• We may have wrapped up our “Greater Things” series but the principle is far from over. We are going to experience “Greater Things”!
• I want to thank all those who partnered with us for the fast. Like I said before we’re gonna see “Greater Things”!
• No one will ever know how much of an honor it was to have Pastor’s Micahn & April Carter with us at church today. I’m forever grateful for their friendship and investment into my life!
• I don’t know about you but I’m ready to “Be Bigger”
• I don’t know about you but when Pastor Micahn said that “most churches are full of people that are trained for battle but are not battling” was convicting. We will not be that church.
• Next week we are beginning a new series called “NEXT” you don’t want to miss a single week.

There is so much more running through my head right now but the fact is that in 6hrs I’m meeting a bunch of guys at Northtown to get Stronger and I need to get to sleep…

By the way go back and listen to this again it’ll do you some good…

- Pastor Donovan

• We kicked off our Home for the Holidays series today & I don’t think I can say this enough but I’m really excited about this series.
• Today we talked about the Gospel, and church THE GOSPEL IS GOOD NEWS.
• We live in a culture where Good news rarely exists.
• Did I already mention that The Gospel is GOOD NEWS
• If Jesus isn’t born we don’t have a death and resurrection and therefore we aren’t rescued.
• Like I said today “for those of us who have been rescued, by not extending grace and an invitation we are essentially saying to them that Gospel was enough for us but not for you…”
• Jesus is always looking to do more for us then we’re asking Him to do.
• The same is true for those in our lives, he’s wanting to do more & it’s our job to extend that invitation.
• I want to challenge you to extend that invitation to those in your life today and bring them to church next week The Gospel is to good to not want to share it.
  

• On a side not my mom Terri Cox our Journey Kids director is having a major surgery this week and could use your prayers.
• Speaking of Journey Kids we were literally full in every classroom today and could really use some more volunteers to help. This is one of those awesome problems to have, if you want to help make sure you talk to us this weekend.
• To top off an amazing day we had the best “Intensive” class yet. If you were there then you know exactly what I’m talking about to quote Pastor Dave COME ON SOMEBODY!
• Listen I know I already said this but you need to be here next weekend and don’t come alone. I’m telling you the message for next week WILL CHANGE LIVES as we talk about 4 words that change everything and I mean EVERYTHING!

Alright so it’s time to go to bed…

1.) Change

So our “Change is Necessary” series is over but our need to change never ends. After over 2 months of studying, preaching and applying the idea of change to my own life I’m learning that I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of change. My prayer is that I never lose sight of God’s desire to not leave me where I’m at…

⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

And that involves change…

Don’t let change become the bad word that keeps you from Him completing that good work in you.

2.) Here’s What I Know… – Perry Noble

“…I simply know…

#1 – I was lost!

#2 – Someone invited me to church! (Romans 10:14-17)

#3 – I heard the Gospel there!

#4 – Over time it changed my heart!

#5 – And, until this day it continues to change my thinking!

#6 – I want everyone on the planet to have this experience!!!

#7 – The majority of the planet is NOT having this experience, including some of the people we are in relationship with!

I read this yesterday and  well, you need to read the full article (HERE) to get the big picture, but here’s my point. We all have a ton going on in our lives, but if you take a minute I think you’ll realize what I realized yesterday that…

#1 – YOU were lost!

#2 – Someone invited YOU to church! (Romans 10:14-17)

#3 – YOU heard the Gospel there!

#4 – Over time it changed YOUR heart!

#5 – And, until this day it continues to change YOUR thinking!

#6 – YOU SHOULD want everyone on the planet to have this experience!!!

#7 – The majority of the planet is NOT having this experience, including some of the people YOU are in relationship with!

This should change the way we look at some things. Does anyone else get excited at the fact that the Gospel or Good News that brought you to Christ wants to work through you to bring others to Himself.

3.) Home for the Holidays -

Like I said earlier our “Change” series is over and to say that I’m excited about what’s next would be an understatement.

This week we’re diving into our “Home for the Holidays” series and you’re not gonna want to miss a single week of this series, and you really don’t want to come alone.

4.) My son is turning 9 -

Next Friday our little guy will be “9″ like I said before I can’t believe that God would allow us to partner with him to raise these boys!

1.) One Day… – Steven Furtick

Two words can disqualify every dream you’ve ever had:
One day.

One day I’m going to start my own business.
One day I’m going to move overseas.
One day I’m going to live wholeheartedly for Christ.
One day I’m going to lose weight.
One day I’m going to make a difference.

Read the full article here

2.) Obedience Creates Opportunity – Steven Furtick

God won’t give you more to do for Him until you can do what He’s already given you to do.So:

• Stop praying for a life of impact and do something impactful.
• Stop praying for a bigger platform and use the one you’ve been given.
• Stop praying for a better assignment and start performing better with the one you have.

Obedience creates opportunity, not the other way around.

Read the full article here

3.) What’s In Your Way? – Pete Wilson

1.) An Invitation…

Have you ever received an invitation to something that you didn’t want to attend?

Come on I know you have! We all have!

How about this, have you ever wished you would have received an invitation to something. Something you knew was just gonna be amazing.

I was reading 1 Corinthians this week and Paul talks about an invitation that you don’t want to miss:

7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 (NLT)

Not only does Paul say that we have every spiritual gift we need. He also says that He will keep us strong to the end and that God is faithful to do what He says. That’s exciting stuff right there, but then he says that we have been invited to partner with Jesus. Greater than any other invitation that could be extended, you and I have been invited to partner with the King of Kings to accomplish His will on earth!

2.) An invitation…

I’m excited about “The Intensive” that begins this Sunday night @5pm at our house and want to extend another invitation to you to be apart of this group. We are gonna get intentional about our personal development and grow. This isn’t going to be for the faint of heart we are taking the gloves off and gonna be very intentional about what’s next for us as individuals and as a body of believers. We are gonna grow!

3.) 13 years and counting…

This Monday we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary & I can honestly say that I love her more than I ever have.

4.) My son turned 11

Yesterday our oldest boy Tre turned 11. A couple of thoughts that I couldn’t shake yesterday:

a.) Yes, I can’t believe that He’s 11, so HA! keep your old comments to yourself, chances are if you’re reading this you’re still older than me…

b.) I still can’t believe that God would allow us to partner with Him to raise these kids.

I mean, I’ve always read my bible; it’s just been different lately.

The Bible has never been more alive to me in my life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always been more than words on a page. It’s always been more than a horrible Christian cliché’ “Basic Instruction Before Leave Earth”. It’s just something is different now.

I used to drink a lot of Mt. Dew, and I mean a lot!

During my Junior year of High school, every day for lunch my brother and a couple of friends would drive to Hy’s mini-mart where I would get a burrito and a corn dog and wash it down with a 64oz. Mt. Dew!

Yes, you heard that right a 64oz. Mt. Dew. Then just a couple of hours later on the way home I would stop and spend the $.89 on another you guessed it, 64oz Mt. Dew.

Folks I was drinking 1 gallon of Mt. Dew a day!

All this got me thinking today, I’ve said this before and I’ll most likely say it again, but I was not born with an innate desire for Mt. Dew.

In other words, I didn’t come out of the womb and throw a fit because my mom gave me milk instead of sweet nectar of the green can. I tasted Mt. Dew and became interested in tasting more, and taste more I did!

Today as I was reading my bible I began to ask a question. What’s changed? Why’s my bible different today than yesterday?

Then it dawned on me:

“You can’t really love something the way you want to without giving yourself to it.”

Again I wasn’t born with a desire for Mt. Dew, I developed a thirst for it once I began to give myself to it. Once I gave myself to it, I longed for the sound of air escaping the can was heard and that first smell of sweet carbonation was inhaled, I was in.

Ok, maybe that sounds a little dramatic, but my point is it became normal for me to consume large quantities of Mt. Dew with pleasure.

So what’s different? As I’ve given myself to the bible, I’ve come to experience to an even greater extent what the psalmist meant when he penned this verse:

8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see-how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. – Psalm 34:8 (MSG)

So let me challenge you to join me in picking up your bible, and beginning to develop a new taste for God and what he daily has to say to you.

1.) Fall is here

Fall is my favorite time of year! Why? A lot of reasons, football, cool air and a hot cup of coffee, leaves changing & hoodies!

2.) Friends

I’ve heard it said over and over again that Ministry is lonely! I think at times this statement is very true, but I refuse to let it lead to a way of life. With that said I love the friends that I have, they aren’t willing to sit idly by in my life. They challenge me, they say things that others won’t. I’ve had a couple crucial conversations this week that will shape my life forever because they weren’t afraid to say what needed to be said and not just what I wanted to hear. So don’t do life alone, I won’t!

3.) Candles that smell like food

Should be banned, not burned! Just saying…

4.) Where is your focus (10 gut check ideas) – Perry Noble -

More than the keys to the car, focus might be the easiest thing in the world to lose. Perry wrote an amazing post about Focus. Take a look at this and tell me what you think here are a few

If I focus on my abilities, I will always feel overwhelmed and inadequate…if I focus on WHO God is and WHAT He has done, I will feel confident and secure.

If I focus on my past, I will live in defeat…if I focus on my potential in Christ, I will live in victory.

If I focus on this life, I will have zero urgency to share the Gospel…if I focus on the fact that eternity is reality for every person on the planet, I will do all that I can to share the Gospel with those I claim that I love and care for.

Click here for the full article

1.) JOY

I’ve spent the week doing a lot of reading, and I mean a lot! On Monday I opened my bible to Philippians and began reading then set a tent up and pretty much camped there all week. I’ve been intrigued by the word “Joy” all week. Pastor Dan used to say that “happiness is based on happenings but Joy comes from the Lord” I’ve always believed this but this week it took on a whole new meaning as I did some digging take a look at this:

The Greek word for ‘joy’ is chara, derived from the word charis, which is the Greek word for ‘grace.’ This is important to note, for it tells us categorically that chara is produced by charis of God. This means ‘joy’ is not a human-based happiness that comes and goes…Rather, true ‘joy’ is divine in origin…it is a Spirit-given expression that flourishes best in hard times. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, the Thessalonians were under great stress due to persecution; yet in the midst of it all, they continued to experience great joy. In fact, the Greek strongly implies that their supernatural joy was due to the Holy Spirit working in them. Paul even called it the “joy of the Holy Ghost”. (Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner)

In other words Joy comes from Grace and has absolutely nothing to do with my circumstances or “HAPPENINGS” but is actually made stronger by them because of the unmerited favor and love of God! So as in the case of those in Thessalonica I too can have Joy in spite of my circumstances. COME ON SOMEBODY!

2.) Last Sunday

I can’t, nor do I want to get this mental picture of something that happened last Sunday out of my mind. To see so many families come to the altar and make a stand to take back their families moved me. Then to see the church get behind them and fight for and with them just pumps me up. We’ve got to realize that we’re not called to be in each other’s corners cleaning each other’s cuts and icing the bumps but to be in the ring with each other fighting, fighting for our families.

3.) This Sunday

I believe last Sunday was good but I can’t wait to be together again and see what else God has in store as we continue our Back 2 Family series. If you want to get ahead start go ahead and read the book of Philippians. No I’m not gonna preach the whole book but you’ll enjoy it…

4.) Next Sunday

I’m excited about what God is doing at Journey Church, I’m excited about what God is doing in my life, & I’m excited to have Bishop Dwayne Deskins, my Spiritual Father in the house next Sunday as we finish up the Back 2 Family Series. I believe God has something big for our church and your lives. So do me a favor and bring as many people as you can as we finish up this series with a bang…

Let me explain;

It’s 9pm I’m sitting in my chair working on an upcoming project, Heidi’s doing a little reading on the couch while my kids are, well making each other laugh. My phone rings and it’s my dad, when I realized that I’ve been working since 8am and my response to his “Hey son, what are you doing?” question was simply and predictably “Working”

A short conversation later and I’m digging right back in where I left off.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m definitely not complaining, I absolutely love what I get to do and wouldn’t trade it for the world, it’s just an observation.

I guess what I’m getting at is it all got me thinking. Do you remember before call waiting when you’d dial a number and actually get that annoying busy signal.

I wonder if that’s the sound that God gets when he tries to dial our numbers.

I wonder if we get so busy that we miss something bigger.

“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 2:11 ESV

I don’t want to get to the end of the day and have nothing to show for the busyness of my life.

I don’t want to get to the end of day and realize that all God heard was a busy signal.

What about you?

- Pastor Donovan