Sunday In Review

- Today was great!

- First of all, 5 people made a decision to cash in their "empire of dirt" and bet the farm on Jesus! Yeah, God for His sovereign and amazing grace!

- Our best attendance yet! 130 strong! Another yeah, God!

- Guest Services is starting to gel. Hats off to Nathan for his leadership; Melanie, Jess and Denise for their servant's hearts; and the entire G.S. team for creating a warm, inviting, relaxing, yet exciting atmosphere. You guys are awesome!

- We added a few finishing touches to the space that made a big difference. Deborah, Ron, Kris, Tom and Pandy did an awesome job on the stage curtains. Bobby, Shane, Mike, Greg, Kevin and Nathan did an incredible job on the floors. David and Jeremy got us some much needed "light" on the stage. Thanks, guys! Bill added a nice touch to the Pre-School room with the "black board wall." Kids are going to love this! All in all, the place is starting to "pop." BTW, you should notice added improvements over the coming weeks.

- Solid worship set today. "Let God Arise" by Tomlin, "God of Ages" and "To Know Your Name" by Hillsong. Good stuff.

- I really believe we have one of the most innovative, talented and committed tech teams out there. David and Paul are "killer" sound techs. These guys have us achieving "state of the art" sound on a mere "shoe string" budget. Wow! Chris, Jeremy and Zach have us making strides each week in media and lighting. Can't wait to see what the future holds as this team continues to grow.

- Simple message today. Acts 9 - SEARCHING...For Something More Than Religion. Today I shared three simple truths. I'll buzz them:

(1) You Were On God’s Mind When God Rocked Paul’s World.

This is the truth contained in 1 Timothy 1:13-15 (NLT), This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I was the worst of them all. 16 But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

In other words, Saul's conversion gave us a glimpse of the overflowing, divine mercy and and incredible patience of our great God. Saul's transformation would be the equivalent of Bill Maher converting to Christianity and doing a follow up film to his "documentary" Religulous titled, Transformed. It would be the equivalent of Osama bin Laden converting to Christianity and becoming a missionary to the Muslims in Al Qaeda.

God wanted to give us a glimpse of His extravagant grace!

(2) Don’t Give Up On People Who Appear To Be Far From God. Paul’s Experience With God Was Sudden, Dramatic and a Sovereign Work of Grace.

Before Acts 9 Paul wasn’t open, interested or spiritually sensitive to Christianity at all! In fact, he was completely closed to its claims. His experience was sudden, dramatic and a sovereign work of grace.

(3) Real Life Begins When You Cash In Your Personal “Empire of Dirt” For An Up Close and Personal Relationship With God.

- Janet sang Nicole Nordeman's "Finally Free" at the end of today's message. One word: Stinkin' beautiful. Oh, excuse me, that was two words. Beautiful.

- The THANKSGIVING BASH was awesome. Thanks to Kris, Deborah, Teddie, Mona, Kathy, Ron, Tom and the list goes on for making this happen. I love it when the entire church family gets to hang out, eat, laugh and share together. This was great. The "setting" was terrific. The food was "off the chain" - me and Janet finally got to enjoy ours after getting home. I got to meet several new families. On a scale of 1 - 10, I would rate it an 11. Awesome job to everyone involved.

- I am already pumped about next weekend's service. I'll be preaching from Acts 10 with a message titled SEARCHING...For A Chance To Change Your World. I'm talking about Peter reaching out beyond the barriers prejudice and allowing God to use him to change Cornelius's world. Mike is going to sing. Can't wait to hear him cover the Goo Goo Dolls @ a2. Should be interesting. Better than the real thing.

- I'm also psyched about our next series: Christmas Rebellion. I think this series is going to rock! I'm pumped about getting some of a2's artists involved in helping make the series come alive visually.

- I'm also jazzed about our first public Christmas Baby Dedication on Sunday PM, December 7. I think this is going to be a tradition that parents of small children are going to spread the word about.

- Heads up on this one: Christmas Eve @ a2 is going to be amazing.

- I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. Tomorrow and Tuesday we're getting to spend time with Janet's family and a couple of missionaries from Uzbekistan. Wednesday and Thursday the entire Goins' clan is showing up at my house! It should be wild.

- Dad's birthday was this past Monday. Tough day. I miss him. I've though about him a lot this week, and thank God more everyday for the hope of heaven.

- I love my girls - all four of them! God has been so GOOD to me.

- Watching the Colts and Chargers. Hoping for the Colts to hold and win this one.

- Enjoyed what I got see of 24 Redemption. I am Jack Bauer.

That's it for now!