Friends.

Holli and I visited Brent & Bonnie's Life Group last Sunday. I have to tell you as I sat and fellowshipped with them, I kept thinking...this right here is what the church is all about. I listened to them discuss John's message from earlier in the day, sharing their struggles, their worries, their tears. I watched them each share pictures of brokenness in their lives, and as one picture of life after another was shared...one couldn't help but see the mosaic of God's love, grace, and mercy at work in their lives. Their weren't many quick fixes offered that night, but what was offered was so much more...a group of friends willing to face life's valleys.... together. Thank you guys...for just being a group who gets it, for giving me a glimpse of just how beautiful the church can be when it's functioning in the way it was created to be.

Also while I didn't get a chance to talk about it last Sunday...I really need everyone to help me in getting the word out about our campus move to Wy'East Middle School on May 6th. This move will also entail Serivce Time changes as we will be meeting at 9:00 a.m & 11:00 a.m.
If you have any questions regarding the move please e-mail them to me at sethm@livinghopechurch.com.

What Do You Say to One Who Grieves?

Ro 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Yesterday like many of you, I sat in horror watching and hearing of the shootings at Virginia Tech. I kept thinking of the grief of those parents who lost a son or a daughter. I kept thinking of what one could say or do that would ease the pain of their grief. And yet the reality is, the more I thought of their pain the more I was left speechless. See the one thing I'm coming to understand is that there are no magic words, or sentiments that can take away the pain of one in grief. It's interesting that when Jesus came upon His friends who were grieving over the loss of Lazarus, Jesus didn't give some trite words like it'll be ok, or you'll get past this..it says that "Jesus wept." See I think some times we try too much to reason out what is unreasonable...and death is always unreasonable...it always is unfair...it's always unnatural because we were formed for life. That said maybe the most healing thing we can do for those who grieve, for those bearing the pain of loss at Virginia Tech, is found not in what we say, but in what we don't say and rather do. As maybe the most healing thing we can do, is to take a moment in the busyness of our days to stop, to be silent, and to stand with them in prayer...that the God of all comfort, would begin to bring healing to their hearts in a way that only He can do. Today, will you take a moment to stop, to be silent, and to stand in prayer for our friends on the otherside of the country?

Posted by Seth

A Living Stone.

Recently, I shared in a post how were called to never forget those "only God" moments in our life, which certainly Easter at the Rose Garden was one of those moments. I also shared how one of the best ways to never forget is to collect not piles of stagnate stones (like Joshua & the Israelites did) but rather piles of living stones, or living stories to help us to never forget. This is one of those living stone stories...

Dear Seth and John,

I wanted to take a few minutes this morning to tell you the story that God has written in the life of my dear Sister. This is the miracle of how God tugged on the heart of one Woman, one Wife, one Mother, and how it would ripple out to touch the lives of her Husband and children. In the end it would result in the surrender of all of their lives to God.

I have been a Christ follower for over 20 years. I began praying for my sister, whom I love very much, to find Christ all those years ago. I have watched with such sadness as she has been through so much heartache over the course of the last two decades. I have watched the immense struggles in her life and the lives of her family. She has been so lost like the rest of us, until God found and rescued her. Recently Cindy and her Husband had come to a real point of crisis in their lives. I knew that she felt very defeated and exhausted in every way. So I invited her to come with me for a weekend at the beach for rest and a reprieve from the chaos that was her life. This was in reality the Living Hope Women's Retreat. Cindy and I spent time over the phone talking about her crazy experiences that had been her life for so long. In deep grief and pain, she expressed her need for something good and real in her life. I explained to her that what was missing was God. I told her how much I had been praying for her, and that I was convinced that God had a miracle planned for her. Indeed it was just around the corner. She agreed to go to the retreat. While at the beach, during one of our group discussions, Cindy asked the question: "I don't understand, What does a relationship with Christ look like?," the leader of our life group took us back to our hotel room where she explained about Christ's life, death and resurrection. Cindy was at this point in tears. And she said "God has been tugging on my heart for so long, I didn't understand what to do next, and now I am ready to surrender and give myself to him. The three of us bowed our heads while Cindy and our group leader prayed the prayer of Salvation. With deep heart felt words Cindy gave her life to Christ. God had provided my long awaited answer to prayers for Cindy. This was Cindy's miracle. Tears of amazing gratitude and joy filled those moments and the remainder of our weekend. She went to the beach to find peace, and God showed up to give her the peace that surpasses understanding.

One week later it was Easter at the Rose Garden. I of course invited Cindy to go. She in turn invited her Husband and children. She told them she would be going with or without them. Her husband and three of the children (ages 21, 20 & 16) agreed to come.

After hearing John speak, Cindy's entire family stood up and began making the trek down the stairs to the Baptism pools. I, was in complete shock as followed along behind. When we reached the floor by the pools, we all began to sob and cry and hug. It was the most moving and emotional time of my Christian experience. The five of them were Baptized together simultaneously. When they all came up from the water, the shouts of joy were enormous. The five of them huddled together crying in absolute relief and joy over what God had just done in their lives. The long and difficult story of their lives had just turned a pivotal page, and the new chapter had just begun. God has rescued them!!!!

Everyone has a story. However, the journey that their lives have taken is quite extraordinary. Their testimonies will inspire everyone who will ever have the privilege of hearing it.

John Bishop, I thank God for you. For your thinking outside of the traditional box. For Your radical vision for reaching lost people for Christ. If my Sister Cindy and Her family were the only people who found Christ that Easter Day, it would have made it all worth while. I will never forget this Easter; I will never forget the Garden. Thank You Father God for the 41st Day.

Your Sister in Christ,

Tina

Living Stones.

On Sunday Night as tired as I was I didn't want to sleep, I kept replaying the baptisms, the songs, and the sights in my head. See their was a part of me that didn't want it to end, and more importantly doesn't ever want to forget what happened on this past Easter. I mean to think that over 14,000 people flooded the Rose Garden, with 700 of them taking the step of baptism, and countless thousands encountering the reality of the God who loved them enough to die for them! It's interesting how in the Old Testament when the people wanted to remember what God had done they would often set up a pile of stones, so everytime they'd walk by it they would remember. This past weekend God brought us piles of living stones to help us to never forget! See within the mass of numbers are the individual stories of new life, it was the son who was baptized by his father, it was the brother who finally found out that healing starts at the heart, it was the mother who finally surrendered her heart to Christ. Truly "only God" could do what He did this past weekend. Let me ask what is your story...who became a living stone in your life?

"And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple." --1 Pet. 2:5

Posted by Seth

The Song of Our Lives.

Yesterday my wife and I went to see "Amazing Grace." It was really a great movie on the life of Wilberforce and the abolishionist movement. It was interesting how the hymn "Amazing Grace," literally became the song that would define an entire movement. And I was amazed at how a simple song had the unique ability to give us insight not just into the mind of a generation of people, but into the heart of a generation. A simple song that added rhythm to a movement. With that in mind, it got me thinking, what song would best define my life…or your life for that matter? What songs rhythm speaks to the movement of your life?

After cycling through a variety of Bette Midler songs (just kidding), pausing on some of my favorites from Neil Diamond, to U2, to the Police… here is my final four:


#4 The theme song for the movie the "Quiet Man" (The best John Wayne Movie ever), and while I don’t know the name of the song…I love the tune…it’s catchy, you can’t get it out of your mind. I could come up with some deeper meaning to it, but really I just like the tune.

#3 Would have to be the song "Oklahoma." Oklahoma in it’s essence is a song of hope…hope for better days and a better world.

#2 Keith Greens the "Prodigal Son." While a very seventies sounding song, not typically my type of music, I love the song because it’s the retelling of the Prodigal Story, and in essence tells the story of my life and really all of our lives. A story that speaks of a Father who never gave up searching, hoping and loving his wayward son.

#1 For me I’d have to settle on Men at Works song "I Come From a Land Down Under" (Don’t remember the actual title – but if you heard it you know it). I don’t know why I like it, except for the fact that when I hear it, it speaks of adventure to me and it tells a story. See at the heart of my life, this song reflects my desire to live a life of adventure, to live a life for God in such a way that it would be worth telling when I’m gone.

So what song best defines your life?

Eph 5:19 "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord…"

Posted by Seth