What Will It Take?

The title of this post was also the title of my sermon yesterday at Highland. I preached from Acts 8:1-8. The great persecution that arose against the church in Jerusalem scattered (v. 4) them throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 1:8). The gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed, and Jesus was glorified. It seems to have taken this persecution to move the church beyond Jerusalem.

They had been doing an excellent job of "filling Jerusalem" (Acts 4) with the gospel, but for some reason they had not moved beyond the boarders of Jerusalem to this point. This let's me know that King Jesus is serious about His commission (Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, & Acts 1:8 [the specific GC passages]).

So I put it to you, what will it take to get you going to the place (s) God wants you to go? Will you carry the gospel of Jesus with you as you are going? Will you share that same gospel message, the one that let's sinners know there is a Savior who loves them, died for them, rose from the grave for them, and will forgive them of their sins, with them? What will it take to get you from where you are to where you need to be?

I can tell you this; it doesn't have to take anything more than you choosing to take that step with Jesus. You don't have to wait until something happens in your life to motivate you to go; something already did happen. You had an encounter with Jesus. You accepted the free, grace gift of salvation. That's more than enough. You and I should be "On the Go for Jesus!" You can't have GOspel without GO. You don't have GOod News without "GO." So don't just sit there...GO!

Weekly Email Update Article

I am so pumped about what the Holy Spirit is doing as He works through our Life Groups. We have one full month of REACH behind us, and we have seen the hand of the Holy Spirit doing wonderful things. Some evidence of His moving is 1) we averaged 207 in Life Groups during the month of January, and 2) we had a high attendance of 228 in the month of January. Praise the Lord! If you aren’t plugged into a Life Group, please check one out and engage. It will be a blessing to your life and your family. BTW, we had 223 this past Sunday in Life Groups and 334 in worship. Did I say how excited I am?!!!

I also wanted to take a moment to congratulate our “Gold Star” and “Silver Star” classes. You have been recognized for exceptional work, as a class, using REACH. Each week, be looking for and working toward earning that “Gold Star.” I pray you see God working in amazing ways as you REACH out with the love of Christ Jesus.

I want to update you on the Strategic Leadership Team meeting Monday night. We had a great time hearing about some specific ways the Lord Jesus is working in different areas of our church. The first PLACE seminar was January 24-25, and there were 14 people who attended. All of them will have received their coaching by next week, and they will begin to move toward actively engaging in a ministry that allows them to use their gifts and passions to serve King Jesus at Highland and beyond. We had three people who attended the seminar share their experiences, and it was very powerful to hear what they learned about themselves and how the Holy Spirit moved in their lives. It lights a fire in me to see people excited about walking with and serving the Lord Jesus. Keep your eyes open for the next seminar coming in March. The time in March will be formatted as a 5 week Life Group. We will also have 2 more PLACE seminar experiences in September. I hope you will make plans to participate. We are planning to make some changes to the time and format of our SLT. We will be moving the time to the third Sunday of the month, and will also have a time of food and fellowship following each meeting. I’m praying that our participation will improve because of these changes. I look forward to seeing you there.

Lastly, I want to thank Jeff Drake for preaching the message on praying for your pastor and church leaders. Thank you for praying for my family and me. I pray the Lord does amazing things as you pursue Him. God bless you.

Let it snow!

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! My kids were so excited; they were out of school, and they finally got to use the sleds we bought them for Christmas two years ago. We had a great time. I hope you did also. Then my mind began to drift toward something else. Isaiah 1:18 came to mind. This verse of Scripture says, “’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord: ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as WHITE AS SNOW (emphasis added); though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.’”

When I think of snow I think of beautiful, perfect, clean, and pure. The Holy Spirit reminded me on Wednesday morning of this as it pertains to my life, since I came to God on His terms, and allowed Him to wash my life with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! May you bask in the glorious thought of being made white as snow, pure as snow through the perfect and eternal sacrifice of King Jesus. And may you spend this day and the next, until time ends and eternity begins, living your life as one big THANK YOU to the only one worthy of it. 

We are the church.

My CrossFit Journey (so far)

There have been times throughout my life I have worked out in one way or another. I would go for a while and then something would happen and I would stop. I would make progress and then get worse than I was in the first place. At one point several years ago my blood pressure was very high (160/100) and my other numbers were off the chart, literally. So I had to get on different medication to help. I have been on the medecine for over three years. I've lost and gained weight over this time and previously. And this is where CrossFit comes in. My wife, Melissa, started doing CrossFit about a year ago. She tried to get me to go and try it the whole time, and I finally gave in at the end of September. It took me two weeks to complete the four foundational classes, so the second Tuesday in October, 2013 was my first full class.

When I began I had to do push-ups from my knees, I had to use bands to help with pull-ups and chin-ups, I couldn't run more than 200 meters without having to walk. To say the least, I was in horrible shape. At this time, I also took the last of my prescriptions and couldn't get a refill until I went back to the doctor, so I decided to do without. Fast forward to Friday. I went to the doctor for a check up. My blood pressure, without meds for 3 months was 122/80. I haven't received the results of the blood work, but I bet it's much better. That's some pretty good progress if you ask me. But let me share some more results from CrossFit: I was able to do 25 (5x5) handstand push-ups last week, I did 25 unassisted pull-ups and chin-ups, 325 LB 3rep max dead lift (345 LBS once), 24" box jumps 9x5, and I am running any WOD distance without stopping. Oh and I'm down from 36 to 34 inch pants!!!

The only thing that will keep CrossFit from working for you is if you don't do it. Thank you Melissa for continuing to push me to be better. One of these days I may even beat you in a WOD. If you live in Stanly County come join me at CrossFit Delphi in Albemarle, if not, check it out at a CrossFit box near you.

Interrupted

Interruptions are usually not good and are usually not appreciated. We have all been interrupted, and sadly, we have all interrupted others. It's uncomfortable and unpleasant, most of the time.

But I will have to say when God interrupts it's awesome, when God interrupts, it's amazing, when God interrupts things get done and lives get changed. That's what happened at Highland this past Sunday...God interrupted. He interrupted me. Know you might be asking how He interrupted. Well, as I was getting ready to stand up to preach the message I felt He had led me to prepare, He placed something else on my heart. A single word and a single verse of Scripture, actually just a phrase in one verse. Now I don't know about you, but it's not always easy to follow the Lord at a moment like that, I mean, I've been praying, studying, preparing to preach this message, actually a series of messages to begin 2014 called I Am A Church Member, and I'm thinking, Lord, in all that time you could have given me some kind of heads-up about this little detour, but He didn't. And you know what, that's completely OK with me. God's "little detours" are usually fantastic. Oh, and the word was HOPE and the verse was Colossians 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

It was refreshing to my soul to be reminded of the hope I have in Christ. It seemed that others were also refreshed. The Lord Jesus reminded us on Sunday that, as the old song goes, "My hope is built on nothing LESS than Jesus blood and righteousness." If you a building your hope, if you are placing your trust, on anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ, you are in for a huge let down. Your hope shattered on the rocks of emptiness. Trust Christ today and with all of 2014.

I hope to see you this Sunday at Highland. If you can't get to Highland, get to some church that will give you Jesus and Him only. He's all we need.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Madaris family to you and your family. I trust you had a very special Christmas and a great time bringing in the New Year. I know you have probably, like me, made some New Year’s resolutions. I encourage you, since you have set some goals, to make an action plan so you will see it through. Don’t get discouraged by not taking the steps necessary to fulfill the commitment you have made to yourself, your family, the Lord Jesus, or whoever might be influenced and impacted. Make 2014 the best year ever!

I want to remind you that Highland Baptist Church is participating in the ONE Night of Worship at the Agri-Civic Center on Sunday night January 12 at 6 PM. Make plans to join other believers from around the county as we come together to worship King Jesus. We need a few greeters and a lot of singers, so if you would be interested in participating in one of these areas please let me know ASAP. I’m looking forward to worshiping with you then and throughout 2014.

Our theme for 2014 is We Are Church, and I will be preaching a six week sermon series called I am a Church Member. I hope you will come each week prayerfully prepared to hear from King Jesus through song, giving, and hearing the Word preached. We will be living out our theme as the body of Christ by means such as REACH via your Life Group, PLACE Ministry by which you will have an opportunity to find out how God has uniquely placed you in this body to serve Him, and the other ministries we currently use: AWANA, Revolution Students, Children’s ministry, Joy Club, worship team, greeting ministry, and so many more.

May God’s richest blessing be yours this year. I love you and am so thankful that we have this opportunity to serve the Lord together. I can’t wait.

My Article from our weekly email

It was such a blessing to our church to host Dr. Danny Akin last week. The Lord Jesus spoke to us through him, and so many of you have commented on the blessing he was to you personally. If you missed this past Sunday, you can access the message online at our website (www.hbcfamily.org) under the media tab, or you can access on the church FaceBook page. I encourage you to share it with your family and friends. While you’re there, look through the other messages, use this tool to be a constant blessing to you, your family, and friends. Share all the good things the Lord has done, is doing, and the hope you have for the future.

I am looking forward to 2014. I believe it’s going to be a great year for you, and it’s going to be a great year for our church. I want to encourage you to make it the best year you have ever had. There are several keys to this being true for you in 2014. 

First, make Christ Jesus the center of your life. Spend time with Him every day: read His love letter to you, treasure it, learn it, and meditate on it. I will be reading through the Bible again in 2014, and I will be using the Holman Christian Standard this year. Join me. I will be using the One Year Bible reading plan. You can find it at www.oneyearbibleonline.com. 

The second thing you can do is get plugged in with one of our fantastic Life Groups. They meet at 9:50 every Sunday morning. You need this time each week; it’s a time of fellowship, prayer, Bible study, and community. God made us relational beings, and you can’t get that by just and only attending a worship service. The third thing to do is to engage in a ministry, at least one ministry. Many of you are engaged in multiple ministries and I say THANK YOU. We couldn’t do what we do the way we do it without you. But many of you are rarely engaged. Christianity is not spectator driven. God has a place for you inside the body of Christ and that place is a place of serving others. If you aren’t sure where your place is then we are implementing a ministry to help you find your PLACE, and that is what it is called PLACE. Sue Drake is spearheading this ministry. Get plugged in, and enjoy the fun, experience the peace, of living with a purpose greater than yourself. 

Another great way to engage is via your Life Group and REACH. Each Life Group should be getting ready to implement this structure so assist in ministry within and outside the LG. Every group member is part of the team and serves once per month. It’s not hard work; it’s loving on people in practical ways, sharing the love of Jesus. I believe if you do these things 2014 will be the best year you’ve ever had. You will be blessed, your family will be blessed, Highland will be blessed, and the community we live in will be blessed. 

In Jesus name, I love you and thank God for you. Merry Christmas!