16:16. Baptism does not save you, but it is the public picture of the private work God has done within you.  We baptize in the CRC pool after services each quarter during the year.  It's a great celebration of the work of Jesus in the lives of people around us and we encourage everyone to attend.  You can learn more about baptism or register online.

If you have any questions about these or other next steps at Prairie Lakes Church like serving or giving you can stop by the Connection Desk on Sundays or check out our website.  I'm looking forward to seeing how God is moving in our community of faith throughout this month!

It Is Finished

Last weekend as we celebrated the Easter resurrection we looked at Jesus' last words "It is finished."  We looked at how as Jesus spoke these words He finished the work of our salvation, His rescue mission and the dividing wall between us and God.  We also looked at how we often fall into the ditches of religion and rebellion and how only through the resurrection power of Jesus and his grace can our hearts be healed and sin destroyed.  Here is the message if you weren't at church last Sunday.

I wanted to share a few quick things.  First, I wanted to share how blessed I am to be your pastor.  It was amazing to see God move during the worship experience and to read all of the things that God is redeeming our church from.  It was humbling to include my sins among yours on the cross.  Second, I wanted to remind you of the love and grace of God and it's power not just to forgive sins - but also to empower obedience to Him.  Our ability to live for righteous and not sin is directly tied to our willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit and not our fleshly desires (Galatians 5:16).  Thirdly, I want to encourage you this week to seek after two things: time with God and time with His people.  Be intentional about spending time with God this week in His Word and prayer.  Set aside time during your day specifically for that purpose and that purpose alone.  And spend time in community with others who are seeking Him.  Don't try to follow Jesus in isolation.  It won't work well.  God created us to live in community as the Body of Christ.  It is in community that we discover peace, encouragement and accountability.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that the nails that we used this past weekend will be available for you to take home this Sunday.  We will have them after the service for you to take home as a reminder that "It is finished" and of the commitment you made to God.  Be encouraged by the grace and power of God this week because it is finished!