Sorry I'm a day late (hopefully not a dollar short), but here are some random thoughts on this past weekend at New Horizon...

• Great kick-off to the Christmas season! Attendance was way off due to the snow but the Christmas spirit was in full swing. Christmas decorations everywhere...new Christmas stage design...all due to our awesome volunteers at New Horizon! Thx everyone!!

• Jon and the band rocked it out Christmas style...especially with Kristi's version of All I Want For Christmas Is You. (Didn't Jon do an awesome job with the jingle bells?)

• I was scheduled to preach last week but due to the death of Susan's mom we were in Minnesota all week for the funeral. So Jamie stepped up at the last minute and knocked it out of the park. This Christmas we're unpacking Isaiah 9:6 together in an effort to discover what his Christmas Presence means to us today. Jamie zeroed in on what it means for God to be our "Wonderful Counselor."

• I've been a serious follower of Christ now for over 37 years and it's still an amazing thought to me that God...the God of the universe...would actually want to speak to me...me! That he would take the time and make the effort to give me his advice...not just good advice but the RIGHT advice...just blows my mind.

• Christmas services this year are going to be OFF THE CHARTS!! Like I said Sunday, this isn't going to be your typical baby-Jesus-in-the-manger, shepherds-on-the-hill, three-wise-men kind of Christmas service. We're going to rock out some great Christmas music and we're going to preach the gospel NHC-style! I believe this is going to be one of the clearest gospel/Christmas messages we've ever done.

* Sooo, here's what I'm asking you to do - PRAY LIKE CRAZY between now and Christmas Eve. And then INVITE LIKE CRAZY!! Every study that has ever been done on this shows the same thing - CHRISTMAS IS THE TIME WHEN YOUR UNCHURCHED FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES ARE MOST LIKELY TO ACCEPT AND INVITATION TO CHURCH! So, do whatever it takes to get an invitation in their hands and then get them here for one of our 4 services on Dec. 23 & 24. 

• And because everyone will be working so hard for our Christmas Eve services, we're taking Christmas weekend off. There will be no services on Sunday, December 26th. So relax and enjoy the time with your family.

• We've officially kicked-off the Christmas Offering season too. Each year we celebrate Christmas by giving the best year-end offering we can, which helps us to end the year well and start the new year strong as a church family. As I said Sunday, here's what I'm asking you to do: 1) Pray - ask God what he wants you to give, and 2) Obey - give what God tells you to give. And if you want some scripture to read as you pray through on this, I would highly recommend 2 Corinthians 8,9.

• Next week, Pt. 2 of Christmas Presence - Mighty God! Can't wait to unpack that one with you all. Love you New Horizon!!

"Like a deer in the headlights, I stood frozen in my tracks
And the weight of you not here nearly broke my back
And the tears they fell like a monsoon
Underneath the cold fall moon
Somehow God put his hands on your shoulders
Way too, way too soon" from When It Rains by Kid Rock

Five years ago today that's exactly how I felt...like a weight had been dropped on me that would break me. Five years ago today our one and only child, Heather, went home to be with Jesus. 

Five years...on one hand it seems like it was just yesterday, and and on the other hand it seems like it was a lifetime ago. But during the last 5 years I've settled on a few things:

• Life is short - Eternity is literally a breath away. The Bible puts it this way: "Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath..." Job 7:7

We all expect to live into our 80's and we expect our kids to outlive us, but the fact is God doesn't owe us another second. No matter who we are, we are living out His plan in his timing.

• God is Sovereign - As I've looked back on that night 5 years ago I've often wondered why God didn't prevent that accident...or why he didn't keep Heather from being injured so badly...or why he didn't miraculously heal her. He could have done any of those things, or more. But he didn't. 

The bottom line is: God is Sovereign. He's still God. He still reigns. He knows exactly what he's doing. He knew what he was doing 5 years ago. He always does. 

So I've learned to trust his sovereignty. I believe he did the most loving thing he could do for Heather. I know he took her because her time was done and when my time is done he'll take me home too.

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Job 1:21

• The pain never goes away - After five years I miss her more than ever. I miss her smile. I miss hearing her voice. I miss her singing. I miss her laugh. That never goes away. 

You've heard the saying, "Time heals all wounds." Frankly, that's a piece of crap. Time doesn't heal anything. Time teaches you to cope, but the pain never goes away. 

• God is good - All the time...no matter what. Even though I don't fully understand it, I believe God did the best, most loving thing he could do. He took Heather to be with him. She is seeing things I can't comprehend, experiencing things I can't imagine, and being loved like never before. How awesome God is to do that for her!

Finally, God has used this to fuel his purpose in my life. I want to live my life with the urgency of knowing that anyone can spin off into eternity in a heartbeat. I want to do all I can to honor God, love my wife and family, and lead others to Jesus. I want to die with no regrets. And then I'll never be separated from my little girl again! 

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

One more thing - hug your kids tight...love your spouse a little more...thank God for every second he has given you with them. Don't take life for granted!

I hope you all are about to embark on a day of eating, football and most of all - giving thanks. Here are some things I'm thankful for this year...

• My wife (God blessed me big time!)

• The time I had with Heather

• Arianna and Jayden

• New Horizon Church

• The New Horizon Staff

• The New Horizon volunteers

• OK...New Horizon Church (again)

• Duke Basketball

• How sorry UNC is going to be again this year

• Starbucks (although McDonald's new coffees are pretty darn good!)

• God's total sovereignty

• God's absolute love

• God's amazing grace

• MOST OF ALL - I'm thankful that Jesus looked at my sorry life and said, "I'll forgive you and give you a brand new start!"

What are you thankful for?

Just a few things I wanted to share with you this week...

• Last Sunday was one of those vision messages that was hard to preach - lots of good stuff to report along with some stuff that makes you go, "Hmmm..." Any time you can report that we are reaching so many of our goals it's a good thing! It's lots of fun to preach that stuff. But then to have to report on how the economy is affecting us and some of the things we're having to do to roll with the punches, well, that's not so much fun. Every preacher wants to wrap things up in a nice package, resolve the tension in the room and make everything nice and neat, but sometimes you have to call it like it is. This was one of those Sundays.

• But how amazing is it that in the midst of a tough sermon on vision, SEVERAL PEOPLE GOT SAVED!!! Absolutely amazing! "The Lord your God is with you, HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE..." Zeph 3:17

• Had an amazing conversation with a guy who came for the first time Sunday. He got saved in the second service and signed up for a serving team before he left the campus! He VOLUNTEERED to help with the construction of the modular office space...after he just got saved!!! I dare say he won't turn into a Christian lard butt! (Yes, I really did say that!)

• It's Christmas offering time and I'm asking you to do two things: 1) Pray - ask God what HE wants you to give to the Christmas offering.  2) Obey - Do what God tells you to do! I believe if we'll do that we can end the year well and start off the new year strong.

• Mark your calendar now for...

    Christmas Eve Services - Dec, 23, 6:00 & 8:00 PM, Dec. 24, 4:00 & 6:00 PM.

We are not doing a ticket process this year as in the past, but we will be giving you plenty of invitations for your friends and family members. And we will be asking you to RSVP during the Sunday services so we can plan each service time accordingly.

• AND...mark your calender for something else...our 25th Anniversary Celebration on January 30th. You won't want to miss it!

• Finally, I hope you all have a great thanksgiving. As I said Sunday, one of the things I'm incredibly thankful for is the privilege of being your pastor. I love you NHC!

Hey NHC'ers! What a great day we had together yesterday. Here's why...

• The power and presence of God was so strong in both services yesterday. It was obvious that God's presence was in the house and he was at work in hearts and lives. Love it when that happens!!

• It seems like God is working big-time through the messages we've been sharing lately. Jamie did an awesome job again in Pt. of Glee and the feedback from this series has been extremely positive. Lots of joy!! (If you missed a Sunday you can check out the messages at www.newhorizonchurch.tv.)

• Loved Yvette's version of Revelation Song! And of course, the band knocked it out of the park too. But what's most exciting to me is that it seems like our sense of worship just grows from week to week. I love the way our team is LEADING us in worship!

• Jamie really laid down the challenge for membership yesterday. We live in a culture today that is membership averse. In other words, nobody wants to belong to anything anymore. It seems we just don't want to make commitments to much of anything. We want to keep our options open.

• But when it comes to the Body of Christ we are CALLED TO BELONG. In fact, we BELONG TO EACH OTHER. (Romans 12:6) And just so you know, when the New Testament talks about belonging to the "church" the overwhelming majority of those references are talking about a local body of believers...not the "Big C" church. We are called to belong to a local body of believers...a church!

• And the good news is 75 people are signed up for Membership class this week! It's SO EXCITING to see so many take a step towards commitment to God's church!!

• I got to spend lots of time yesterday just roaming around and greeting volunteers. I've said it before and I'll say it again - WE HAVE SOME OF THE BEST VOLUNTEERS IN THE WORLD!!! I was struck with how much everyone I talked to seemed to enjoy what they do. As I thanked them for serving our church, so many of them said, "You don't have to thank me, I love doing this!" Again - WE HAVE AWESOME VOLUNTTERS AT NEW HORIZON!!!

• Next weekend is the 1-yr. anniversary of the Unstoppable initiative, and I'm back in the batter's box. I've got some great things to share and I can't wait for Sunday to get here! We've had a great year together, but there's so much more that God has in store for us. New Horizon, WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED!

That's all for today. New Horizon, I love you! Thanks for letting me be your Pastor!!

P.S. Make plans now to attend Christmas Eve services - Thusrday, December 23, 6PM & 8PM...Friday, December 24, 4PM & 6 PM. And there will be no Sunday services on December 26th, so get your friends and family here for Xmas Eve!!!

 

What a day at New Horizon! I'm in awe of what God is doing right now, and here are some quick bullet point thoughts from the weekend...

• We kicked off a brand new series called Glee, where we are focusing on experiencing the God kind of joy, and I have to say that Jamie preached one of the BEST messages on the joy of the Lord that I've ever heard.

• Loved the bottom line of his message -Listen to God's voice...trust God's word...respond to God's love. Also loved his Facebook challenge - to keep it positive. (Actually I've seen a lot of NHC'ers Facebooking some good stuff today!)

• In the spirit of the TV show, Yvette and the band rocked out Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. I love how our band can go from modern worship music styles, to 80's rock, to country, to disco and blues - you name it, they can pretty much handle it and handle it well. Way to go band!

• And I got to take the weekend off! (Not really) Even though I wasn't preaching this weekend, I spent most of the week working on sermon prep for Christmas and the month of January. Some of you don't realize this, but we try to work several months in advance. It takes a lot of lead time to do what we do on Sundays. Music has to be selected...videos prepared...illustrations planned...graphics designed...etc., etc. It all revolves around what is being preached, so we have to plan the messages as far ahead as we can.

• Speaking of which, I'm really pumped about our Christmas series this year. It's going to be a little different because we're going to preach the gospel loud and clear this Christmas. And mark your calendars now - FOUR...count 'em...FOUR Christmas Eve services. Two on December 23, and two on December 24. And then NO SUNDAY SERVICES ON DECEMBER 26TH. I think this is going to be the best Christmas we've ever had, so plan now to invite all your friends and family.

That's about all for now. Looking forward to Pt. 2 of Glee. Don't stop believin'!!

A few thoughts on the wrap-up of My Crazy Family...

• Yesterday was a fun day, starting off with some Halloween fun - candy for everyone...kids wearing costumes...and even a scary video! (Got some of you on that one!)

• But it was a super challenging day for the guys - MYSELF INCLUDED!! (After all, I am a guy!) Being a godly husband and father and leading my home, marriage and family is one of the most difficult things we will ever do as men.

• How do we lead? Primarily two ways: with our WALK and with our TALK.

• Guys, the way we WALK has an impact on our families. If I walk towards God, I lead my family towards God. If I walk away from God, I lead my family away from him. GUYS, THE WAY WE WALK WILL, TO A GREAT EXTENT, DETERMINE HOW OUR KIDS WALK WITH GOD.

• I quoted a stat that blows me away every time I think about it: When dad and mom attend church regularly and bring the kids, 72% of those kids will grow up to be regular church attenders. When mom alone brings the kids the number drops to 15%. However, if dad alone brings the kids the number jumps back up to 55%! GUYS, WHEN WE STEP UP AND LEAD SPIRITUALLY IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!

• We also lead by how we TALK. The words we use have the potential to either crush or build up. (If you missed yesterday, be sure to check out the video online at www.newhorizonchurhc.tv to see how we illustrated this.)

• Dads, when was the last time you just told your kids that you're proud of them?

• We capped it off with the song Lead Me and a video that brought everyone to tears. I don't know how many times I watched that video this week trying to innoculate myself so I could maintain my composure, but it didn't work. It wrecked me in both services. (It's up on the New Horizon Facebook wall if you want to check it out.)

• It was amazing to see guys standing all over the room as we prayed that God would help us to be the leaders we need to be for our families.

All in all, a great day and a great end to the series. Next week, Glee!

Yesterday was a great fall morning, and a great morning at New Horizon. Here are a few random things that made it special...

• This week was Pt. 2 of My Crazy Family. I believe we're sharing some very practical stuff in this series that will help break the cycle of craziness that we all experience in our families.

• In Pt. 2 I shared how my parents had built a solid spiritual foundation in my life, and how that translates into our world today. Here's what's interesting to me - the things my parents did and taught me are still HUGE keys to building a successful spiritual life and a successful marriage and family. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

• I loved being able to honor my parents in this message. They're not perfect (and I wasn't the perfect son, either!), but they did a lot of things right. They made sure to pass on a spiritual legacy to me that has stuck with me for a lifetime. I'm fortunate to have the parents I have. Mom, Dad - I love you!

• And I honored the churches I grew up in. I know sometimes I come down hard on the "traditional" church, but it's not because I'm anti-traditonal church. I'm just anti-church games. I'm against the things that turn people off and turn them away from Jesus, but I'm not against the traditional church.

• It was in the little country Methodist church I grew up in that I learned about those foundational Bible stories...about serving...about giving...about fellowship...and about Jesus. So, thanks to mom and dad for taking me there!

• AND...once again...almost 20 people made commitments to Christ yesterday. So far in the month of October we've seen almost 300 people indicate commitment or recommitment to Christ!!! ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!!! Can't get enough of that.

• Loved the worship yesterday. It just seems like our worship atmosphere is growing more and more intense. So thankful for Jon, Yvette, Felicia and our talented band. You guys rock!

• Talked with several new families after the second service. Seems like we're getting a lot of "returns" from 10-10-10. If your ONE hasn't been back, be sure to follow up and invite them to come back...next weekend would be a good time.

• Speaking of next weekend - in Pt. 3 of My Crazy Family we're going to be talking about the most important person in the family. I know some of you think it's Jesus, but that's not who I'm talking about (although Jesus is REALLY important!). We have some great music planned...we've got a couple of surprises in store...and as usual, it's going to challenge our socks off.

God is rocking our church and he's using our church to rock our community. Thanks for BEING the church, New Horizon!

A GREAT day at New Horizon...here are a few thoughts...

• We kicked of our new series, My Crazy Family, with the first installemnt, Family Feud. We're focusing on taking some of the craziness OUT of our families and breaking the craziness cycle, and one of the things that drives us the craziest is the conflicts we all have in our families.

• No doubt about it - one of the things that God wants to do in and through our crazy families is to refine us and challenge us to be more like him.

• One of the things I really tried to do with this message was to get on the practical application side of things.

• And yes I did say, "Give up your right to be right." That one got audible groans in both services. Let me be gut-level honest. Over the years I've watched way too many lives, marriages and families crash and burn over someone who said, "But I'm right!" Being right doesn't mean you have to fight. Jesus surrendered to the cross even though he was right and we were wrong. The relationship trumped being right.

• And when it comes to the words we use in our families, men are thermostats and women are the thermometers. Guys, what kind of words are you using? Positive words warm things up...negative words cool things off. And if you want to know which way you're cranking the thermostat, just look at your wife. She's the thermometer!

• Finally, extend forgiveness...before they deserve it...before they apologize...before they come crawling on their hands and knees...after all, that's what Jesus did for you!

• Bottom line - dealing with the family feuds and getting on the positive side of things takes work...TONS  of work! But the good news is God's word is so clear on how to take some of the craziness out of our families.

• Not sure about attendance numbers because our internet capabilities were down for the entire weekend. But just looking at things, it seemed like we took a big jump after 10-10-10, which tells me that you got your ONE's to come back! Way to go New Horizon!

• AND...lots of decisions for Jesus!!! Can't get enough of that!!!

• We've already got some video highlights up on Facebook and the sermon video will be up later this week, so if you missed yesterday check out the vid's.

Next week - Family Foundations. Don't forget to invite your ONE"s to come back again!

It's Monday, the day after Sunday (obviously). But this Monday feels different. It's the day after an incredible Sunday. It's the day after an Acts 2:43 kind of thing - Everyone was filled with awe... Acts 2:43 I'm in awe, as is everyone I've talked to today. In fact, the thing I've heard several times since yesterday is,"I've never seen anything like that before." Me either!

So what's left to be said after a day like yesterday? Several things...

• First, thank you to everyone who invited someone to New Horizon for 10-10-10. I believe what we saw yesterday was a move of God, but I believe God moved because we responded to his word. When we put our faith on the line, he shows himself faithful and because so many were willing to do something uncomfortable and invite someone to church, God moved in a BIG WAY!

• Thank you to everyone who prayed and fasted last week. We prayed specifically that God would do what only HE can do, and he did!

• Thank you to everyone who volunteered yesterday. I'm always proud of our volunteers at New Horizon, but yesterday my pride levels were off the charts. You guys pulled together as a team, used your gifts and talents and created environments where people were free to hear about Jesus. As a result, hundreds of lives were changed for eternity!

• If you invited someone who didn't come yesterday, let me just say this - DON'T GIVE UP! I said this in the Weekend Rewind, but my ONE didn't come either. It happens. But if we'll keep praying and keep inviting I believe God will eventually orchestrate their lives in a way that they will be open to the invitation. So KEEP INVITING!

• And if you invited someone and they came, here's what to do next - INVITE THEM TO COME BACK NEXT SUNDAY!!

• Speaking of next Sunday, we're kicking off a new 3-week series called, My Crazy Family. Week #1 - Family Feud. It's going to be a great Sunday and you don't want to miss it. (I know I say that all the time, but I really believe it!)

• Let's keep praying, keep serving, keep creating environments for our ONE's, keep inviting and keep asking God to do even GREATER THINGS!

I LOVE YOU NEW HORIZON!