I always thought I wanted children, but as I grew in Christ I wanted it to be HIS will for my life. So I prayed and journeyed through what He truly wants for me. I had to open myself up to every possibility. Would I birth a child? Would I adopt a child? Would I just have spiritual children? I had to pray through each of these and surrender them to God. And I did. It wasn’t easy, but through this I grew closer to Him. I truly had peace and closure on what God wanted for me and Adam.

I can soon embrace a new line in my favorite passage. Her children arise and call her blessed; Proverbs 31:28a. I encourage you to read all of Proverbs 31.

As I think about becoming a mom, I am reminded of ALL the amazing women in my life that are my moms to me. Yes I have my birth mom, who is wonderful and
I love her dearly, but I have been so blessed to have so many other women be my spiritual mothers. They have taught me so much and have helped to mold me into who I am today.

So to every WOMAN who has loved on a child or mentored another life…Happy Mother’s Day!

Contributor | Jenna Ellis (Children’s Minister)

Romans 8:13 “If BY THE SPIRIT you put to death your sinful desires”

Then it hit me again, I have a Helper. I have the Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth. Has that fact blown you away yet?

If we confess Jesus as Lord then we have the Holy Spirit in our life to guide and help us. Jesus did not leave us as orphans to try and figure out this life.  I don’t know about you but I forget that fact daily and try to be holy on my own power.  It is not in my nature to stop and ask for help but that is the key to living the Christian life.  You and I must ask for help everyday.

But here is the best part, He is not annoyed when we ask.  In fact, Jesus says to ask and to keep on asking.  So it seems to me the reason we struggle is not because we don’t want to change but have not simply gone about it the right way. We must learn to live life “By the Spirit” and that means daily asking for more of His power in our lives.

Right now, stop and ask Jesus to give you more of the Holy Spirit.  Then, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with more of His power.  And repeat.

Here are my sermon notes: TriGod #5: God the Spirit (8)

Our NewComer dinner is a great opportunity to find out more about more about Revolution Church and talk about where we are headed and what next steps newcomers can take to get plugged in. Food and childcare are free and Pastor Jason will talk about the vision and direction of our church. Representatives from our Grow Team, along with our Staff, will also be there to answer any questions. You can register here.

Contributor | Preston Porter (Grow Pastor)

Equally amazing to the doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine of the Incarnation–that Jesus Christ is God and man, yet one person, forever. As J.I. Packer has said: “Here are two mysteries for the price of one–the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. …Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation,” writes contemporary theologian J.I. Packer.

The Incarnation is truly one of the most remarkable events ever in human history and yet a lot of times we don’t give it that much importance.  The co-eternal person of Christ stepped down into human history and dwelt among us.  That is REVOLUTIONARY.  This truly sets Jesus apart from any other religious leader and why for thousands of years Christians have worshipped Him as God.

This is why our vision at Revolution is to LOVE JESUS first and foremost.  If God the Father choose to exalt Jesus in this way and has given Him all authority then I think it is fitting He be our ultimate goal in the church.  There are a lot of things that we measure here but the main thing we care about is that Jesus is supreme.  The way we do ministry should always be changing with the culture but the one thing that must never change is Jesus as Lord.

I may have challenged some assumptions this last weekend but I hope you were able to see why we do things the way we do. Our goal is to GROW PEOPLE which is another way of saying make disciples.  Ultimately, we are not after one time decisions but after people that are growing to be more like Jesus.  And we have found this does not happen without a proper understanding of the Lordship of Jesus.  As God and Man, He has God’s authority over man and we are to submit to Him.  This does not mean that we will not struggle with sin but it does mean we will submit to Him when we do.

For further study about Jesus as God and Man here is a great article: Jesus, God and Man.

Also, here are my sermon notes: TriGod #4: God the Son (15)

To redeem means to buy back or recover something.  From the beginning of time, the Bible tells us God had it in His mind to redeem His people through the sacrifice of His Son. So we should not be surprised that God loves to do this but when we see it so visually it is something to behold.  This week, I was in Orlando teaching at the Exponential Conference with our partner Launch Network.  Any time I am in an environment where there are a lot of church leaders they always want to know how Revolution is doing. My answer is always the same, “Better than it should be.”

The story of Revolution is one of God’s redemption.

God bought back Revolution from sin and is blessing her beyond words.  I have always believed that God would do this but I realized something else this week: it brings God pleasure and glory to redeem.  In God’s Sovereignty, He allowed our church to experience pain so that He could have the pleasure of resurrecting it and giving us new life.  You see, God is being more glorified now through this story than He could have been before.

Revolution, it is hard to fully express to you how our story is changing lives all around the country.  People from all over that I have never met before are constantly coming up to me and saying they have been praying for us.  And when I tell them the story of redemption they are simply speechless. This week I was so humbled and overjoyed that God has allowed me a small part in this story.

My ultimate desire in life is to bring God glory and it finally clicked in me this week.  What brings Him the most glory is when He redeems a sinner like me and then allows me to participate in His bigger story of redemption.  This weekend God is allowing me to once again be a part of this story in a unique way and to be honest it is almost too much to take in.  Well, who am I kidding it is too much to take in and that is way I am overflowing with gratefulness.

Our story is God’s story of redemption.  To God be the Glory.

1. There is One God
2. God is three distinct eternal persons: Father, Son, Spirit
3. Each person is fully God

God is three in one or one in three.  It is easy to err on one side of the doctrine and dismiss the other.  In fact, all religions are based on one or the other.  Most think that there is either one God or multiple gods but Christianity is the only faith that teaches the Trinity.  A lot of people will say that they believe in the other persons of the trinity but they have different definitions when it comes to each.  For example, Jehovahs Witness and Mormons believe in Jesus but they do not assert that He is the eternal 2nd person of the Trinity.  So we need to be careful when we too quickly think that others believe in Orthodox Christianity when in fact there are major differences.

Over the next 3 weeks we will discuss each person of the Trinity to understand their uniqueness.  However, we must remember that all three are God and that there is one God. Always know that apparent contradictions in the human mind are not in God’s.  Therefore, this should leave us to worship Him as God and realize that He is beyond our ability to fully comprehend.

Here are some helpful sites and articles for further reading.  I hope this sparks in you a desire to know God more and to study how He has revealed Himself.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity

www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/trinity-101

http://monergism.com/

Here is a PDF from R.C. Sproul, one of the most respected theologians today: What is the Trinity (12)

Also, here are my sermon notes: TriGod #2: TriUnity (19)

I get this question all the time, “Why do you audition musicians?” My response, “Why not?” There is this funny thing about talent (specifically musical talent)…It’s subjective. You see examples of this on “American Idol” all the time. There is always that one dude who has been misguided his entire life. He walks into his audition leading off with, “Grandma says I can sing really good” (that’s redneck English). And we all know how it ends up…he can’t carry a tune in a bucket. Unfortunately, this dude will be singing at his local church the next Sunday and for everybody there (except Grandma), it’s going to be extremely painful.

Which brings me to my first point: Quality Matters (1 Sam. 16:14-23)
We’re to offer our best to God and it is my responsibility to be a good steward of that talent. We want people to enjoy singing to God. The reality is, not everyone is cut out for singing on a stage…and that’s ok. The other side of the coin is that some people are cut out for it and are really, really good.

Point D: Auditions create opportunities
By holding auditions, we open up the doors for those with musical abilities to get involved. There is always this allure of the guys and girls in the band, that they know somebody, who knew somebody who got them on the team. That’s not true. Most of them came to an audition.

Numero 3: It’s efficient
Given the volume of people at Revolution, it is simply the best way to hear all that are interested.

In closing, these are just a few of our reasons for holding auditions…not to be confused with “why we worship” (another post for another day). Remember, we have auditions coming up this Saturday. Sign up here.

Contributor | Thad Wood (Worship Pastor)