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What does your life look like if you love God?

With Valentine’s Day approaching I know what my life looks like if I love my wife!

I know the 5 unavoidable changes that marriage brings:

#1.  Dinner.  I can take Cindy out to dinner on Valentine’s Day or what she would prefer is that I cook all of it.

#2.  Flowers.  Nothing expensive, it’s a waste of money but a small bouquet is definitely the answer.

#3.  Card.  I can go buy a card with a gushy message and then enhance it or what she would prefer is that I make it myself.

#4.  Kids.  I need to talk about what a great mom she was and how she sacrificed and loved her kids.

#5.  Me.  I need to make sure I’m appreciative for all that she does for me.

But how do you show love for God? 

This week at GateWay we’ll be looking at Luke 19 and the story he tells us about a man named Zacchaeus.  Read Luke 19 and join us at one of our 3 services.

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356 people voted “yes” on the budget so we have a new 2013 budget (we did have 1 no vote) , all the new Leadership Team members (deacons) were approved by an unbelievably overwhelming margin!  What a great day of envisioning a Biblical, Radical and Viral 2013! 

I hope you’re excited about our, “GateWay Country” service!  The first preview service is Feb. 10^th so hand out all those invite cards…we have more when you need them.

This Sunday we’ll be continuing our 4^th and Goal series by examining the words of Jesus to a young man who needed to confront his own need to be grateful.

We live in a world that is constantly encouraging us to compare what we have with what someone else has. 

In a recent series of humorous TV commercials for AT&T an adult man sits at a classroom desk with 2^nd graders and asks the question, “Which is better, bigger or smaller?”  “Bigger!” comes the reply.  He then asks, “Which would you rather have a big tree house or a small tree house?” “BIG!”  “Why would you not want a small tree house?”  “Because you won’t be able to fit a flat screen TV in it.”

Surprised?  Not at all.  That’s the world we live in.  Constant comparison and bigger is better philosophy.

Let’s think about that this Sunday and ask Jesus opinion about what “gratefulness” really means.

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If you’re going to be on a team you have to know the goals of the team, the passion of the leaders, the challenges that lay ahead and the Mission on which God has sent us. 

This weekend we’re having our “GateWay on Mission” business meeting.  I promise it will be the most compelling business meeting you’ve ever been in!

We’re going to be:

            Singing the same great worship music,

            Examining Acts 19 and how the early church was

                        Biblical, Radical and Viral,

            Introducing who are the staff and leadership team,

            Reliving what the results were of our church in 2012,

            Commiting to where God is leading us in 2013!

Come be a part of the GateWay on Mission team because

                        WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER!

God bless,

Pastor Ed

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Every generation gets a new label.  The label today is Millennials.  These are people who are born between the early 80’s and 2000.  They love technology, communication and media.  They tend to be politically liberal depending on the area in which they grow up.  There are 79 million of them!!!

Some are called, “Exiles.” Exiles are 18-29 year olds whose religious frustration has created disappointment, disillusionment, and a drifting away from the church.  All generations have done that to a certain degree but this generation suffers more acutely because they feel the church has not equipped them to think intellectually about the challenges they face in the religious multiplex called the internet.

The problem is the overwhelming amount of information causes them to reach the conclusion that everyone must be correct religiously because there’s just too much to process.

My commitment as the Teaching Pastor at GateWay is to teach us all how to think Biblically.  There are a lot of Bible preachers that do a great job of communicating information, and there’s a need for that. 

My goal is to teach people how to think.  I want all generations to be able to walk through the Bible and not see it as something long ago and far away but as relevant and useable to life today. 

The only way to do that is teach what I’m teaching this Sunday!  Curious?  I hope so because Sunday will help you move one step closer to interpreting scripture for yourself and not just reading or memorizing it.

If you know any Exiles please invite them.

God bless,

Ed