Pastor's Blog http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/ Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:30:56 GMT en-us Copyright 2010 Champions Community Church Preaching to myself... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/preaching-to-myself/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/preaching-to-myself/ Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:30:56 GMT I was looking over some old blogposts that I'd made on another site years ago - and do you know what? I caught myself being encouraged by my younger self. I'd like to share with you a few of those old blogposts over the next few weeks... here's the first one, it's called "Always."

_______________________________________

(Posted on January 8, 2008)

"Always"

Jesus You're my everything,
The cross you did that just for me
So whatever you take me through
I promise you, Ill spend my always with you...
Jesus my whole life has changed,
since that day I cried your name,
For every time you brought me through
I promise you, Ill spend my always with you...
-Kirk Franklin

I'm grateful to my friends for putting up with me, my strong opinions, and my know it all attitude.
I'm grateful to my family for every lesson that I've learned from them.
I'm grateful to my parents for raising me in the ways of the Lord.
I'm grateful to many people, for many things - so many that I couldn't possibly mention them all....
But as the days go by, I find that I'm more grateful to Jesus than ever before.

As I search myself, I continually find that I don't measure up. I find more disappointment in myself than I do pleasure.
As I peel back layers of my mind, my will, and my emotions - i find memories, habits, skeletons - things that I'm not happy to admit still live on the inside of me.
The more introspective I get, the more I'm disappointed in myself........

BUT... the beauty of that is....

With every disappointment I find in myself, with every time I find that I fall short, with every habit that I can't seem to break - I become more grateful to the God who created me and sent His Son to earth to bear the shame of my disappointments. From creation He knew exactly who I was going to be - everything that I would struggle with and every time I would fall short... and He still took my place in sin, in shame, in death.

Jesus You truly are my everything - there are no words to explain the emotion welling up inside of me as I look at the ugliness of me, and think about the beauty of your mercy and love. My whole life is changed every time I cry to you. No tear is lost in your presence. My comfort when people turned their back on me. My solace in losing my best friend and my big brother - You have never failed to be all that I need. Forgive me for focusing on the here and now, and not on what is most important - Your will. You've brought me through so many of my messes - you've seen me through so many dark times. You rejoice with me when I win, and you are standing beside me, waiting to pick me up when I lose. You see me when I rise, and when I fall - and yet your love for me never changes.

There is no life outside of You - You're my everything.
There is no joy without You - You're my everything.
There is no peace without You - You're my everything.
There is no hope without You - You're my everything.
I never want to see another tomorrow without You - You're my everything.

So, whatever You take me through, for everything You've brought me through - I'll spend my always with You. 

]]> A Lion in the Bush http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/a-lion-in-the-bush/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/a-lion-in-the-bush/ Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:15:12 GMT This past Wednesday night, at our midweek Bible study, CCC was graced with a message from Bishop Peter of Kenya, Africa. His message was an incredibly encouraging one, focusing on the story of Ruth and Naomi. Towards the end of the message he told a story about a Lion in the Bush - and it was powerful!

Check out the video of the story below...

The 4 main points that the story illustrates are these:

1. The Lion never retreats
2. The Lion never looks back
3. The Lion is generous
4. The Lion always knows where his tribe is

I've made a fresh commitment to be a lion in the kingdom of God... looking forward to God's plan for my future, never retreating in the face of uncertainty, giving abundantly and never forgetting my brothers and sisters in Christ.

How about you? Are you a lion in the zoo or a lion in the bush? 

]]> sometimes you just don't feel it... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/sometimes-you-just-dont-feel-it/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/sometimes-you-just-dont-feel-it/ Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:38:55 GMT You know, as I checked the CCC homepage, as I often do - I became ashamed at how long it had been since my last blogpost... I mean, surely I've got something to say more than just once overy 3 or 4 months, I am a preacher after all, right?

Honestly, I just haven't felt "it" ("it" being the drive to type a new blogpost)... and because I haven't felt "it" I haven't been blogging. Simple statement, I know (and I bet you're wondering why I'm telling you all of this - be patient, you'll find out) but think about the ramifications of that. Think about all of the things we would be putting off if we only did them when we "felt like it."

  • I'd never go to the doctor
  • I'd never get out of bed
  • I'd never shave (some would argue that I never do)
  • I'd never pay another bill ;)
  • I probably wouldn't pray nearly as much (you wouldn't either!)
  • I probably wouldn't show up at work most of the time...

...and the list goes on and on - you could spend the next 2 hours populating this list (only if you felt like it, of course). But you get my point, right? Our lives wouldn't be nearly as organized, we wouldn't be nearly as healthy, happy, or pleasant to be around if we only did those things we felt like doing. There comes a time when you just have to do something - even when you don't feel like it, that's part of growing up. 

The mature person does what is necessary - even when they don't feel it. I would encourage you to take stock of your life, more specifically your spiritual life. Don't keep putting off the necessary (prayer, fasting, reading, devotion, giving, worship, etc.), based on "not feeling it." The reward of doing the necessary far outweighs that of only doing the exciting.

So, take stock of your situation - what should you be doing, that you're not doing right now? You'll receive the greatest benefit of all from it - but many others will benefit as well. (As I hope that you have benefitted from this simple thought)

God Bless,
Chase 

]]> Read the entire Bible in 90 days... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/read-the-entire-bible-in-90-days/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/read-the-entire-bible-in-90-days/ Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:45:44 GMT I believe it is impossible for us to grow as Christians unless we develop a love for the word of God. After all, a love for the word is a love for Jesus - John 1 tells us that He IS the word. On the flip side of that coin, it could be said that apathy towards the word is truly apathy towards Jesus. I pray that as an individual you would develop a passion to read and study God's word, because it is the first step to prosperity, not only spiritually, but in every way. Check out what Joshua says:

Joshua 1:8
8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

I was doing some browsing around the web earlier this morning and I found something that I think would benefit you tremendously - it's a plan called B90X (an obvious play off P90X); but what B90X is is a program to read through the entire Bible in 90 days. I believe that if you'll take this challenge, to get your spirit man in shape, that you will see prosperity and success in almost every area of your life!

Check out B90X HERE!

And remember to let me know if you take up this challenge, and keep me updated on what God is doing in your life through this program!

-Chase

]]> Do Something With The Wasted Space... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/do-something-with-the-wasted-space/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/do-something-with-the-wasted-space/ Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:59:53 GMT What an exciting few weeks around CCC! There is so much going on that it's hard to pick a highlight... We've baptized around a dozen people in the last month, the kids and the teens have had life-changing experiences around the altar at Summer Camp, Friday Night Block parties have kept growing as we've gone into Summer - but, if I had to pick one highlight from the past few weeks, it would have to be something that just happened last week - we established a brand new coffee shop and cafe, called Common Ground Cafe.

I know what you're thinking - A coffee shop? More important than baptisms? More important than Friday night evangelism? More important than life changing moments around the altar?
Now, before you get too far into thinking I've lost it completely - let me explain.

Almost 5 years ago we moved into our current location, and when we moved in we had a specific purpose and plan for every square foot of building space - there wasn't a room that didn't have a very important, specific purpose... but something happened. When we moved in, we had to get adjusted to having much larger facilities, meaning more rooms to manage, more carpet to clean, more grass to cut, more programs to plan, etc... and at first, it was quite overwhelming! While we were getting adjusted to the new building, some of our specific plans for designated rooms got fuzzy, and some completely disappeared! One of those rooms in particular was a pretty large area of space just off of the main entrance - where, we had a couch and few pictures hanging, but no one ever really "used" that space. For 5 years that room has lied almost dormant as we went about the business of the kingdom of God...

Well, this past week a few CCC staffers got an idea to transform that room, to finally give that space a specific purpose - and the specific purpose, a coffee shop. We didn't have a whole lot of "coffee shop/cafe" furniture, but we decided to use what we had - and I'll be honest, the first inception on the first day was quite sad! But something amazing happened, that next night, a Wednesday night, a few folks saw what we were trying to do and they got excited about it - they brought their ideas, and their expertise to the table and we began to devise an even bigger plan - we didn't want just a little coffee shop, but a full cafe experience, complete with patio and all. We put our heads together, came up with an action plan and then went to work... we  spent Thursday and Friday bargain shopping for patio furniture, restaurant supplies, paint and more - and by the end of Friday night we had a totally transformed space - that empty room, with bland, vanilla walls, and a single couch was turned into a hiply designed and painted space with cafe tables and an adjoining patio (on the alleyway in between the two buildings. This space was formerly used for a whole bunch of NOTHING!) And Sunday morning, when we unveiled it to the church it was a BIG HIT! The people were lined up to get coffee and breakfast food, but more importantly than that, Common Ground Cafe brought people together; they were laughing, joking, talking about the goodness of God and more!

What am I trying to say... well, I had to say all that to make the point I really want to get to... In the beginning there was a purpose for every room in our new facilities, but somewhere along the way, in the hustle and bustle of ministry work, some of those specific plans were put on the back-burner... and a single room, which once had a purpose, was sitting dormant, wasted - until someone did something with it.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

From the beginning, before we were ever born, God had a specific plan for our lives - for every aspect of our lives... but more often than not, in the hustle and bustle of life, we lose sight of the specific plan He has for us. Ideas, abilities, talents that God designed for us to use in a specific way for Him wind up on the back burner as dormant and wasted space in our lives. 

I want to challenge you to "do something with the wasted space." You might just find a Cafe' where an old dark room used to be, and a beautiful patio where an old dirty alleyway once was! Don't let God's plan for your life fall out of sight, but bring it to the forefront of your mind. He has a designated plan for you - and it's a good plan, a plan that will prosper you as you use it to prosper His kingdom. This week, as you pray, talk to God about His specific plan for your life, and when you locate the dormant, wasted space in your life - DO SOMETHING WITH IT!

Here's a few pics of "Common Ground Cafe" that I snapped with my phone (it's still under construction, but you can see what I mean!)
Cafe1
cafe3
Cafe4
and the alleyway turned patio...
Cafe2 

]]> Point of View... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/point-of-view/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/point-of-view/ Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:46:30 GMT Check out the video yall.... it will give you a great point of view look at one of the night concerts, this one at Wingfield Comprehensive School. The teenagers out here have a VERY VERY dim view of Christians... Earlier today we asked the students what were some qualities of Christians, and some of their responses were: "Stupid", "Weird", "Boring", "Judgmental", and many more derogatory terms - and this wasnt just one student's opinion, this was the overwhelming majority's opinion. These night events serve to change the minds of the teenagers about Christianity - giving them living proof that being a Christian is not some old fashioned, boring way of life.

Check out the video....

]]> a TRIP at the Roche Abbey Ruins... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/a-trip-at-the-roche-abbey-ruins/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/a-trip-at-the-roche-abbey-ruins/ Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:24:09 GMT We made a quick trip on some downtime to a 12th Century Abbey, the Roche Abbey Ruins. It was an amazing trip, just in awe of what people constructed for the worship of God so long ago - before power tools, cranes, or hydraulic machines. So thankful to Pastor George (who you'll see on the video) for taking time out to show us some of the country's history!

O yea, you know me... somewhere in the video you will see me make a complete fool out of myself! lol enjoy, and comment

-chase

]]> We MADE It, but God was already here... http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/we-made-it-but-god-was-already-here/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/we-made-it-but-god-was-already-here/ Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:06:24 GMT hey folks!!!

It was a mad dash to the airport after the great service we had Sunday morning! About 14 hours later I touched down in Manchester, UK - and caught the train to the great Metropolis of Rotherham, England ;) Things are going well, we've already seen several folks accept Jesus Christ, and we're praying and believing that many more will throughout the rest of our time here. Check out the video below... and bookmark this page, I'll be updating it as often as possible!!!

love yall,

chase

]]> Hands Free http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/hands-free/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/hands-free/ Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:04:49 GMT Soooooo, my Mom got a new car recently, it's pretty cool - it's loaded with features - all of which are very cool, most of which we will never use...

Here are a few of the best ones:
  • The top feature in my eyes is the feature that keeps you in your own lane - hands free! Say it's the middle of the night, and you're on a long road trip... and you start to doze off. (Maybe you should pull over and get a room) But maybe you're hard-headed and so you keep on driving. The car will actually keep you in your lane, thus keeping you from running off the road and killing yourself! (You know I had to test it out - it actually works)
  • Another cool feature, one that I'm too freaked out to test... the car has a feature that will keep you from running into the car in front of you. If it senses that you are approaching something at a high rate of speed, and you're not braking, the car will begin to slow down and come to a stop for you - hands free! (well, technically, foot free)
  • The car will record up to 5,000 songs from CD's and play them by voice activation - totally hands free!
  • It will also call people from your cell phone by just saying their name - hands free!


    • Being that neither of my parents are "technology savvy," I have been the one who is charged with figuring out how everything works, and then teaching them how to use the features. (Sidebar, I'm also the one who loads contacts/speed dials into cell phones)

    Anyways, I got to thinking about all this hands free stuff... the first thing I remembered, was this hilarious commercial....

    lol - and i'll try to lay out my next thoughts in the remaining paragraphs of this blog...

    We are a hands free people. If we can do it by voice activation we will not lay a hand on it; maybe it's the convenience, maybe it's just how cool it is, but we are obsessed with being "hands free". I don't guess there's really anything wrong with it (except for making us increasingly lazy :) )... but then again, as the video illustrates, this hands free approach doesn't translate into every area of life - this is especially true in our spiritual lives.

    We want a "hands free" faith. We want a gospel that makes our life easier, a "lazy man's faith", a gospel that serves us, and doesn't necessarily encroach on our day to day lives. A gospel that we don't necessarily have to put our hand to: a voice activated gospel, if you will. 

    Maybe we've found ourself getting out of our lane, maybe we're moving too fast towards a collision, whatever the case may be... we then try to voice activate God. 
    "God, get me back in the right lane...", or, "God, get me out of this situation..."
    We try and try to "voice activate" God, and then we somehow think that our faith or our God is defective when we collide with the troubles in life.

    Or, some people would tell us that we can never speak a negative word... that maybe, if we speak enough positive words, everything will just work itself out. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in speaking negativity and I think it's the wise person who has a positive word on his tongue but if that's all we have, then we don't have much. Words without action do not get God's attention. If we never put our hand to our faith, we will never see the results of our faith.
    Faith is not simply something that we talk about, faith is something we DO.
    It is not a passive possession, but rather an aggressive action.

    Faith is not voice activated, faith is not hands free, in fact faith is only activated when we put our "hand to the plow."

      Hebrews 11 (Check out all the action words here...)
    • v4 "By faith Abel offered"
    • v7 "By faith Noah... moved with Godly fear, prepared an ark..."
    • v8 "By faith Abraham obeyed..."
    • v17 "By faith Abraham offered up Isaac..."
    • v24 "By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter..."
    • v27 "By faith he forsook Egypt..."
    • v29 "By faith they entered the red sea..."


    As we see - FAITH IS ACTION! I heard a great preacher say,
    "Faith is not saying you believe in God, faith is acting like you believe in God."

    Yea, it's more convenient to think that we can voice activate God - but it doesn't yield results.
    Yea, it looks way cooler to walk around talking about big faith, rather than quietly going about the "work" of the gospel.
    Yea, putting our hand to faith will encroach on our lives - it is supposed to overtake our lives.
    No, putting our hand to faith will not be comfortable - it was never meant to be.

    But it is when we put our hand to the plow of faith and start to act on God's word - that is when we get his attention. That is when he sees that we are serious about Him. That is when we begin to see the results of faith. That is when God's promises begin to become a reality in our lives.

    So, turn your faith on, but it wont by happen by just talking about it. Make a fresh commitment to God, and then act on that commitment. Hands free cars are cool, hands free faith is a dream.

    • Talk to your coworker about Christ.
    • Pick up a family who doesn't have a ride to church.
    • Teach a Sunday School class.
    • Get in the choir.


    Whatever you do, JUST DO IT!!!

    -chase

     

    ]]>         Always http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/always/ http://www.championscc.org/pastors-blog/always/ Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:30:11 GMT rebirth of kirk

    Jesus You're my everything,
    The cross you did that just for me
    So whatever you take me through
    I promise you, Ill spend my always with you...
    Jesus my whole life has changed,
    since that day I cried your name,
    For every time you brought me through
    I promise you, Ill spend my always with you...
    -Kirk Franklin

    I'm grateful to my friends for putting up with me, my strong opinions, and my know it all attitude.
    I'm grateful to my family for every lesson that I've learned from them.
    I'm grateful to my parents for raising me in the ways of the Lord.
    I'm grateful to many people, for many things - so many that I couldn't possibly mention them all....
    But as the days go by, I find that I'm more grateful to Jesus than ever before.

    As I search myself, I continually find that I don't measure up. I find more disappointment in myself than I do pleasure.
    As I peel back layers of my mind, my will, and my emotions - i find memories, habits, skeletons - things that I'm not happy to admit still live on the inside of me.
    The more introspective I get, the more I'm disappointed in myself........

    BUT... the beauty of that is....

    With every disappointment I find in myself, with every time I find that I fall short, with every habit that I can't seem to break - I become more grateful to the God who created me and sent His Son to earth to bear the shame of my disappointments. From creation He knew exactly who I was going to be - everything that I would struggle with and every time I would fall short... and He still took my place in sin, in shame, in death.

    Jesus You truly are my everything - there are no words to explain the emotion welling up inside of me as I look at the ugliness of me, and think about the beauty of your mercy and love. My whole life is changed every time I cry to you. No tear is lost in your presence. My comfort when people turned their back on me. My solace in losing my best friend and my big brother - You have never failed to be all that I need. Forgive me for focusing on the here and now, and not on what is most important - Your will. You've brought me through so many of my messes - you've seen me through so many dark times. You rejoice with me when I win, and you are standing beside me, waiting to pick me up when I lose. You see me when I rise, and when I fall - and yet your love for me never changes.

    There is no life outside of You - You're my everything.
    There is no joy without You - You're my everything.
    There is no peace without You - You're my everything.
    There is no hope without You - You're my everything.
    I never want to see another tomorrow without You - You're my everything.

    So, whatever You take me through, for everything You've brought me through - I'll spend my always with You.

     

    -chase

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