Baby Girl!

On Saturday, October 24th, at 5:25am God gave my wife and I the blessing of getting to meet our new baby girl! Kadynce Lynne is our pride and joy and we cannot imagine life without her. Here's a few pictures... yes I know, she's adorable!

The songs we sing DO make a difference

In his book, Christian Leaders of the 18th Century, J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) writes this:

Good hymns are an immense blessing to the Church of Christ. I believe the last day alone will show the world the real amount of good they have done. They suit all, both rich and poor. There is an elevating, stirring, soothing, spiritualizing, effect about a thoroughly good hymn, which nothing else can produce. It sticks in men’s memories when texts are forgotten. It trains men for heaven, where praise is one of the principal occupations. Preaching and praying shall one day cease for ever; but praise shall never die. The makers of good ballads are said to sway national opinion. The writers of good hymns, in like manner, are those who leave the deepest marks on the face of the Church.

The songs we sing as a Church do make a difference.

Don't.

If you weren't there Sunday morning, here's what you missed...

Charles Blondin and Belief

In an excerpt from "Credo" by Ray Pritchard.

In the nineteenth century the greatest tightrope walker in the world was a man named Charles Blondin. On June 30, 1859, he became the first man in history to walk on a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Over twenty-five thousand people gathered to watch him walk 1,100 feet suspended on a tiny rope 160 feet above the raging waters. He worked without a net or safety harness of any kind. The slightest slip would prove fatal. When he safely reached the Canadian side of the Falls, the crowd burst into a mighty roar. In the days that followed he walked across the Falls many times. Once he walked across on stilts. Another time he took a chair and a stove with him and sat down midway across, cooked an omelet, and ate it. Once he carried his manager across riding piggyback.

On one occasion he asked the cheering spectators if they thought he could push a man across in a wheelbarrow. A mighty roar of approval rose from the crowd. Spying a man cheering loudly, he asked, "Sir, do you think I could safely carry you across in this wheelbarrow?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then get in, " the Great Blondin replied with a smile.

The man refused.

It's one thing to believe a man can walk across by himself. It's another thing to believe he could safely carry someone across. But it's something else entirely to get into the wheelbarrow yourself. Believing in Jesus is like getting into the wheelbarrow. It's entrusting all that you are to all that he is.

Do you believe? Will you get in?

Most important thing.

Having trouble prioritizing your life? Trying to figure out what the most important thing to think about and be concerned about it is?

I have your answer.

1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

It's that simple.

What a Creator

A few pictures I took while in Colorado a few weeks ago. God is a magnificent creator!

Circumstantial Joy

Joy. It's something that we all seek in life whether it's in our job, our household, or our relationships, we always want joy. It's seems that as humans it is inherently built inside of us to desire joy, and rightly so, we're sinful and this world is depressing. However, I write this today because when I look into my life I see that my joy is not constant, it comes and goes with the waves of my life, and sadly I find that my joy is usually based on my circumstances. If the bills are paid I am joyful, if I'm on vacation I'm joyful, if no one's upset with me I'm joyful. The Joy I have is so often a circumstantial one and not an everlasting joy that is found in Christ.

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full." -John 15:11

Jesus says here in John that we as believers have His joy inside of us, therefore our joy is full! There is no room for lousy circumstantial joy when Christ has given us all the joy that we could ever handle. This joy is found through abiding in Christ and being obedient to Him (John 15:1-10). Just as Jesus had unquenchable joy in the midst of opposition, so we are to have this same joy that we find through obedience to our Father.

"You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." -Ps. 5:7

The joy that we have in Christ blows away this joy that is based on our "prosperity", how we "feel", or any other subjective circumstance. Our joy is rooted in abiding in Christ, it's founded firmly in the truth of the Gospel, and it is given to us by the Father who has adopted us as sons and daughters through Christ for the purpose of His will.

So, I urge you believers to find joy now in Christ and not in the ups and downs of this life. Find everlasting Joy.

Under Our Feet

Psalm 8:3-6

³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

⁵ You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

40 years ago today the Moon was added to "everything."

Do people speak well of me?

Do people speak well of me?

This is the question that I struggle with this morning and I hope that you will struggle with it too. I know the answer (for me). The answer even feels good on the outside.

I struggle with this question because I read the words of Jesus this morning. And it sounds to me that living a life where people always speak well of me is a life that Jesus hates. He hates it. Why? Because people hated Jesus! People hated Jesus (and still do), but yet Jesus calls me to live as he lived and to be like Him, just like Him! To be so much like Him that people hate me.

Here's what he says:

Luke 6:22 - "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!"

Luke 6:26 - "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets."

WOW!! HAVE YOU READ THIS? HAVE YOU HEARD THE WORDS OF JESUS?

He says to REJOICE when people hate you and when people despise your name! (Lk 6:23) Why? Because our reward is not here on earth. We are not here to build up a name for ourselves, to be famous, to look good, or even to make people happy! We are here to build up the name of Christ and to Glorify the Father. Friends, the truth that is found in the word of God hurts. It's uncomfortable. And yes it will make you mad.

But Jesus didn’t come to make people happy, He came to redeem His chosen!
So what are we wandering around this world wasting our time for? Why are we spending so much time caring about the way we look and the way we come across that we neuter the Gospel? Yeah, I said that---because that’s what we do!

This life is not about being popular or being likable, it is about being faithful. Jesus never promised us success. He promised us that He would never leave us or forsake us and he promised us that if we follow Him we will suffer for it.

Do people speak well of you?

The Beauty of You

A few weeks ago we sang a song called "The Beauty of You" at 412 Community Church. This song came out of the idea that we were created for the purpose of glorifying God. That is who we are and the reason we are here, in fact that is the reason all of creation is here - to Glorify the Creator. I hope that through this song you will find that the meaning of who you are is found in the beauty of God.

A bite from Joshua...

Joshua 1:8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it."

At first glance this sounds like a happy little Bible verse. God says to read our Bibles, God says to think about the Bible, and God says to do what the Bible says... hip hip hooray! But as I was reading in the book of Joshua and I got to verse 8, I just couldn't go on.

This is a command from God to Joshua and a command from God to us! We're not just supposed to read the Bible, even unbelievers do that, but we are to eternally speak the word of God. We are to know the word of God. We are to never stop thinking and soaking in the word of God. God's not calling us to just read the Bible, that's lazy and insulting to Him. If we really love God then we will want to know what He has to say. If we really love God then we will do everything in our power to learn more about Him, to remember what He has told us, and to do what He says! It seems as if God is saying in Joshua 1:8 that this is who we are supposed to be, not just what we should do. As followers of Christ we are to be identified as people who never stop talking about God's word, who never stop thinking about God's word, and who are constantly living out God's word.

Our God Saves!

We had an awesome baptism service this past Sunday at the lake! Here's a short video that captures the day.

A Hero in our Midst

a response to Kyle's Blog.

You Spoke Life

From the beginning of time
Before You spoke life
You were on Your throne
With glory and power and might

You made all things new
Bringing life from the ground
Your creation stands
To declare your fame and renown

You are Holy
You are Mighty
Your glory shines brighter
Than the stars in the sky
That you spoke to life

You are worthy
You are lovely
The beauty of You
Is the meaning of me
You spoke life
In me

Glory, honor, praise from the inside
I give to You
Love, adoration, my arms of surrender
I raise to You

Earnest Prayer

We are going through the book of Acts in our Home Team, and this Sunday we were studying chapter 12. This is where the Church is being highly persecuted and James, the brother of John, has just been killed by Herod. Peter was next in line to be murdered but because of a Jewish celebration going on he had to be put in prison for a while instead.

In verse 5 Luke writes, "So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church."

The phrase "earnest prayer" caught my attention. What does it mean to pray earnestly? I pray, but I don't know that I always pray earnestly? Do you? The church in Acts prayed earnestly, and look what God did. Earnest Prayer means to pray seriously, intentionally, purposely, passionately, fervently, constantly, and with determination. Earnest Prayer is not light, frivolous, or without real purpose. It is humbly crying out to God and actually believing that He can work in every situation of our lives.

Two examples come to mind of someone praying earnestly in the Bible.

1) Epaphras: In Colossians 4:12 Paul is writing to the church in Colossae and he says, "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God."

2) Jesus: As Jesus is praying in the Garden before he is arrested we see him praying earnestly. Luke 22:44 says, "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Epaphras has such a strong passion for his people to become mature in their faith that he struggled over it. And as some translations say, he wrestled over it. Jesus bled because he was in such anguish and was crying out to his Father.

Going back to the book of Acts, we see that Peter is miraculously released from prison by an Angel of God, and he recognizes that it was God who freed him. After he was released he went back to his fellow believers and what were they doing? They were STILL PRAYING! EARNESTLY!

Do I pray earnestly? Do I believe that God can do what I'm asking him to do? Do I even care about what I'm praying for? Do I struggle in prayer over people I know who don't know Christ? Do I wrestle with God in prayer that my friends would grow mature in their faith?

These are all questions that I must ask myself if I want to grow closer to Jesus and if I want to see God work in my life and in our Church. I invite you to consider them as well. We can pray all we want but if we don't really believe that the One we're praying to is going to answer us then our prayers are in vain and our God is too small.

Has there been a time where you have prayed earnestly and God has answered?

Ephesians 1

I have to admit that I got this idea from Kyle while reading his blog this morning and was pleasantly reminded of WORDLES. I thought I would make a Wordle from Ephesians 1, probably one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.

Hereyago:

An Awesome Verse

Memorize this one folks!

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

Beatboxing Chef

Bob Kauflin shared this video on his blog recently. Apparently this video is quite popular. All I have to say is... AMAZING!

DCB meets the OFFICE

So, if you know me you will know that I love 2 things. 1) Music and 2) The Office! Now you will understand why this video is so brilliant! The David Crowder band meets The Office!

Check it out:

Neighborhood Food Drive

Thanks to all those who participated in the neighborhood food drive. We passed out over 400 cards explaining that we were collecting food for a food pantry in need. The amount of food, toys, and clothes we received was overwhelming.

This is just a picture of the food that was donated to the Bisbee Baptist Church food pantry.

Leah Hope

My aunt and uncle (in law) are adopting a girl from China. Her name is Leah Hope. Here are a few photos:

Gramophonica

I just changed the layout of my blog. The new template I'm using is called "Gramophonica." That image at the top is a Gramophone in case you are wondering. My wife gave me a gramophone as a wedding present. I love it. It is one of my most prized possessions along with my saxophone that my Grandfather bought me. Just thought you'd like to know why I chose this template.

Oh, and I realized that on my previous template you couldn't leave a comment. So, if you are out there and are viewing this blog leave me a comment since you can. Tell me, what's your most prized possession that you purchased or has been given to you?

America's best singers... really?

American Idol is one of my favorite shows of all time. Well, it comes right underneath "The Office." I just love seeing talented singers progress through the audition process and wind up performing live in front of millions. However, yesterday as I was watching 12 of the top 36 singers in America I was completely let down. The talent was no good! Supposedly American Idol travels around to many different cities around the U.S. to find America's best singers. Thousands upon thousands of hopefuls audition in each city. The winners from the cities travel to Hollywood where about 120 singers try-out hoping to make in the top 36 by the end of the week. The bad ones are weeded out and this week was the first week to watch the 36 best singers in America audition for that one highly acclaimed spot as the American Idol.

As I watched and listened last night I was utterly disgusted. Not at the bad singers but at the show for allowing such horrible singers to make it through to the top 36! Something has gone completely wrong with the audition process! I know that there are thousands of singers who try out but never make it into the judges room because they are weeded out before hand. And I am also certain that hundreds of these are much better than the talent of last night. It almost seems to me that if you don't have a sappy story or an outrageous gimmick you will never make it! Where can I watch a competition where people are solely judged on their voices and performance abilities?!?! Anyone?

One guy I am excited about is Danny Gokey, who is a Church Music Director but has an outstanding voice and was by far the best performer last night.

Are you watching American Idol this year?
Who's your favorite?
Who do you want to see go home?

Praise the Father, Praise the Son

There are new songs coming out almost every day in the Christian music world. Many are good songs and glorify our Father, some are just "ok" and don't have much meaning, but few are timeless communal songs that reach all generations and will be heard resonating within the walls of churches around the world. I ran across one of these rare and new songs this week.

Entitled, Praise the Father, Praise the Son, the hymn style song has much depth. Every word in every line means something. I think it's timeless, I think it's meaningful, and I think it's a response to the instructions in Scripture to praise the Lord (Psalm 150:1-6)

Here are the Lyrics:

O sov'reign God O matchless King
The saints adore the angels sing
And fall before the throne of grace
To You belongs the highest praise

Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit
Three in One
Clothed in power and in grace
The name above all other names

These sufferings this passing tide

Under Your wings I will abide
And ev'ry enemy shall flee
You are my hope and victory

To the valley for my soul
Thy great descent has made me whole
Your word my heart has welcomed home
Now peace like water ever flows

Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit
Three in One
Clothed in power and in grace
The name above all other names

Yours is the kingdom
Yours is the power
Yours is the glory forever
Yours is the kingdom
Yours is the power
Yours is the glory forever

Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit
Three in One
Clothed in power and in grace
The name above all other names

Life on my iPhone

It happened to me like it's happening to many. I got an iPhone over Christmas. I thought today that'd I'd give you a glimpse of what my life looks like on my iPhone through the camera roll. I have 146 pictures on my iPhone but here's just a few snapshots. Enjoy.


1) My cousin in law - James. 2) At the lakehouse on Christmas day 3) Silverdolar city in Branson, MO. 4) Texas De Brazil with Josh, Shawna, Eli, Beth, and Kacie.



1) The Maternity Sized ice cream. 2) Josh Winter. 3) Kacie scrub shopping for her first job. 4) my drawing of my dog Bella.


1) Kacie (and Corbin) blowing out candles on her birthday. 2)Brenden Adler in his daddy's hat on his hospital bed.

Video Wednesday

Is your iPhone indestructable? Try sticking it in a blender.

Lyrics (Some have asked)

Some have asked for the lyrics of the song, "You Alone" that you've heard twice at 412CC now so I thought I'd post it here. The words were written by James Edwards and it is simply the heart cry of 412 Community Church. Enjoy.


You Alone
Blessed, a new day’s come we stand and worship You
To the One and only name, salvation must come through
We lift our hands up high, feet planted in the truth
To the one who spoke all life, Jesus Christ it’s only You

Only You – You – You alone, there’s no other name
Jesus Christ our savior, our faith we claim
Only You – You – You alone, there’s no other name
Jesus Christ our savior, Your praise we sing

The world is ever changing, though one thing stays the same
Only one name under heaven, by which we must be saved

Only You – You – You alone, there’s no other name
Jesus Christ our savior, our faith we claim
Only You – You – You alone, there’s no other name
Jesus Christ our savior, Your praise we sing

Author of Salvation. Death the price You paid
Eternal life, Redemption, You give to us by Faith
We lift our hands up high, feet planted in the truth
To the one who spoke all life, Jesus Christ it’s only You

Only You – You – You alone, there’s no other name
Jesus Christ our savior, our faith we claim
Only You – You – You alone, there’s no other name
Jesus Christ our savior, Your praise we sing

Only You – You – You alone

Video Wednesday

In an effort to keep my blog interesting, I've decided to post a video from YouTube every Wednesday. So, if you don't read my blog any other day of the week, please oh please read on Wednesdays and get you a nice laugh.

This Video Wednesday goes to the "Idiot of the Year."

Self-Sufficiency

I was reading in Genesis this morning a very common story that many have heard since pre-school. It was in Genesis 11 where people got together and made clay bricks to try and build a tower, aka the Tower of Babel. Something stuck out to me that I never realized before. All of my life I have just thought that the idea of Self Sufficiency is a somewhat new one because of the entrepreneur attitude of the 20th and 21st centuries. I thought that it was so prevalent today because of all of the little gadgets that we have to make life easier. What I realized is that this idea of being a Self-Sufficient, "I can do it on my own" kind of person has been going on ever since the fall of man. I suppose I knew this but I never really thought about it.
In reading about the Tower of Babel I noticed a commonality in some of the language. The people are saying, "come let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly... come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves..."
The builders believe that they have no need for God. Their technology and social unity make them rely solely on their own abilities. They are so confident in themselves that they don't need anyone to help them.
This philosophy is so similar to our philosophy today. I guess the only difference is that we're not building towers out of mud, we are building them with WiFi and iPhones and stuff.

Just an observation...

Biblical Community

Many have heard the words "Biblical Community," or have even be told to "practice Biblical Commuinty." But what does that REALLY mean? How do we find out what that is?

In our Home Team this semester we are studying the book of Acts, and at the end of chapter 2 there is a very clear example of Biblical Community. It is eyeopening to read it and to really picture what life would be like if we operated in this way.

Enjoy.

Acts 2:42-47
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

What would your life be like if you TRULY practiced Biblical Community?

412 Kickoff

We had an awesome day on Sunday as we kicked off 412 Community Church. Always remember that we are a community rallied around the truth of Acts 4:12. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Here's a little snapshot of last Sunday.

What are you asking God to do this year through 412 Community Church?