Please allow me to share with you a portion of one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 119:9-40.
9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. 13. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
17. Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. 18. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21. You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. 22. Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23. Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
25. I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word. 26. I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. 27. Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. 28. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. 30. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. 31. I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord; do not let me be put to shame. 32. I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
33. Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. 34. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. 38. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. 39. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. 40. How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.
Thank you Jesus for your powerful Word! May this be our heart cry before the King!
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Rants and Raves!
My heart is bubbling over with excitement and energy today. Please allow me to rant and rave for a few minutes...
God’s Word, the Bible is holy, pure, true, life-giving, and very hard to swallow at times. I have invested over 120 hours of formal graduate and undergraduate study of the Word, and yet, I am still amazed by the rich treasures of God’s Holy Word when I read it!
No matter how many times I pour over a familiar text of scripture, God still brings a freshness to my life from His word. I really encourage you to allow Him to pour over you the riches of His timeless, unchangeable, and infallible word. Paul told it this way to young Pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Now I know that time is a very limited commodity and you may be new to the Bible. I would encourage you to read daily the text of scripture that I preach from on Sunday - you’d be amazed at the rich treasures God will reveal to you as you mediate consistently on the same passage of scripture. Before I preach a text, I normally read it many times to allow God to speak to me from it.
And hey, you could also listen to the podcast of the message on Tuesday of each week to catch more of the word the second time around than when you first heard it. No matter what you do, become a gold digger - read His word - you’ll find that gold is in abundance!
I am also excited about how God has been faithfully manifesting Himself through you. First, VBS was wonderful with at least 8 first graders giving their lives to Jesus! Thank you Kay and thank you all volunteers for allowing Jesus to work through you. Second, the Worship Center renovation project is going great because of you! Don’t forget to check out the new carpet. Third, our initial two small groups are multiplying and it looks like we will exceed our initial goal of 6 by August! I encourage you to get connected to one of these life-giving new groups.
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
God’s Word, the Bible is holy, pure, true, life-giving, and very hard to swallow at times. I have invested over 120 hours of formal graduate and undergraduate study of the Word, and yet, I am still amazed by the rich treasures of God’s Holy Word when I read it!
No matter how many times I pour over a familiar text of scripture, God still brings a freshness to my life from His word. I really encourage you to allow Him to pour over you the riches of His timeless, unchangeable, and infallible word. Paul told it this way to young Pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16,17, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Now I know that time is a very limited commodity and you may be new to the Bible. I would encourage you to read daily the text of scripture that I preach from on Sunday - you’d be amazed at the rich treasures God will reveal to you as you mediate consistently on the same passage of scripture. Before I preach a text, I normally read it many times to allow God to speak to me from it.
And hey, you could also listen to the podcast of the message on Tuesday of each week to catch more of the word the second time around than when you first heard it. No matter what you do, become a gold digger - read His word - you’ll find that gold is in abundance!
I am also excited about how God has been faithfully manifesting Himself through you. First, VBS was wonderful with at least 8 first graders giving their lives to Jesus! Thank you Kay and thank you all volunteers for allowing Jesus to work through you. Second, the Worship Center renovation project is going great because of you! Don’t forget to check out the new carpet. Third, our initial two small groups are multiplying and it looks like we will exceed our initial goal of 6 by August! I encourage you to get connected to one of these life-giving new groups.
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Children and Jesus...
All during this past week, Fellowship Church has been filled with the wonderful sounds of laughter and learning from children of all ages. This week was VBS in the evenings coupled with our work week for the Worship Center renovation project.
Workers did an outstanding job of facilitating a faith-based learning environment for children. Countless hours were invested in transforming our facilities into Son Rock Kids Camp. Thank you Kay for your leadership and thank you volunteers for selflessly serving our future generations!
Concerning children and faith, Jesus said it best this way, “‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” We can learn much from this scripture. Allow me to ask some questions to all of us...
1. Are we allowing children to get to Jesus with our actions and attitudes? Do we take time to listen and share when the opportunity presents iteself?
2. Are we receiving the Kingdom of God like a child? Have we grown too sophisticated to be innocent and humble like a child before Jesus?
3. Are we imparting into the next generation the faith we have received? Have we taken intentional time to invest in those who will follow us?
I hope and pray that these words have encouraged and challenged you. In ways that we have failed, let us remember that the grace of God is there to cleanse and heal. He is the Master of making miracles out of our mistakes.
Thank you once again all volunteers who helped make an eternal difference in the lives of our future!
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
Workers did an outstanding job of facilitating a faith-based learning environment for children. Countless hours were invested in transforming our facilities into Son Rock Kids Camp. Thank you Kay for your leadership and thank you volunteers for selflessly serving our future generations!
Concerning children and faith, Jesus said it best this way, “‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” We can learn much from this scripture. Allow me to ask some questions to all of us...
1. Are we allowing children to get to Jesus with our actions and attitudes? Do we take time to listen and share when the opportunity presents iteself?
2. Are we receiving the Kingdom of God like a child? Have we grown too sophisticated to be innocent and humble like a child before Jesus?
3. Are we imparting into the next generation the faith we have received? Have we taken intentional time to invest in those who will follow us?
I hope and pray that these words have encouraged and challenged you. In ways that we have failed, let us remember that the grace of God is there to cleanse and heal. He is the Master of making miracles out of our mistakes.
Thank you once again all volunteers who helped make an eternal difference in the lives of our future!
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Renovation Realities
My earliest memory of being a part of any type of renovation was when my parents decided to renovate our home. I was a kid at the time and I vividly remember that the renovation took over two years! I also remember that at times, nothing went as planned.
As we are fully immersed in the renovation of the worship center I am pleased to announce to you that it looks like this renovation won’t take two years to complete☺. The realty of this process however has been that not everything has gone as planned. Some things have gone much better, and others have not gone as well.
Through it all we have simply adjusted, rolled with the punches, and kept moving forward with the big picture in mind. And the result has been that things are looking great! As I have been thinking about the renovation of the worship center, it occurred to me that life is a lot like a renovation. Let me share with you what I mean…
In life we start out with great potential and great plans. Then reality hits and some our best plans fail; while others far exceed our expectations. And then on the spiritual side of things at times God appears to be moving so slow in His work through us. And then at other times, we can hardly hang on because He is so tangibly active in and through us.
The reality is that all of us are under a huge renovation plan designed by God. Isaiah 45:9 says it this way, “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?”
The reality of our lives is that through it all we can trust that we serve a great King that has the great master plan for each of us. And whether we feel like it or not, He is busy working His plan out in each one of us. Now that is a renovation reality that makes me smile!
Jane and I love and appreciate each of you!
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
As we are fully immersed in the renovation of the worship center I am pleased to announce to you that it looks like this renovation won’t take two years to complete☺. The realty of this process however has been that not everything has gone as planned. Some things have gone much better, and others have not gone as well.
Through it all we have simply adjusted, rolled with the punches, and kept moving forward with the big picture in mind. And the result has been that things are looking great! As I have been thinking about the renovation of the worship center, it occurred to me that life is a lot like a renovation. Let me share with you what I mean…
In life we start out with great potential and great plans. Then reality hits and some our best plans fail; while others far exceed our expectations. And then on the spiritual side of things at times God appears to be moving so slow in His work through us. And then at other times, we can hardly hang on because He is so tangibly active in and through us.
The reality is that all of us are under a huge renovation plan designed by God. Isaiah 45:9 says it this way, “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?”
The reality of our lives is that through it all we can trust that we serve a great King that has the great master plan for each of us. And whether we feel like it or not, He is busy working His plan out in each one of us. Now that is a renovation reality that makes me smile!
Jane and I love and appreciate each of you!
Loving and Leading,
Jeff Powell
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Moving Forward!
Fellowship Church I was so encouraged by the things that have happened in the last two weeks. Last weekend you did an incredible job at our workday. The Lord, through you, accomplished more than we had anticipated would get done – praise Jesus and thank you for being such a willing vessel!
Last weekend we also made the move to the MPC for one Sunday morning worship service at 11AM. It was a very smooth move and I enjoyed seeing the gym full. It was exciting to see how we have grown numerically. And you could really sense the excitement in the atmosphere. We will continue to meet in the MPC at 11AM on Sunday’s while we renovate the Worship Center.
Recently I have been meditating on the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a vision from the Lord to renovate the city of Jeruselem which ultimately resulted in tremendous revival occurring in their land. Now Nehemiah’s task was not easy and it was not without obstacles, yet through his leadership, they kept at the vision until it was completed. You would be blessed by reading about it in Nehemiah 1-10.
It is the same with us as a church. God has given us a great vision. He is calling us to Awaken to what He is saying to us as His church. Last Sunday I began a new message series called Awaken. The Holy Spirit is speaking loud and clear. Let us have ears to hear and hearts to obey. And if you miss any of the messages, you can now listen to them online by going to our website (www.fellowshiponline.org) and clicking on the “Get the Podcast” button.
Fellowship Church, I am so proud of where we have come from, and I am so excited about where we are going. You and I are a part of a church that is moving forward. We are building upon the solid foundation that has been laid.
Jane and I love and appreciate each of you!
Leading for Change,
Jeff Powell
Last weekend we also made the move to the MPC for one Sunday morning worship service at 11AM. It was a very smooth move and I enjoyed seeing the gym full. It was exciting to see how we have grown numerically. And you could really sense the excitement in the atmosphere. We will continue to meet in the MPC at 11AM on Sunday’s while we renovate the Worship Center.
Recently I have been meditating on the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a vision from the Lord to renovate the city of Jeruselem which ultimately resulted in tremendous revival occurring in their land. Now Nehemiah’s task was not easy and it was not without obstacles, yet through his leadership, they kept at the vision until it was completed. You would be blessed by reading about it in Nehemiah 1-10.
It is the same with us as a church. God has given us a great vision. He is calling us to Awaken to what He is saying to us as His church. Last Sunday I began a new message series called Awaken. The Holy Spirit is speaking loud and clear. Let us have ears to hear and hearts to obey. And if you miss any of the messages, you can now listen to them online by going to our website (www.fellowshiponline.org) and clicking on the “Get the Podcast” button.
Fellowship Church, I am so proud of where we have come from, and I am so excited about where we are going. You and I are a part of a church that is moving forward. We are building upon the solid foundation that has been laid.
Jane and I love and appreciate each of you!
Leading for Change,
Jeff Powell
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