We have a great experiment this week at Grace Community Church. I’m one that chooses to look for the positive in every negative situation, so I really want to see what I can grasp from this opportunity.

There are some things in life that have stolen from us the people we thought we would be. Last Sunday I spoke about how the direction of our life, or lack thereof, can be the culprit in stealing our identity. Have you lost your way? Watch this message to help you get back on the right path.

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The impact he had on society is plentiful, but, as a fellow preacher, I love that Dr. King made a difference at city hall, yet he never left his calling as a pastor. That passion encourages me to use my influence as a minister wisely.

And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

In our recent series “Hunger” at Grace Community Church, I shared a system I have used for spiritual growth that has helped me mature. I had numerous people ask me the following week to describe the details of my “system”. It really isn’t anything scientific or deeply thought out, but has helped me greatly.

In our series “Hot Topics”, where our people were able to text in their greatest questions about God, the Bible, life, etc., one of the biggest areas of questions centered around the issue of the afterlife. Apparently people want to know what’s next….imagine that. In this message I tried to address some of the most repeated questions we received.

In the four years Grace Community Church has been a church we have received much praise from people that love what we do. Hundreds of lost, hurting people have chosen to unite with us. We have had some previously churched people join us who felt we were a better fit for them or their family, but mostly we have reached people who previously did not attend church. Most exciting to us is that we have baptized more adults than children in our four years, indicating to us that we are truly evangelizing and not just helping people swap churches. It has been a wild, exciting, thrilling time watching God shape us over these first few years.

As we announced Sunday, Grace Community Church has purchased 58 acres of land just a couple miles from our current meeting location. We are excited about the future. To answer some of the questions we did not have time to share Sunday, I wanted to share some details about this process.

Now, I really think there is more to this than just a good trivia stumper. I think the fact that David, the one who “killed the lion and the bear” could be afraid, means that I too will have times that I am afraid. The fact that the one who “approached Goliath” could become terrified means that surely times will shake my confidence. The reality that the one who was “anointed to be king”, could become so afraid that he would act like an idiot to avoid being found out, means that you and I, who may be of lesser stature in our faith, should not be surprised when we have fear and doubts.

For years, I resisted a call to ministry, partly because of this advice. The simple fact was that I could do some things besides ministry. I had some success in business. In fact, at one point I was extremely successful in my field. In my own strength, I found I could do many things.