A churchplanter’s missional influence in the lives of those “least likely to go to church”.

Sunday Reflections and Discipleship Notes

January 26th, 2009 Posted in General

Big Idea: 
Delight yourself in the Lord, wisely pursue your passions and God promises to deliver the desires of your heart.

Scripture Memory:
Psalms 37:4 (NIV)
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Action Step:
Resist making God’s will a “mechanical” process, resist the “spiritual paranoia” this week and focus on your relationship with God as you delight in Him.

Random Thoughts:

  • WOW! is all I can say…….what a Sunday and what a weekend!
  • The weekend began great as we had 17 people join Friday night in our C-3 membership class.  I loved hanging out with some sharp and sweet people Friday night. 
  • My oldest son Josiah turned 11 years old on Saturday and we simply went over to my brother’s house and Josiah and his cousin Jeb, along with some other boys, played in the woods for a couple of hours and they had a blast.  Here’s the lesson:  Throw some adolescent boys in the woods, give them a simple weapon and they know how to have fun!
  • I can’t believe my son is eleven years old!  Proverbs 29:17 says, “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight you your heart.”  I don’t know about giving me rest, but Josiah is certainly a delight to my heart!  Time flies as your children grow!
  • I can’t explain the anticipation that I have every Saturday evening, but this past Saturday was off the chart!  I don’t usually sleep much on Saturday’s because I am so excited and anxious about Sunday morning.  Yesterday did not disappoint!  We had an incredible day!
  • We had one of the highest attendance Sundays yesterday, outside of Easter or other special Sundays.  It was awesome to see many guests and especially to see people returning consistently! 
  • Our children’s areas were packed!  We have to be thinking of how to create some more space or add some additional areas.  Its a lot to think about but it is exciting!
  • I am so proud of our people and their faithfulness and generosity in giving!
  • Last night I went to see Angie Cheek’s dad, David Gilliland.  He is in the hospital but recovering.  I had a blast talking and sharing with him.  We both went to the same seminary and he has so much experience and wisdom in ministry.  I went to be an encouragement to him and I am the one that left being encouraged.  He shared a lot of wisdom with me about ministry.
  • We began our new “Come As You Were”series this coming Sunday.  It is going to be a blast and our focus on the teaching should be challenging.  I think everyone will love it.  The first ten people that walk up to me to show me something they are wearing that is “70’s” retro will receive a $10 gift card!  I wonder how many people read their emails and my blog….hmmmmm?
  • Pray, Pray, Pray, Pray!!!  Pray that God continues to work!

All I can say is……WOW!

 

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  1. 3 Responses to “Sunday Reflections and Discipleship Notes”

  2. By The Nobles on Jan 26, 2009

    Sunday morning was again awesome at CATG (the worship music, the message, the people…)! Thank you for the past four week series. It’s sure to be a good tool.
    Sunday afternoon/evening was also such a blessing with our new community group ‘Starting Point’ with Billy and Melinda Guy. They were great hosts and we already feel a connection with them. Billy made one specific comment that we found out later that night, made an especially strong impact (in a good way) on one of our children.
    The night ended with our 7 year old preparing a Prayer Request Journal (something he said that was talked about in Kid’s Grove), listing the first prayer and then he wrote a quote relating to his prayer in the ‘Quote Section’ of his journal … “Open the eyes of the heart, so that it will make you realize that God is always with you.”
    Have a great week!

    The Nobles

  3. By Craig on Jan 26, 2009

    Russ,
    Can I borrow one of your rayon, disco-woven button-ups and a white pair of penny loafers. JK.
    Nikki and I really enjoyed Sunday at the Grove. We are members at Grace Fellowship and love it but really would like to find something a little closer. A place where our children(Payton & Ethan) can enjoy christian fellowship with friends they interact with in the community.
    Payton is our of 7 yr old daughter and attends 2nd grade at Y.E.S. Ethan is our 5yr old son and is in pre-K at Y.E.S. They loved Kids’ Grove and didn’t really want to leave, which is a good sign.
    Just a few encouraging words from us were how inviting, worshipful, christ-like, and genuinely alive CATGrove is. I appreciate your enthusiasm and love for his word and your worship team is awesome. Our nephew is getting dunked on Sunday at Christ Chapel(Macon campus); so we’ll party there this weekend in celebration but we hope to be back with you guys the following Sunday. ~Craig & Nikki Payton & Ethan Canaday

  4. By Billy on Jan 26, 2009

    we’ll be there early to get the gift-cards. We have six people in our family…can we do this individually ;-)

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