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The Three Headed Dragon (Sermon Series)

Kevin Rush — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:12:43 +0000

Laying dormant in each of us is a Three Headed Dragon. His desire is to have you. The fire in his belly could consume you, and given the right circumstances he will rule you! Each head has a name. They are Me, Mine, and More. It is easy to ignore these, but when one takes hold it can be deadly. Let us slay the god of Me, Mine, and More by mastering the use of our time, treasure, and talent. Join us on our quest to destroy him!

1.15.12 – The god of Me
1.22.12 – The god of Mine
1.29.12 – The god of More

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FPU Class

Kevin Rush — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:51:37 +0000

On January 15, we will kick-off a series called The Three Headed Dragon where we will face off against the god of me, mine, and more. During this series we will encourage you to take your next steps with God by trusting him with your time, talent, and treasure.

In our economy, learning to get out of debt and keep your finances under-control seems almost impossible. But there is hope! We are partnering with another local church, Pilgrim’s Saint Paul, and a proven 13 week curriculum called Financial Peace University [FPU] to master your finances. More than 1.5 million families have attended FPU with amazing results. On average, these families paid off $5,300 in debt and saved $2,700 in just the first 90 days! Stop worrying about money, and start your journey to Financial Peace today!

Class Begins: January 30, 2012
Class Meets: Mondays at 7:00 PM
Preview Class: January 16, 2012 at 7:00 PM
Location: Pilgrim Saint Paul Lutheran Church
14224 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, OH 44107
Cost: $99 for the FPU Kit

Get more details and sign up today!

Dear Church Trailer Thief [Coverage]

Kevin Rush — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:33:14 +0000

On January 4, 2012 I wrote, submitted, and posted a letter to the person(s) who stole from our church trailer to a local newspaper and here on our blog.

Velocity Church, one of our partnering churches, spread the word to other news sources who picked up the story. On January 5th, I was interviewed by Fox 8 News.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is a list of all the news coverage…

Pastor Offers Thief $1,000 to Return Stolen Items – Fox 8 News
Lakewood pastor writes open letter to thief – WKYC
Pastor makes a deal with New Church thief – 19 Action News
Crook asked to return stolen goods – WTAM
Ohio Pastor Offers Forgiveness, $1,000 to Thief in Name of Christ – Christian Post
Have you ever had anything stolen from you? – K-Love

Dear Church Trailer Thief

Kevin Rush — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:17:59 +0000

As I mentioned at the Gathering on 1.1.12 some of our audio and band equipment was stolen from our church trailer. In response I wrote this article and submitted it to the Lakewood Observer, but I wanted to post it here first.

——————————————————————————————————————-

Dear Church Trailer Thief,

On New Years Day we picked up our trailer from its regular spot to find that you broke in and stole our equipment. You nabbed our church’s speakers and subwoofers, microphone stands, drum shield, bass cabinet and amp, and all of the cases that carry the items. All in all it was over $7,000 in losses.

My first reaction was anger. I wanted our church’s stuff back. I wanted justice. I wanted nothing more to hunt you down and find you, but then I remembered why I am a follower of Jesus. I am a follower of Jesus because God paid a great price to put my relationship back together with him and with others. I am a follower of Jesus because he pardoned my offenses and debt against him.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger… Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

God is a God of justice, but he is also a God of forgiveness and second chances. God has forgiven me much and I want to not only forgive you, but offer you grace. Grace is a concept that at a great price to someone else they offer you the reward, merit, or gift of the price they paid. If you return the equipment you stole I will not press charges. Instead I will write you a check for $1,000, no strings attached. I wish I could offer you more, but it is all I have. Email or call me at info@cityedge.org or 216-236-3970 and just say, “I have your stuff.”

Even if you don’t take me up on the offer I do not hold bitterness, anger or rage against you. I’m not going to hunt you down. I’m offering you forgiveness. I am offering you grace.

Love beyond reason,
Kevin Rush

Advent Conspiracy [AC] Offering

Kevin Rush — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:31:08 +0000

During the Christmas season CE joined the [AC] Advent Conspiracy to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all. Calling people to spend a little less and give more to people in need. On December 18, 2011 our brand new church plant gave $635 to charity:water. This provides clean drinking water to 31 people for life!

We have decided to further this mission in hopes to raise another $4,370 (and even $5K) to build a well! We encourage you to give and get the word out about our campaign to build a well for those without clean drinking water by visiting http://cityedge.org/water.

100% of every dollar we raise will go directly to water projects. And when the projects are complete, charity:water will show us GPS coordinates, photos and other details about the communities we’ve helped. Together, we’ll be able to see the impact we’ve made.
Join us by donating today!

Vision Sundays (Sermon Series)

Kevin Rush — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:19:07 +0000

2011 has come and gone, and 2012 has arrived. This is a time we reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. We celebrate our accomplishments and mourn the losses. We make resolutions and commit to a better future. At CityEdge we will be having a two week series called Vision Sundays where we look back at the past year, and look forward to the coming one. Join us as we look for God moments and gain clarity in 2012.

1.1.12 – Clocks and Calendars
1.8.12 – Contacts and Clarity

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Archive of our sermon series.
Click here for information about our worship gatherings.

Christmas Experience [Recap]

Kevin Rush — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:05:42 +0000

Our Online Christmas Worship Experience was amazing! On Christmas day we streamed 5413 minutes of the Christmas Worship Experience into 354 homes through out 22 States and 3 countries. By our conservative estimates over 600 people experienced it on Christmas day. On Boxing Day, December 26th, another 3,170 minutes streamed to 247 homes. You can watch it in its entirety at http://tinyurl.com/christmasexperience. Here are some shout outs to those involved.

O Holy Night

Click here to view the embedded video.

Performed by Dave Mariano on lead vocals, Elijah Bisbee arranged and recorded the song, Lee Klopfenstein played cello in the video, Chris Cleary filmed, edit and directed the video and Andi Rucker filmed too. Filmed on location in downtown Lakewood at Marc’s Plaza Park.

Chapter 1: Expectation and Frustration

Click here to view the embedded video.

Written and acted by Kevin Rush and his family; Sondra, Selah, Aliyah, and Mylah. Filmed, directed, and edited by Chris Cleary. The background track was Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Andrew Belle and it was filmed at various locations throughout Lakewood, OH.

Shepherd’s Song

Click here to view the embedded video.

Written and performed by Sarah Hatch, recorded by Elijah Bisbee, and the video was directed, filmed, and edited by Chris Cleary. Kevin Rush and his daughter Selah were featured in the film reading the Jesus Storybook Bible. Filmed on location at the Hatch residence.

Chapter 3: Anticipating Advent

Click here to view the embedded video.

Written and acted by Kevin Rush and his family; Sondra, Selah, Aliyah, and Mylah. Filmed, directed, and edited by Chris Cleary. It was filmed at various locations throughout Lakewood, OH and the background track used was O Holy Night by Canopy Climbers.

Go, Tell It On the Mountain

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music recorded and mastered by Mike Jaworske of DeFunk Studio, David Mariano sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar, Mike Jaworske played drums, Lee Klopfenstein recorded bass guitar and background vocals, and Elijah Bisbee played keys. Chris Cleary filmed, and Andy Rucker directed, filmed, and edited the video. Kevin Rush stood in on bass guitar for the video. Thank God for the snow and GoMedia in Cleveland for the use of their roof top!

Other Thanks - Drew Hayes, Anita Dolan, Bethany Jones, Westerville Christian Church and Kevin J. Rush for their financial generosity so we could stream the experience without web ads. Thank you for everyone who shared and invite people to the events. A special to the wives and the families of those who gave up times with loved ones to film the video. Thank you for Momentum Christian Church for allowing us to use some of your equipment and supporting us in our crazy endeavors. And of course a huge amount of gratitude to the amazing tribe called CityEdge Christian Church.

Thank you to our leader and rescuer, Jesus, for all of the hope, peace, joy, and love experienced this Christmas!

Songs used during countdown… Carol of the Bells by August Burns Red, Christmas Time by Ellery, Little Drummer Boy by James Fruits, You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch by Sixpence None the Richer

Christmas Worship Experience FAQs

Kevin Rush — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:15:06 +0000

We are about a week away from Christmas! At CE have been preparing the Online Christmas Worship Experience for almost a month now. It is nearly complete and we are excited to show it to you! We know you have a lot of questions, so we made a list, and we checked it twice. Read it over as it will help prepare you for next Sunday!

Q: How long is it? A: The Worship Experience is approximately 20-25mins. Shorter than an episode of the Office.

Q: When can I watch it? A: All day Christmas day. It will start at 7am and run until midnight every 1/2 hour. For example – 7:00a, 7:30a, 8:00a, etc. That’s 34 different times to participate! Let’s see who gets the hi-score.

Q: How will I watch it? A: On Christmas go to http://cityedge.org/online. Click “Check in & Chat” and share it on your Facebook wall. Then push the big play button! The experience will stream to you live. You will be able to see and chat with people around the country (maybe even the world) who are participating in the experience. Dope! Here are some screen shots of how to log on…

Check in and push play. It's that easy!

Share the Experience with your facebook friends...

If you have trouble connecting to it on Christmas Day for any reason email us at info@cityedge.org.

Q: Is it kid appropriate? A: Of course. We love kids at CityEdge!

Q: Will there be songs to sing? A: Yes, you are more than welcome to sing along (because we can’t hear you). I kid! We will have two classic Christmas songs, and new song by the CE Team. All the lyrics will be on the screen for you to worship wherever you are.

Q: Is someone going to preach at me? A: Instead of a talking head preacher, we wrote and produced a short film dealing with the frustations of Christmas. We think you will like it.

Q: How can I spread the word? A: Let your friends know. Tweet it, Facebook it, email it, or call someone! Tell your friends about it before hand and the day of!

Give More [Erica's Story]

Kevin Rush — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:05:41 +0000

This week we challenged CityEdge to spend less and give more. To give more relationally to their friends and family and give more to those in need. After the Gathering on Sunday once of our younger CityEdger’s, Erica, came and told us that she was up til 2am that morning making a gift for her mom. Below is a picture of Erica and her gift.

Her mom was so proud and loved the gift. This is an example of giving more this Christmas. What’s your story? Share it at cityedge.org/givemore

Give More [Tim's Story]

Kevin Rush — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:56:39 +0000

Since we decided to cancel our Worship Gathering on Christmas Day, and have an Christmas Worship Experience Online instead we saved money. Last Sunday we took the money we saved and gave it away at the Gathering. Everyone at the Gathering recieved $20 in an envelope [pictured below]. We then encouraged them to give it to someone who needs it this Christmas season and share their story of generosity at cityedge.org/givemore. We’ve heard really cool stories, heres one from Tim…

So today I had gotten an envelope with $20 in it and was challenged to pay it forward. I really thought long and hard on who I would give the money to. Someone I know that would need it and could use it. While at church today I also grabed a business card with Kevin’s Name on it and a bible. In the bible, I highlighted today’s passage along with John 3:16. I bookmarked one with the business card and one with the envelope. As I was driving to work today, I saw a coworker from our sister company. I knew she would know who to give it to. Come to find out her daughter has hit a really ruff patch in life right now. A single mother of 3, a low paying job, her fridge just died and she needed a new one, and the food in the fridge had spoiled. When I told the coworker how much was in the envelope, she started to get emotional. Come to find out she had just prayed that she could spare $20 to give to her daughter to last her till friday for payday. I guess her daughter only has $.50 in her account. This prayer was just moments before I pulled in. The Lord had heard her prayer and I seem to be just the person to give it to her. I told her the only thing I ask is that she Pay the good will forward. Thank you City Edge for help this family out.