It’s The Little Things
February 14, 2010 — Craig T. OwensValentine’s Day on Sunday—that just seems to fit! What a great day to love God and love others.
Betsy and I had a small gift for everyone this morning. A homemade cookie to say, “We love you.”
I’m wondering why we have to wait for “special” days to express our love. Isn’t that something we could do EVERY day?
Hmmm, year-round Valentines? I like it!
Digging & Drinking
February 9, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
On Sunday we had our annual business meeting at Calvary Assembly of God. The actual business part was minimal. The more exciting things included hearing how God had blessed us last year, and looking forward to the greater things we can do for Him this year.
I shared a story from Genesis 26 about Isaac. This story just keeps rolling around in my mind.
Initially, God blessed Isaac just because he was Abraham’s son. God said, “Abraham obeyed me. He did everything I asked him to do, so I blessed him.” Then God challenged Isaac: “I am willing to bless you with even more if you, too, will follow Me.”
It’s interesting to note what Isaac did first. He reopened all of the old wells his father had dug, and he gave them the same name Abraham had given them…
…he honored the heritage of his father.
Honoring those who have gone before us is so important. But it’s not enough.
If Isaac was going to experience more of God’s blessings, he couldn’t be satisfied with just drinking from the old wells. Don’t get me wrong: it was good of him to reopen those wells…
…but if that’s all he did, he would have just maintained the status quo.
Isaac had to dig new wells. It didn’t start so well. The first two wells he tried to dig on his own led to quarrels with his neighbors…
…the enemy doesn’t fight against those who maintain the status quo.
…the enemy only quarrels with us when we try to dig new wells.
Isaac kept at it, and his third attempt was successful. Here’s the payoff:
…we can honor our heritage by reopening the old wells and drinking from them.
…AND we can continue to dig new wells so that we can minister to more people.
It’s not EITHER-OR. It’s BOTH-AND.
I’m trying to maintain that balance…
…re-digging the old and drinking the new.
…looking back and looking forward.
…honoring our heritage and leaving a new legacy.
…digging and drinking.
Rats In My Cellar
February 8, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
We started our Love To The Fourth Power series yesterday morning, looking at what it means to Love God with all your heart… and to love your neighbor the same way. As usual, I’m speaking more to myself than I am to our congregation. During my study time, the Holy Spirit usually does a number on me!
So here’s the recap from yesterday:
- Loving actions are fine, but loving REactions are more important.
- The way I REact may say more about my love-with-all-my-heart level than the way I act.
- In order to know if my REaction is compassion, I have to take the time to reflect on my REactions.
I love this picturesque quote from C.S. Lewis:
“When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to mind is that the provocation was so sudden or unexpected. I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself…. Surely what a man does when he is taken off guard is the best evidence of what sort of man he is. Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth. If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness did not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way, the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows what an ill-tempered man I am….”
I’m working on looking for the rats in my cellar without making any excuses for how they got there. I just want the Holy Spirit to reveal them and help me eliminate them.
I want my REaction to be compassion all the time.
So Blessed
February 7, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
As I look back on today I feel so blessed…
…blessed to be pastoring Calvary Assembly of God.
…blessed to have talented and Spirit-led leaders around me.
…blessed to lead worship with gifted and passionate worship leaders.
…blessed that God meets with us every single time we gather together.
…blessed that our congregation responds so enthusiastically to the Word of God week after week.
…blessed by the prayerful dedication of our spiritual forerunners.
…blessed that our congregation wants to move forward into new territory.
…blessed by the unity among our church family.
If you haven’t got the point yet: I’m one blessed pastor! I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do next. It’s going to be absolutely incredible!
Love(4)
February 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
Since February is known as the “love month,” we’re starting a new series this week at Calvary Assembly of God called “Love(4)” = love to the fourth power.
I’m keying off this exchange between an expert lawyer and Jesus:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” The lawyer asked.
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Four dimensions of love: heart, soul, mind, strength.
Love to the fourth power.
I also want to give credit to Mark Batterson and his excellent book Primal for reawakening me to the power of this foundational concept.
I’d love for you to join us at 10:30am on any Sunday in February for a new look at this higher love.
O Me Of Little Faith
January 30, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
Last night I took some of my youth group leaders to a Speed The Light banquet. For those of you who don’t know, STL is missions giving from youth, with the funds going to help missionaries speed the light of the Gospel. Many times STL funds go for items like 4-wheel-drive vehicles, sound systems, video production equipment, and the like.
Understand that up until a month or so ago our group had never really been exposed to STL. Our grand total to STL last year was $0. That’s right, nothing.
So I took them to this banquet to help them get a better understanding of what STL is. I’m a huge fan, so I wanted them to catch the vision for STL too.
Knowing that we were going to be asked to make a faith promise for 2010, I had a dollar figure in mind. I figured this amount would be doable, but a stretch, for a youth group that hadn’t given anything to STL yet.
Our District Youth Director Jeff Kennedy asked us to huddle as a team to talk about our faith promise amount. He said, “Remember: if it’s truly a faith promise, your amount will make you sweat.”
So I asked my team, “What amount do you think we can do?” And they totally blew me away! They came up with an amount three times LARGER than I had been thinking.
I joyfully wrote in that larger amount on our faith promise card. As I did, I heard the Holy Spirit chide me a bit, “O you of little faith.”
Thanks, team, for dreaming big—bigger than me. Thanks for having such big faith. Thanks for stretching my faith too.
Just Be Yourself
January 26, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
How many times have you ever made one of these statements:
- “If I could only sing like her.”
- “I wish I could draw like you.”
- “Wow, I wish I could write like that!”
- “You have way more Facebook friends than I do.”
- “I could never stand up in front of an audience like that pastor.”
If you’ve ever said something like this, what you’re really saying is, “I want to be someone else.”
But God made you you. He didn’t make anyone else you. No one can be you but you.
When you get to heaven, God isn’t going to say:
- “Why didn’t you learn to sing like her?”
- “You should have taken art lessons.”
- “Your blog wasn’t as popular as his.”
- “You had fewer friends than anyone else.”
- “Why didn’t you become a pastor/missionary/evangelist…”
All God is going to ask is this: “Were you the best you that you could be? Did you use the talents, personality, passions, gifting, and opportunities that I gave to you and to no one else?”
On Wednesday nights in our Impact! youth service we’re exploring this topic in a series called Be You. That’s all God wants you to be. Come join us at 7pm on Wednesdays. In the meantime, listen to the Holy Spirit teaching you to be the best you you can be.
Relearning To Pray
January 22, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
I’ve been sharing a series about prayer with my congregation. It’s called Total Access. The premise of the series is that we have total access to the treasure trove of God’s blessings, and prayer is the key which unlocks the door.
One of the things I love about preparing a message for my congregation…
…how much more I learn.
One of the things that challenges me about preparing a message for my congregation…
…how much the Holy Spirit convicts me.
I feel like I’m having to relearn how to pray.
It’s so simple, yet it is so deep.
I love the words to Kari Jobe’s song The More I Seek You…
The more I seek YouThe more I find You
The more I find You The more I love You I wanna sit at Your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hand
Lay back against You and breath Hear Your heart beat
This love is so deep It’s more than I can stand.
I melt in Your peace It’s overwhelming
It is overwhelming. And at the same time so comforting. I love relearning to pray… again and again and again.
Focus On Kids
January 12, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
I love kids! I love their enthusiasm, their curiosity, their hunger to learn, their ability to learn, their energy, and their laughter!
We’re launching a brand new ministry called KidZone. This is church just for kids, and it will meet every Sunday afternoon at Calvary Assembly of God from 5-6 PM.
And for Moms and Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas, we have something for you too. While the kids are having their service, I’ll be sharing some biblically-based instruction on how we can be better (grand)parents to the precious children God has placed in our care.
So bring your kids ages 4-12 every Sunday at 5 PM, and then join me for some coffee and conversation. It’s going to be a blast!
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