Thursday, August 25, 2011

Hope pushing hopelessness Out of the Way

Really short entry today as I am leaving for the Catalyst OneDay Houston conference.

In the last month, all 3 of our current vehicles have joined a club: someone trusted Jesus in the passenger seat!

Oh, and then Sunday, after a desperate text and phone call with Jesus all in the mix, anther person trusted Jesus over the salad at Buffalo Wild Wings!  !

Then there was the spare room at my friend's house house in Round Rock...that's where I was talking on the phone to Rocky when he put all his trust in the life-giving, saving from destruction and saving FOR living for what matters most Power of Jesus!

Oh, and there is the newly redecorated office at Lake St. (pictured above).  Pattie is painting a mural of theCityChurch skyline on the back wall.  That's where Brittany (who trusted Jesus over salad at BWW on Sunday) heard Pattie (who trusted Jesus after midnight by the dumpster behind a bar 2+ years ago) tell of the initial steps of transformation when Jesus became Lord and Savior for her.  That exchange encouraged both - and I'm so pumped!

Just some examples of how God's Hope displaces the broken hopelessness on the earth which comes from our sin.

#theCityWillBeDifferent

Thursday, August 11, 2011

When Jesus shows up...Unreal Forgiveness!


At our Worship Gathering this past Sunday, I asked my friend Rocky to share what was going on with him and Jesus this week.  I had seen him share several really moving Bible verses his Facebook during the week, so I knew something good, really good, was going on.

As you will see in the video, Rocky shared how God enabled him to forgive a huge hurt that he experienced decades ago...WOW!  I didn't know this is what had happened in him this week, but I'm so glad God prompted me to ask Rocky to share.

When we encounter Jesus, stuff in us gets wrecked, and remade in His Image.  Jesus forgave us.  Now, MIRACLE, we can forgive...and be free!

#JesusIsFreedom
#theCityWillBeDifferent

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

God n the Villages - Intibuca, Honduras

Last month, I took a trip to Honduras with a great pastor friend.  The trip was to launch my friend's Bible class on the Island of Roatan, then travel into the interior to the Mountain Villages in the province of Indibuca, outside the city of La Esperanza.  A group of church planters has been working in the past few years with an ethnic people group, the Lenca.  There are over 100,000 Lenca in Houduras, and they are less than 1% Christian.  (Here is the link to the description of this people group at JoshuaProject.net.)

Mountains on both sides
Island of Roatan

On the road to Intibuca
Our host for the week was Pastor Timothy Norman.  He pastors a church on Roatan, and is active in mission work on the mainland, where we were heading later in the week.  Our first night on Roatan we worshiped with Pastor Timothy's church.  They do Sunday evening worship there.  The island has a lot of tourist activity, but the town where his church is located is anything but a wealthy touristy place.  Our worship gathering was very cool, even though it was not in the AC, almost all in Spanish (no habla espaniol), and nearly 3 hours long!  The next day we flew to the mainland, and began a 7 hour car ride (5 of us in a Toyota diesel small pickup) to Intibuca.  Honduras is beautiful.  Stuff is growing everywhere, with crops changing with each change in topography.



When we got to Intibuka, we headed out to the Villages where the Lenka live.  The picture at left is the 1st village we visited.  The couple was smiling and joyful.  They are a part of the new church  that was just planted here in the last two years.

The video below is from the 2nd village we visited.  It was also a new church, planted in the last couple of years.  What's amazing is that the pastor here told us with joy that only 5 men committed suicide this year in the village...  Five suicides!  That sounds awful!  But the prior year, there were a couple dozen men who did this.  In the middle of the beautiful landscape, with crops growing all around, the hopelessness of life without hope and purpose, brought men to get drunk and then guzzle some ween killer, and end their lives.  But the Gospel of Jesus is bearing fruit and growing, and this Village is Different!  The adults were talking, and a group of children gathered around.  I started playing with the kids in this video...


The crops were growing at the 2nd Village church we visited

These children were so fun!

Jesus came for such as these!
This village is now encountering the Gospel
thanks to the new church plant there.

The 3rd Village we visited...was Life Changing for me.  Here is the Video I recorded after midnight that night that tells the story of our Night.  I hope you can make time to hear the story.


I'll continue this story with a 2nd post by Friday.