Local Media Features Hell House

This year our youth pastor, Paul Wilcox, decided to put on Hell House for the teens in our area. Here's what the local media did with the story.

Kindness

for The Sentinel Life Notes

As a parent of young children, I often forget that my job is not to create little robots that snap to attention whenever I speak. The problem is that I really like it when they do. It makes me feel like I'm doing a good job. When my kids misbehave in public or conveniently fail to hear me when I speak to them, I feel that I have been slighted and my authority is being challenged. So I find myself focusing on their behavior and demanding that they "act" the right way.

But this is all wrong. As a parent, we are given a great responsibility and the goal is not to create little people that "do" the right things. It is not that doing the right thing is unimportant—all of us want our children to grow up and do great things—it is just that "being" is much more important than "doing."

We can program computers and robots to "do" the right things, but their value to us only lasts as long as they continue to do their task well. People, on the other hand, are valuable because they are beings and not just doings. Just because people get old or break down in some way, their value does not change.

People's value is in their being. It is found in who they are, not what they do. And that is why as a parent, I have to constantly remind myself that I am developing a "being"—a person who is much more then just a sum of their activities. More important than my child doing the right thing, is whether their actions flow out of a heart that has been developed the right way.

We all know the difference between doing something because we have to even though everything within us is rebelling and doing something because we want to. Good parents are more interested in developing their child's heart because doing flows out of being.

I think that is why Father God really is the best example of a parent that there is. Think of how infinitely patient He is with us. He takes the long view of developing us as people. He is not nearly as interested in what we do as He is in who we are. We get these things reversed all the time and that is why churches can be such mean, judgmental places.

God is so infinitely patient with us, He keeps giving us chance after chance after chance. He sees our failures simply as an opportunity for us to grow and is always kind enough to embrace us when we turn back to Him. I love the verse in Romans that says it is "His kindness that leads us to repentance."

Not only as a parent, but as a friend, as a spouse, and as a person in relationship with others—we all must remember that the best way for us to respond to other people is with kindness and grace. People are not just a means to an end, they are valuable because they are created in God's image. They are valuable because they are human beings, not human doings.

So the next time you are tempted to treat your kids, like I so often do; or the next time you are on the verge of reacting to others in anger or in an attempt to control, remember how God works with you. Try operating out of kindness and concern for the other person, it just may change your life—and theirs.

This weekend the pastors in Kings County would love to help you learn more about the character of Father God. He really is the best example that we have, we would all do well to pay closer attention to the way He responds to people and use Him as our model.

David vs. Saul — The Difference

Great blog post over at Resurgence on the real difference between David and Saul. At the end of the day, the ultimate contrast between these men was not their appearance or experience; it was their spirit.

How's your spirit?

• Are you full of His Spirit or are you full of yourself?
• Are you full of His Spirit or are you full of entertainment?
• Are you full of His Spirit or are you full of anxiety?
• Are you full of His Spirit or are you full of ?

Saul never seemed to understand how to yield to the Holy Spirit, David, on the other hand, was known as a man after God's heart because He did know how to yield — He yielded to the Spirit's call to repent, change, boldly step forward and so much more.

U2 at the Rose Bowl

I was fortunate to be able to attend the U2 concert at the Rose Bowl this past Sunday evening. Because of a variety of scheduling conflicts I was not planning on attending either the show in Vegas (on Friday night) or at the Rose Bowl, but then I won two tickets in a raffle on Tuesday. So, long story short, I was thrilled to be able to be a part of a friends wedding and then jumped into the car with Jeff and raced down to the Rose Bowl.

Fortunately for us, the concert was streamed live on YouTube so the band did not come out until about 9pm. We were able to be in our seats for about 10 minutes before they came on. The show was nothing short of impressive. I've long been a fan of the band, but seeing them in person was a true thrill.

Over 96,000 people attended the Rose Bowl concert and so you can imagine the sea of people. One of the things that bowled me over was the stage they have built for this concert. I had read about it and even seen pictures, but to see it in person is something else entirely. It is massive — bigger then any other stage created for any touring concert ever.

The stages are built by the Belgian company Stageco, and construction of each requires the use of high-pressure and innovative hydraulic systems. The steel structure is 164 feet tall – doubling the size of the stadium set for The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour, the previous highest – can hold up to 200 tonnes underneath it, and requires 120 trucks to transport each of the 3 sets constructed to support the tour. Each leg of the structure contains its own sound system. The cost of each structure is between £15 million and £20 million each. The 360° tour crew consists of 137 touring production crew suplemented by over 120 hired locally. Daily costs of the production are approximately $750,000, not including the stage construction; the majority of this comes from truck rentals, transportation, and staff wages. The tour is not expected to break even until the conclusion of the second leg.

Read more about the tour and stage here.

Is It Time for a Checkup?

Submitted to the Hanford Sentinel.

Everything in our world needs care. Engines that are regularly serviced often run for years without a breakdown. Relationships that are cared for usually stay healthy and vibrant. Houses that are maintained and not neglected require far less attention then those that are ignored for even a short time (think of the state of the vacant foreclosures in your neighborhood).

All things tend towards breakdown and decay. The second law of thermodynamics states that all systems, unless they have constant energy input, will eventually run down and stop. Beautiful bodies break down, marvelously manicured yards go to seed and even the most state of the art structures slide inexorably toward decrepitude.

This is the reason why we are encouraged to go to the doctor at least once a year. Those that are disciplined submit to this annual poking and prodding so that they can catch problems early and avoid major breakdowns. But those of us that do not, often suffer the consequences of years of neglected maintenance.

Your spiritual life is no different. Without regular maintenance and care, it tends towards disrepair. Perhaps once upon a time you were sensitive to the things of God and your ears were attuned to that which was just and right, but if you are not careful, the busyness of life keeps you from doing the basic maintenance. This is especially easy to do because your spiritual life is largely invisible. It is only seen through your actions and your speech and the state of your heart.

So we find ourselves putting off those essential activities that would maintain our spiritual flame. We stop talking to God because there is no time. We stop reading His Word because we are too tired. We stop bowing our knee to His soft corrective call. And before we know it, we are far down the road, headed for a breakdown.

Hearts that are neglected have attacks. Homes that are neglected cost you an arm and a leg. Spouses that are neglected will destroy your family and your finances. A neglected spiritual life will cost you your soul.

When was the last time you submitted to a spiritual checkup? The pastors of Kings County would love to help you make an appointment with the Great Physician. He's the only one that can really heal your heart and restore your soul.

YouVersion Live

My favorite iPhone bible software has recently released a Live tool that allows you to post sermon notes, scripture references, polls, and the like so that you can leverage people's mobile devices during your sermon. I love the idea because I now take all my sermon notes on my phone and use the Bible on my phone all the time.

Here's a link to the first Live event I'm setting up to use during this weekend's sermon.

Book Burning

A North Carolina Baptist church to burn ‘Satan’s books,’ including works of Mother Teresa — I'm shocked that Harry Potter isn't at the top of the list, but am heartened to see Billy Graham, Rick Warren and those other Satan worshippers will be submitted to the flames.

Perhaps we could learn something form this -- a tiny 14 person church across the country gets nationwide publicity from this stunt. Maybe it's time for us to do a book burning?

Here's a video of the news story too:

Community Church of Joy Leaves Lutheran Denomination

A very significant church in Phoenix, has recently voted to leave their denomination because of, among other things, the denominations increasingly open stance to the acceptance of homosexuality. The mainline denominations seem to be losing their moorings one by one. More here.

Trying Something New: Video Teasers for LifeLab

For more on LifeLab click here.