russbutcher.com » Bible

Forgotten Heroes

Russ — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:16:14 +0000

Most of us are familiar with the powerful story of the Apostle Paul’s conversion. He is on the road to Damascus in route to persecute more followers of Jesus when he is surprised by a bright light and an unfamiliar voice. He is blinded and was led to Damascus where he stayed for 3 days without sight, food or water.

Enter the forgotten hero!

Ananias is mentioned simply as a disciple of Jesus and God speaks to him in a vision. Acts 9:10-12

Ananias responded in obedience to what would have been the more modern equivalent of making a visit to ”Adolph Hitler” for the purpose of laying on hands and giving sight back. Ananias was skeptical but made the walk and carried out his small part in the miraculous transformation of a former 1st Century terrorist.

Ananias played a small but vital part in the sovereign plan of God to use the Apostle Paul to spread the Gospel!

Ananias has been called one of the forgotten heroes of the faith.

Forgotten heroes are those that play seemingly small roles in Kingdom Advancement but in reality their roles are indispensable in the Kingdom of God!

Who are the Ananias’s of our day?

Those that setup and breakdown in a church plant.
Those that hold and take care of babies so young couples can hear the gospel.
Those that quietly serve the sick, hospitalized and troubled behind the scenes.
Those that serve and teach our children on Sundays in an age appropriate setting where they can hear the gospel.
Those that help and serve the poor in a community but never get notoriety nor want it.
Those that love on our teenagers weekly in our student worship environment.
Those that count money, stuff envelopes and lick stamps.
Those that pull trailers, swing hammers and replace broken things.
Those that run sound, cameras and edit video.

I could go on and on and on…….

I am thankful for the forgotten heroes in my life and in the life of Church at the Grove! We could not do it without you!

Are you willing to be a forgotten hero?

Great Launch in Social Circle; Let’s take the PLUNGE!

Russ — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:47:54 +0000

I am so thankful for the people that God has put in place to lead CATGrove forward in our mission to lead people to follow Jesus and Make Disciples!

We have launched another campus in Social Circle!

This past Sunday we launched our Social Circle Campus with 95 people in attendance at Social Circle Middle School! Wow! Praise God for His faithfulness in seeing this dream become a reality.

I am so thankful for all the people that have invested so much energy and time making this campus in Social Circle possible. Nathan’s strong leadership has been a blessing in making this launch possible. I am thankful for all of the leaders and volunteers that have invested so much time and effort to get us going in Social Circle.

I am so excited about our new teaching series “PLUNGE” that began this past Sunday! We will address each one of our “ministry filters” or “core values” over these six weeks.

Here are our ministry filters:

Biblical Faith

Persuasive Compassion

Missional Responsibility

Authentic Relationships

Intentional Simplicity

Faithful Stewardship

This past Sunday: The Word of God is a revelation of Himself and when we see Him as He is, we are transformed.

Join us as we journey through the Bible at www.youversion.com Essential 100 Bible reading plan! Go here to see it: http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/the-essential-100/settings

Martin Luther said, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.”

Let’s commit to reading and applying God’s Word on a daily basis.

I am so excited about what God is doing in and through Church at the Grove! Please continue to invest your life into the lives of others in our community! Let’s continue to move forward with the mission God has set forth for us.

I love you and I am praying for you.

Stay Focused! Take the Next Step!

Russ — Thu, 12 May 2011 16:53:14 +0000

Hey Church at the Grove!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about what God is doing in and through the life of Church at the Grove!

Listen to this

“I haven’t been to church for a long time. This is one of the best I have ever been to.”

Words from a mother attending CATGrove with her daughter this past Sunday.

Here is another:

“Wow, I took my mom there last weekend and she LOVED it……. She said if they lived down here that this would be the church they went to. She couldn’t say enough about it. We love going there. I have gotten my hubby to start going too… he likes it. We love the fact that it’s laid back, casual dress and not so high opionated about everyone. Everyone is loved. You can tell the moment you come thru the doors. I actually took my mother-in-law last Sunday…WE WERE ALL THERE.
Thank you guys for introducing us to this wonderful church FAMILY.”

God is working and we simply want to stay focused and continue to join and partner Him in the Great Commission!

Summer is approaching it is a time to slow down and bit and relax. THAT IS A GOOD THING!

Please let me challenge you not to relax about continuing to allow God to use you through the summer. Summer is a great time to prepare to hit the fall running with seeing new people introduced to a relationship with Jesus! Please stay focused in these areas:

Sunday morning: Don’t skip out on what God wants to do over the next few months in our Sunday gatherings! If you are going to be out of town for a vacation, go and enjoy it! Make sure you are not missing too many gatherings! You can’t invite someone to come with you if you are not there yourself!

Community Group & and Summer Group Link: Don’t miss the opportunity to connect and meet new people and hang out with your friends at our 3 group link fellowships this Summer. Put them on your calendar for June 12; July 10; and August 7. You will hear soon about the locations and details of these Group Link events.

Starting Conversations and loving our community: Always remember to be praying for your friends, family members and neighbors, always be investing and always be willing to invite them to join you at our Gatherings.

Also

We want to be intentional about everyone taking steps in their spiritual journey! We want them to be easy steps to take that will help them connect in their relationship with God and in relationships with other people. Here are some specific steps you can help direct people to as they come into our community:

NewComers: This is a monthly small gathering for those that have attended and visited CATGrove. We take 15-20 minutes to share briefly the vision and heartbeat of CATGrove and why we would start a church in this community.

Next Steps 101: This is our gathering where we share in more detail about the vision, mission and values of CATGrove. We share about our beliefs, how we “do church” and share about what is important for anyone to be a member and involved in the life of Church at the Grove.

Launch 201: This gathering simply leads people in understanding and practicing essential disciplines of a follower of Jesus.

Help us move people into connection and our process of discipleship in the life of Church at the Grove!

Summer Slump:
Most churches struggle financially with the summer slump! People travel and go out of town during the summer but many do not make up their giving when they come back to church. Let’s continue to provide for the ministry that God has entrusted to us!

One of the ways to do that is to get setup to give automatically online. You can go here to this link to give “one time” online. You can go here to this link to set up automated scheduled giving.

Let’s keep moving forward with what God has called us to do!

Keep praying, Keep investing, keep inviting!

Sunday reflections, Halloween, and Heaven! What!?

Russ — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:29:45 +0000

What an awesome time of worship yesterday at Church at the Grove! I love celebrating and participating in communion. I think we need to celebrate communion more often!

I shared yesterday about visiting with a lady in my neighborhood that was near stepping into eternity. Well, yesterday she took that step. Miss Judy passed away yesterday afternoon and as I went to visit with her family a few friends I couldn’t help but think of what we talked about yesterday at CATGrove; HEAVEN! Because of her faith in Jesus, Miss Judy is getting a close up and personal experience of Heaven right now! It was so comforting and joyful, while it was sad, to be able to pray with her family and speak of the fact that she is in no more pain and she suffers no more. She is in the presence of God! YES!

What a day we all have to look forward to if we have turn to follow Jesus, to be reunited with our family members and loved ones and friends.

I love reading Revelation 21:4. It would be a great verse to memorize.

I spoke of two great concerns yesterday when we think of heaven:

Are you going? Will you spend eternity in heaven? Have you turned and trusted Jesus for forgiveness of your sins?

Secondly, who are you taking with you? Are you investing in people for the purpose of sharing Jesus with them? Let’s take some people with us to heaven!

Next Sunday is Halloween!

Next Sunday I hope you will be at Church at the Grove in the morning as we begin our new teaching series, “Economic Atheists” and look at what the Bible says about Economics and Finances. It is going to be awesome!

Next Sunday night Jill and I will be doing a Halloween outreach in our neighborhood for the purpose of starting some conversations with people and inviting them to CATGrove! Halloween is an incredible opportunity to love on your neighbors, hand out candy and simply spend some time meeting people you may have seen in the neighborhood but haven’t met yet.

We will put up one of those big blow up jumpy thingy in our yard for children and we will hand out candy, serve hot chocolate and maybe some popcorn and peanuts. Basically we create an environment where the kids can play a few minutes in between trick or treat stops while we talk to mom and dad.

Let me encourage you to consider utilizing Halloween or any type of holiday event to leverage it for Jesus. Take advantage of the opportunity to meet people and invest in them relationally so you can invite them to CATGrove and hopefully share with them the love of Jesus.

I love you and I am praying for you and your family.

Keep praying, Keep investing, keep inviting!

Pick a Time, Pick a Place Stick to It!

Russ — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:10:13 +0000

This morning I got up early and spent time reading in Matthew for my 49 day challenge! I love God and I love His Word!

The Big Idea yesterday was that, “God’s Word is Living and Active and powerful for change in your life.”

I love what A.W. Tozer states about the Bible being true, “The big problem is not whether the Bible is true. The big problem is whether it is true in you.”

I so hope you will accept the 49 day challenge to read the New Testament in the next 49 days. I am not asking you to be legalistic about it but I would love for you to give it a try. If you miss a day, don’t worry about it and simply pick up where you left off or move to the next day. PICK A TIME, PICK A PLACE AND STICK TO IT!

I am thrilled to think about the last 4 years and what God has done in and through the life of Church at the Grove! When I look out over the crowd at the people on a Sunday I am so encouraged by the faces and lives of the people God has touched and changed as a result of Church at the Grove’s existence. Thank you God for 4 incredible years and I look forward to the next year and what YOU have in store!

This would be a great verse to memorize this week!

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Here are a few facts that I mentioned yesterday that you may enjoy looking over!

The Bible is actually a collection of books, 39 that we refer to as the Old Testament or as I prefer, the Hebrew scriptures, and 27 books called the New Testament. It was written over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to A.D. 100) by over 40 different authors. The miracle is that it is written with a singular idea that God desires a relationship with his creation and He has provided for that reconciliation/relationship through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the central theme throughout the Bible.

The Old Testament has 17 Historical, 5 Poetical, and 17 Prophetic books in it.

The New Testament has 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation in it.

over 40 generations
over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. – kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars)
in different places (i.e. – wilderness, dungeon, palaces)
at different times (i.e. – war, peace)
in different moods (i.e. – heights of joy, depths of despair)
on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)
in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)

I mentioned I would post a few books for your reading pleasure that would go a little deeper into some of the things we covered yesterday. Check these out:

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell

How to Read the Bible for all its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

How to Read the Bible Book by Book by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

Keep Praying, Keep Investing, Keep Inviting!

Great Bible Study

Russ — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:28:48 +0000

I just finished listening to a great Bible Study led by one of our own Grovers!

Brian Peart is involved in the leadership of a Christian Mortgage Brokers Group and leads people all across the country in Bible Study each month via conference call technology.

Check it out:

http://seminoles.audioacrobat.com/download/ee26d5a3-0b89-0148-3569-6273cb8f96d2.mp3

You can download it or play it.

Sunday Reflections and Discipleship Notes

Russ — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:48:58 +0000

Big Idea: A changed nature results in changed behavior!

Memory Verse:
Ephesians 5:15 (NIV)
¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise,

Action Step:
Ask 2 or 3 people closest to you to give you some insight on where your Christ-like character could use some development or improvement. Avoid feeling defensive and be willing to receive it to grow in your character and conduct.

Random Thoughts:

Going back to Thursday of this past week: We had dinner with some of our closest friends in the neighborhood to celebrate our sweet friend Terri. Terri has received a promotion and a great opportunity with her job and she will be moving soon. I couldn’t help but think about the authentic community we shared with our friends. It was great.
Friday, I was able to spend some time with Mike from our police department here. It was great to hear how God is working in his life. We did some things to get ready for “Shop With A Hero” that is coming in December.
Saturday I officiated a wedding ceremony for a sweet couple I have met through my friend Billy. It was a beautiful wedding and Georgia beat LSU! I enjoyed going to the wedding with my beautiful bride and without the kids.
Yesterday at The Grove was great. Good crowd and a great service. In the early service, Ric stopped right in the middle of the second song and dismissed the band from the stage and exhorted the congregation about authentic and genuine worship. It was off the cuff and extremely relevant. It was powerful.
We had a great community group last night. I love the group. God is doing some really cool stuff with this group and with Church at the Grove as a whole.
I am really excited about this upcoming series titled “STRETCH”. It is very timely in light of what is going on in our country right now. We will share how we can STRETCH a dollar in order to STRETCH the Kingdom of God and how this all results in STRETCHING our personal faith.

More Important Than Football!

Russ — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:18:52 +0000

Some things are simply more important than Football! I love this story because it gives me a picture of real faith. The Richt family want to be Jesus in a practical way and responded to God’s leadership in their life. This is what CHURCH is really about. What an example of missional living! This is a family of true faith.

Presence over Performance

Russ — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:16:41 +0000

Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)
⁴¹“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
⁴²but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I am finishing a book titled Lone Survivor written by Marcus Luttrell about him being the only survivor of the worst attack on U.S. special forces in

Afghanistan. Luttrell writes concerning that specific attack but he includes great detail concerning the training he went through to become a NAVY SEAL specifically the third week of SEAL training called “HELL WEEK”. The mission of NAVY SEALs is to operate in unconventional warfare conducting small unit, high impact missions and spefically now are engaged in active pursuit of elusive, dangerous and high-priority terrorist targets has them operating in remote, mountainous regions of Afghanistan, and in cities torn by factional violence, such as Baghdad, Iraq.

In light of their mission, the most famous and worst week of their training, called HELL WEEK, takes them to their physical, mental and emotional limits for the purpose of seeing what they can endure with the least amount of recuperation. Only 25% of those that enter this week complete the week. It is 5 ½ days of continuous training with only 4 hours of sleep total over the 5 ½ days. It is constant drills, pushups, situps and running in and through sand and water while their teams carries either a telephone pole or a small boat.

In contrast to the preparation of the Navy SEALS for their mission, God’s preparation for us to complete the mission He has given us it the antithesis of their preparation. For us to complete the mission God has given us, we must pull back away from pushing our lives to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual limits. God lays down some principles in His word that directs us away from pushing our lives to the limits so we can have the consistent, serial recuperation necessary to be effective in what He has for us in this life.

Jesus encourages us to focus on Presence over Performance!

Prayer and The Church

Russ — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:59:44 +0000

I am re-reading a book on prayer that had a huge impact on my prayer life a number of years ago. It is Don’t Just Stand there, Pray Something, by Ronald Dunn. Check out what Dunn writes about prayer in the early church:

“The book of Acts is filled with prayer meetings; every forward thrust the first church made was immersed in prayer. Take another look at the church at Pentecost. They prayed ten days and preached ten minutes and three thousand people were saved. Today we pray ten minutes and preach ten days and are ecstatic if anyone is saved.” (Pg. 38) (Emphasis mine)

This is significant, especially in light of our current series on “The Church”, and as we teach through the book of Acts.