Why Students Need a Soul Revolution

I'm so excited about this Soul Revolution series and how God is changing me. He's drawing me closer, and pushing me to grow in some great ways.

As I've been preparing for our "REORIENT" service tomorrow, I'm particularly struck by the relevance of this series, and this message, for our students.

There are certain stages of life where we are in phases of radical re-orientation. In many ways, and for many young people, life up through age 18 is a pretty steady course. Yes, you have the ups and downs of growing up and maturing and hitting puberty and stuff like that. Perhaps your parents separated so you have had to deal with that radical re-orientation. But for many, their lives are very packaged and protected during that phase.

Then they hit the college or university years. They have to reorient almost everything in their lives- location, finances, relationships, life goals and dreams. They are told, "these are the best years of your life- live it up and have a blast." And that pressure only adds to the fact that they are miserable and stressed out and messed up and can’t pull it together.

Who are you, where are you, what are you going to do with your life? You are disoriented and you need to figure some things out that are going to re-orient your life and get you to a place where you can hold some ideas and believes that are going to make sense, be truthful, and help you navigate life.

The student years are perhaps the most challenging years of dis-orientation. (Why else would they have so many freshmen orientation courses?) But the real goal should not be to orient our lives to the university, but to God. And when we are oriented to God, he will navigate our way through our studies, relationships, career plans, etc.

So students, get on board with the Soul Revolution Train!

Dis-oriented and Re-oriented

Just a few thoughts as I'm preparing my message for Sunday...

When we talk about our orientation in life we are talking about our integrated set of ideas and beliefs.

When we talk about re-orientation, we are talking about doing something that is very difficult.


We are talking about stepping out of ourselves, examining our ideas and beliefs which guide and ground our lives, and making fundamental changes. To literally say- "This idea, this belief, this conviction which has guided me, perhaps for a life time, perhaps in very powerful ways, needs changed, or even removed. It is wrong, it is misleading, it is even a lie, in opposition to the truth."

Misguided and misleading orientations need removed and replaced. But the truth is we all need to be engaged in this process as a spiritual discipline. I need to re-orient my life around God, and all that is true.

For example. Perhaps your whole life has been oriented around the conviction that a good education leads to a good job which leads to good money which leads to comfort which removes stress and worry, which leads to happiness, and leads to retirement, which leads to a condo in Arizona, which leads to ultimate joy, which leads to death. None of that is necessarily wrong or misleading.

But what if on that path you get a great education, but your education is void of a moral framework. SO you take a job that pays you vast amounts of money. But in that work, since you are guided simply but the highest return, you legitimize all sorts of lying, cheating, and basically stepping on or over other people. You need to re-orient your life.

Or say along that line you discover more money actually leads to more stress, because just following the stats, you are becoming one of those unhappy, medicated and messed up successful people. You need to re-orient your life.

Reorienting our lives to point us toward God is not always easy, and is often difficult. But it is always best, and ultimately leads to the best way of living. Re-orienting our lives toward God gets our nose up and out of the daily grind, and points us towards a better horizon.

Is your live oriented towards God? Are you on course? Or are you deep in uncharted territory?

Soul Revolution: RENEW

...Over and over again the people of God were called to remember who God is, what God had done for them, and what God promised to do for them. It was a way or remembering God’s faithfulness in the past to build faith for what He do in the future. On these occasions the people would renew their vows to God. Abraham renewed the covenant with God when his son was born after 20 years of waiting, at 100 years of age. Moses renewed the covenant before the people took possession of the Promised Land. Joshua renewed the covenant when it was time for him to pass on the torch of leadership to the next generation. Over and over again we see this as a essential part of worshiping God and being his people. It wasn’t that God forget, it is that we do. We need these occasions.

At one point in the history of God’s people they had forgotten the covenant for so long that the book of Deuteronomy, ironically the covenant renewal document Moses wrote, had actually been lost! A young king named Josiah took the throne and when, in a building project, the scroll of the law was discovered, he said this…

1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD -to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. 2 kings 23:1-3

Listen to the message at connectionschurch.ca or read the manuscript at cccsermons.blogspot.com

January Series: Soul Revolution

What is the human soul? What do people mean when they say they want to be “spiritual?”
This January we are going to revolutionize what it means to be spiritual.
Join us as we get in touch with our soul and the One who meets us there.

This Sunday at Connections Community Church,
9:30am Cafe
10am Experience
SilverCity Movie Theatre, Masonville Mall

Giving Presence...

Gift Ideas For Relational Giving

The gift of time –

• Create a fun certificate stating the gift of time you want to give, for example, help with a project around the house or help with errands. Bring coffee, tea of lunch and flowers when you come, be intentional about really connecting while you’re together!

Here are some ideas for spending time together:
• Wrap popcorn, gourmet root-beer and a classic DVD for a movie night with a friend
• Host a Hockey Night in Canada party and make homemade pizza
• Wrap 2 copies of a used classic book to read with a friend
• Bundle up, grab a hot chocolate and take a walk through the Christmas lights in Victoria Park with friends or family

Give creative coupons:
• Babysitting for a worn out sister-in-law, sibling or neighbour
• Yard work for an elderly person in you life
• Massage for that person who has been working a bit too hard lately
• Road trip to go on an out-of-town adventure with your child
• Car maintenance to change the oil in a friend’s car (if you know now)
• House project to help build a shed, clean the garage, closets etc.

Give a certificate for a day together doing something that person is passionate about:
• A new bat and a trip to the batting cages
• A new guitar strap and trip to the guitar center to play guitars together
• A day trip with your cameras for the photographer friend
• A day hike together, you bring the lunch

Things to make with the kids:
• Simple scrapbook with pictures of time with the person you’re giving it to
• A home “published” story, written and illustrated by the kids, the time you spend with the kids creating it is priceless
• A DVD of your life these days for long distance friends and family

Ask yourself:

“What can I DO?” “What do they like to do?”

A side note:
This isn’t about creating a bunch of new rules to be legalistic about for Christmas. It’s ok to spend some money (in fact sometimes creating something cool can be much more expensive – so be aware of that) don’t create a whole separate set of pressures, worry and guilt by feeling like you can’t spend a dime. Just step out of the consumerism, be thoughtful and enjoy the celebration!

Don’t forget to visit www.rethinkingchristmas.com for ideas from people around the world.

The Advent Conspiracy

This Sunday we kick off our December series- The Advent Conspiracy.
Watch the video to get an idea of where we're going.
It's a kind of grass roots movement. Here's what the website says...

Christmas can (still) change the world...

The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.

So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.

As a grass roots movement there is no prescribed way to take part- that kind of the point.
So this month this will be our slant...

December 7- Worship Fully, Worry Less
December 14- God in Skin
December 21- Hope Has It's Reason
December 20- The New Year Conspiracy

Don't miss out- join the revolution this Sunday!

I've been Wordled

Robin "Wordled" my last sermon series. Here's what came out...


Check it out at http://www.wordle.net/

Melissa's Story

Melissa gave permission to post her story on my blog...

"I wanted to share a little bit of my story with you today. I started attending Connections a while back not because I truly wanted to but because I wanted to make my in-laws happy and I also wanted my children to learn about God to help instill the values in them that will help them be good people in the world we live in.

I felt out of place at first, like I didn't belong - I had built up a wall around my heart that seemed would not or could not come down. There are probably many reasons for that - we all have our hurts and experiences of the past. But then something started to happen, I started to re-examine my life and realized that as good as my marriage was and as wonderful as our family is...something was missing.

There was a baptism service several weeks ago where George had invited people to come forward and be baptized if they felt the desire to do so. At that moment I wanted to come forward so bad but I was afraid and I was ashamed because I felt I was not worthy somehow. I wept that entire service for reasons I could not understand or explain, I didn't know what was happening to me. That night I didn't sleep, I couldn't turn off the questions and excitement that filled my head as the Lord's spirit was entering my life.

By the morning it was like a wave had crashed over me and all I could do was surrender my life to God and know that my heart, my marriage, my family, my entire live would be forever changed and it was such a wonderful feeling. I had heard of this spiritual awakening happening to other people but I honestly never believed it to be true until it happened to me.

So now I stand here ready to give my life fully to God, to ask for forgiveness and be washed clean and continue to live a new life reborn in faith and to celebrate knowing without a shadow of a doubt that no matter what happens in my life, I will never be alone. I am also truly blessed to experience this with Lukas and Owen as well. We were not in the spiritual place we are today when our boys were born. Through the grace of God their lives will be forever changed as well.

To quote my son Lukas, "The water will wash away all the bad things we have done (like hitting my brother) and we get a new heart that believes in and loves Jesus."


Melissa loves this song that her husband Fred shared with her. So we threw it into the service as well..

Sorry: The Game of Sweet Revenge

Fredrick Beuchner wrote-

of all the deadly sins resentment, or anger, appears to be the most fun. To lick your wounds and savor the pain you will give back is in many ways a feast fit for a king. But in the end it turns out that what you are eating at the banquet of bitterness is your own heart. The skeleton at the feast is you. You start out holding a grudge, but in the end the grudge holds you!

Listen to the whole sermon online at www.connectionschurch.ca or read the manuscript at cccsermons.blogspot.com

Sorry: The Game of Sweet Revenge

I think I need to say "I'm sorry" in advance of this coming Sunday.
We're in our "Game of Life" series.
Two weeks ago we talked about playing around with sex, and that applies to just about everyone.
Last week week looked at money, and again, everyone has to deal with and manage money.

But this week we are looking at "Sorry: The Game of Sweet Revenge."
So I have to apologize that this won't apply to many people.
Because very few people have ever felt hurt by someone.
Very few have ever had something unfair said about them or done to them.
And certainly, very few of us have ever entertained thoughts of anger, bitterness, and the desire for revenge.

But for the few of us who have ever looked inside ourselves and realized we've wrestled with these thoughts; for those of us who can confess that we've actually fantasized about getting some sweet payback or seeing someone "get what's coming to them," maybe this message will mean something to you.

(And if it isn't totally obvious yet- I think this message may be the most important message I've ever given at Connections. You don't want to miss this!)

The Game of LIFE: Twister!

I just finished the first draft of my manuscript for Sunday's message,

"Twister: Playing with Sex"

And let me assure you, this is definitely rated PG, maybe even PG-13.

This message is going to knock your socks off!! (That pun was definitely intended!)
We are going to talk about this game of sex and how it's played right. We will talk about winning this game, because God made sex and has a plan and purpose in making us sexual beings. This won't be graphic, but it will be real.

Singles and young people- you want to hear this message. This is not a game you want to lose- too much is at stake.

Parents, we are adding a classroom for our adolescents. For your kids under 10, you may want to take advantage of this.

See you Sunday!

The Game of LIFE: Trivial Pursuit

November 2, 2008

The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the teacher.
Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2

This month we are going to look at how we play certain games, and in looking at how we play these games I think we are going to learn more about ourselves than countless hours of conversation. I think that as we examine how we play certain areas of life, we are going to uncover a lot of stuff inside of us. A lot of stuff that we might not be aware of. A lot of stuff that has gone unexamined in our lives. Stuff that impacts what we think about ourselves and how we play out our lives. We are going to look into some very specific games that will reveal some very specific things in us.

But the things we are talking about are not ultimate just a bunch of "games." Losing is really going to cost you. Losing can even cost you your life. SO we are going to look at how these games are played, what are the rules, what's at stake, what losing means, and what winning will look like. We want you to win in every one of these areas of life!

We are going to look at Twister: Playing with Sex. How we play out sex is going to tell us a whole lot about what we think of ourselves, others, relationships and life. PLEASE TAKE NOTE- this will be rated PG-13. We will be offering an extra classroom next week in one of our theatres for your children.

We are looking at Monopoly- Playing with Money. How we play with our finances is going to reveal so much about our values.

We are looking at SORRY- the game of sweet revenge. WOW, this is going to shed light on our view of relationships and forgiveness.

Finally we are looking at one of my favorites- RISK- the game of world domination. In this message I’m going to reveal my personal plan for world domination- just kidding. I’m not revealing that plan just yet.

But we start by taking a more birds eye view, looking at a classic game- Trivial Pursuit.

This morning as we talk I want you to consider two game boxes- one is titled Trivial Pursuit, just like the game. The other here is called Meaningful Pursuit. Obviously, I want you to see this as an analogy of your life. And as we talk this morning, I want you to consider which box better represents the way you are playing the game of life. Which game are you really working at- is the sum total of your life a game of Trivial Pursuit?
Or is the sum total of your life a Meaningful Pursuit?

Listen to the sermon at www.connectionschurch.ca

The Game of LIFE

Hey Connectors,

This Sunday, November 2, 2008, we kick off our "Game of LIFE" series.
We'll be talking about a classic game each week, and how it relates to the game of life. This Sunday it's "Trivial Pursuit." What are the trivial things that consume so much of our lives, and what is the most "meaningful pursuit" of our lives.

I promise that everyone who comes out to play is gonna leave a winner this Sunday!

GLORI(FIED)

October 26, 2008

Finish this statement: No guts…

No GLORY. There is something very powerful, very attractive about GLORY- something or someone or some event that is truly GLORIOUS. It draws us in and invites us to celebrate.

Listen to the message at www.connectionschurch.ca or read at cccsermons.blogspot.com

Message Topics/Texts

Hey Connectors,

I am genuinely interested in your input here- what are the pressing needs in our lives? What are the burning issues of our day? I want to know!

Let me get this started by telling you a few things that go through my mind as I sit down to write a sermon. Of course what I'm about to write is always tempered with the eternal truth that you can't address every person all the time. But still, I prayerfully think about the following things when I get ready to sermonize:

1. Love God; Love People. The message should always convey both of these foundational truths.
2. Truth wins. I am held accountable to teach the bible, whether it comforts or convicts.
3. Someone here doesn't know Jesus- how can I introduce Him?
4. Someone here is ready to believe- how can I invite him/her?
5. Someone here is ready to take the next step- how can I inspire him/her?
6. Will junior high kids get this? (I find this a very powerful question to ask myself)
7. Everyone needs faith, hope, love and forgiveness.
8. Many people, more than I think, are trapped in addiction, guilt and depression.
9. What's the big idea people will walk away with?
10. How will the big idea be applied/understood within 24 hours?*

*A final note on number 10. Some sermons deal with a proposition truth: How will someone embrace this life-changing truth? Other sermons are more about practical application: How will someone apply this life-changing principle?

Join the discussion in our Facebook group.

JUSTI(FIED)

Series: (FIED)
Sunday, October 12, 2008

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Those who have been reborn by the Spirit, who have repented of their sins, who have put their faith in Jesus, now stand justified before God. Not because of anything we do, but by the faith we hold. We don’t earn it, we don’t achieve, we simply receive it. Jesus says I have a right relationship with God, and through me you will have a right relationship with God. This is the next vital movement of the Christian life- to exercise this faith in our relationship with God.

This is the one thing that is required of us- faith. It is what God desires from us. It is what God requires of us. This is overstating the case, it is the one thing that is really required on our part. It is the start, following our rebirth, of our relationship with God...

Listen to the message at www.connectionschurch.ca or read the manuscript at cccsermons.blogspot.com

PETRI(FIED)

Series: (FIED)
Sunday, October 5, 2008

Many of you have met my daughter Eden. Everyone who meets her knows she’s a very special girl. With our first pregnancy we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl. So I prayed that if we had a girl she’d be Godly, and smart, and beautiful like her mom; and that if we had a boy he’d be Godly, and smart and great looking and athletic and funny and charming and musical and artistic… like his mom. Thanks be to God and by His grace, all my kids take after their mom. But perhaps none more so than Eden. But Eden is really very special. Eden is a millennium baby. Eden was born January 1, 2000. We always tell her that the whole world celebrated her birth.

Now Eden was our first baby so we had nothing else to compare her birth. We had some friends call us right at midnight while we were in labor and Robin says she remembers through the contractions and the agony she was enduring, hearing me say- “Oh yeah we’re having a blast!” Let me tell you it was a real blast. First off, Eden had been due nearly two weeks earlier, and I thought I was going to get a big fat tax write off for all of 1999. Instead I got a big fat bill. (I’m still gonna make her pay for that someday.) But not only did the pregnancy drag on, so did the delivery. Hour after hour after hour began to tick away. Soon a whole day went by, and we went well into the next day, 40 hours of labor. All our hopes and plans for a natural birth went out the window.

You see, Eden was posterior...

Listen at www.connectionschurch.ca or read at cccsermons.blogspot.com

Our first Baptism

There can be only one "first."

Our first baptism at Connections was of Mr. Michael King.
I asked Mike to share a few words in the service.
I know Mike to be one of the funniest, most gregarious guys around.
But I didn't know he could be so eloquent. There were few dry eyes after his brief testimony...

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Michael.

There are infinite reasons for me standing here but I wish to share just one, one that I believe to be the foundation of this road I have chosen. The road that I have followed, and got lost so many times along the way.

That one reason is so simple, yet so profound. That I love the Lord, and that I trust that the lord loves me back.

I choose today to be washed of my sin and I choose that my daughter Lailah, and my Wife Andrea, grow in the knowledge that they are loved and protected by our God.

I would like to read to you Philippians 3 vs 13 and 14. These two very short sentences shot out at me the other day.

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win a prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I would Like to end off with saying, Thank you Lord for all you have given me and for the gift of washing me clean of my sin.

Thank you so much! Amen

Wi

Series: Wiii Church
September 14, 2008

Hebrews 10 tells us this,

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Now let me put this into a framework for us. This comes from a book called the Connecting Church, and it’s about to become our way of doing the church together in small groups. There are three ingredients that have to be in place for a group of people to connect. Three ingredients to really become a connecting church: Common Purpose, Common Place, and Common Possessions. Please don’t freak about that last one yet (I’ll freak you out about that later!)...

Listen to the sermon online or read the manuscript at cccsermons.blogspot.com

W

1 Corinthians 12:27 tells us, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” That’s what we’re talking about the next four weeks.

... it is through this connection with God that we become connected with one another, and when we are connected to one another, we become what the bible calls the church. And thus the church is “me,” but it is so much more than just me, it is “we.”

We are Canadians and Americans, and Camericans like my family!
We are young and old,
men and women,
rich and poor,
Red and yellow, black and white, and some even have the orange tan thing.
We are educated and uneducated,
left brained and right brained and no brained,
capable and handicapped.
We are Liberals and Conservatives.
We are athletes and book worms.
Leafs fans and Senators fans, and maybe even some of us who care way more about football.
We are the mature in faith, and new in faith,
traditional and contemporary,
Orthodox and Catholic,
Reformed and Wesleyan,
Baptist and Anabaptist.
We have been monks, and social activists.
We have conscientiously served, and we have conscientiously objected
We have built a city on a hill, and we have entered into the city to heal
We have sinned greatly, and have been greatly forgiven
We have been given much, and we have much still to give
We have loved much, and have many more to love!

We are the church and we are every person, in every corner of the world, who has died, who lives, who are yet to be born, who are IN JESUS CHRIST. That’s it, that’s the primary definition of the church- We are the gathering of everyone who has lived or now lives in Jesus Christ- every person who puts their life in Jesus....

Listen to the sermon online or read the manuscript.