Archives For Church Life

Weekend Highlights

March 10, 2009 — 1 Comment

This weekend at Living Water was another reminder of what a fantastic church we are a part of.  We talked about "Authentic Spirituality" and understanding the undercurrents of Grace.  Here are some of my highlights:

  1. I felt horrible all week and was going down hill through Friday.  (When my 5 year old prayed for me he said, "God, please help daddy to not die, amen".  Usually, when I feel like I did, I loose my voice, not a good situation when you have to speak to hundreds of people.  BUT, after the first service on Saturday night I felt better than I did all week… Miracle
  2. I think people really grasped the idea, that we have to learn to BE before we can DO. 
  3. Grace was poured out!  We all need to embrace His grace daily. I heard from many people who were caught in the VICIOUS DOING CYCLE but BROKE out through Grace this weekend. 
  4. Jesus got all the credit! 
  5. Andy and Bo produced a rad video about Worship, people felt challenged and encouraged. 
  6. Worship was off the hook good.  Props to Pastor Laurel, Cheri S and Dylan and their teams who pulled off a very different, but AWESOME worship set. 

Make sure you show up this coming weekend, we're talking about "Transparent Relationships".  TR are at the CORE of following Jesus and BEING the church. 

In Church Life
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Sexy Christian

February 11, 2009 — Leave a comment

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This past weekend we had the privilege of hosting Dr. Ted and Diane Roberts as they presented their "Sexy Christian" seminar.  Over the past 11 years of marriage and ministry Fawn and I have attended multiple retreats/seminars and heard the topic preached on a zillion times. 

In spite of that God used Ted and Diane to challenge us to revisit key areas of our marriage and take things to the next level.  Pastor Jack Hayford says that you don't start to really settle into your marriage relationship until your tenth anniversary.  That may explain why my bride and I were able to recognize that although we have a really good marriage, God want's us to have a really GREAT marriage. 

Here are some of the highlights from Dr. Ted and Diane:

- Never stop learning in your marriage.
- In a restaurant, you can tell the difference between an old married couple and a dating couple because the old married couple does not talk.  KEY: if you are not constantly becoming a better listener, someone may stop trying to get you to hear them.
-"Floating Anger" = is when unresolved anger becomes detached from a particular incident and becomes present all the time, even if the incident is long in the past.
-The Golden Rule does not help your marriage.  We must learn to love our spouse how they want to be loved, not how we want to be loved.
- Indulging in pornography and masturbation is like turning your back on your spouse and prohibits true intimacy.
- If you don't deal with the wounds from your past, they will impact your marriage.

In Church Life, Family
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A Great Start!

July 28, 2008 — 1 Comment

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We got our new series "Families in the Fast Lane" off to a great start this weekend.  I talked with a lot of people that said the topic (doing family God’s way in a crazy busy world) really hit home.  The Bizzies (left) were a hit (way to go Jeremy and Joy) and a bunch of people are plugging into small groups (props to Kelly).  All together I’m expecting to hear great stories of how God transforms people lives and families over the next 4 weeks.  If you’re following the series and have an encouraging story about something God is doing in your life, let me know!

In Church Life
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VBS “The Craft Room”

July 14, 2008 — Leave a comment


AWESOME!!!

In Church Life
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VBS "The Craft Room"

July 14, 2008 — Leave a comment


AWESOME!!!

In Church Life
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1 more VBS pic…

July 14, 2008 — Leave a comment


In Church Life
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VBS Kick OFF

July 14, 2008 — Leave a comment


It’s a great day for kids to be at VBS!

In Church Life
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OUR CHURCH IN THE PAPER

July 10, 2008 — Leave a comment

Link: Join effort to keep Lakefair vibrant, afloat – Opinion – The Olympian – Olympia, Washington.

Notice the first paragraph on the second page:

But perhaps Barnes’ greatest coup was the partnership he forged with the Church of Living Water, which plans to have hundreds of volunteers helping with Lakefair’s many events next week. That’s incredible.

Way to go church!

In Church Life
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Dr MacArthur and the Full Windsor…

April 1, 2008 — Leave a comment

This is a challenging post from Dr MacArthur.  I’ve been a pastor in this kind of a setting and currently pastor in a very different environment.  What are you thoughts?  By the way, when I did wear a tie to church (and to work for that matter), I prefered a "Full Windsor".  The problem for me was that I had to have an extra long tie to make it work without looking like Steve Urkel.  When was the last time you wore a tie?

By the way, here’s a thoughtful response to Dr MacArthur’s comments… Enjoy.

Link: MondayMorningInsight.com > John MacArthur on Respect in the Pulpit.

John MacArthur on Respect in the Pulpit

Dr. MacArthur writes: "Some people ask, why do I wear a tie? Because I have respect for this responsibility. I wear a suit because this is a more elevated experience for people. I’m trying to convey what people convey at a wedding: this is more serious than any normal activity.

In Church Life
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This is cool…

March 20, 2008 — Leave a comment

Link: livingwater: An inside look….

An inside look…

As you heard last week, the church recently received an answer to prayer, in the form of a gift for our kids, that enabled us to do some much needed upgrades to our CM Facilities. If you want a sneak peak before the big unveiling Easter weekend, take a look… DON’T FORGET TO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS ON EASTER!

In Church Life
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