Twenty-two

April 25, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

There’s just no other way to say this: Resurrection Sunday at Calvary Assembly of God was AWESOME!

So many people ministers made the day a meaningful and memorable experience of what Christ’s resurrection from the dead really means. I ♥ my church!

Here are some of the comments people shared with us yesterday:

  • It really showed what Jesus did for us
  • It was a cool and interesting way to learn about Jesus
  • Really epic!
  • That was one of the very best dramas I’ve ever seen!
  • Absolutely awesome! I finally went to a real resurrection celebration!
  • Anointed words this morning
  • Loved the dramas—very powerful
  • Powerful example in a modern-day setting of an old, wonderful Bible fact!

But the best feedback of all…

Twenty-two people accepted Jesus as their Savior!

Because Jesus defeated sin and death—because He is The Champion—we robbed hell of 22 souls!

Where, O death is your victory now?!? You have been defeated and Jesus is the Champion!

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The Champion

April 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

The most amazing story in all of history (or should I say “His story”) is the story of God coming to earth to rescue us! We were made to be in intimate relationship with God, but our sin made us captives of satan—slaves to his power. Jesus came to set us free!

He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the Cross for my sins, defeated satan, broke the power of sin’s hold on me, and rose to life again! JESUS IS THE CHAMPION!

I’m so excited about this year’s Easter breakfast drama at Calvary Assembly of God called The Champion! This is a free event, but we do have tickets available to ensure there is enough space for everyone to attend.

If you would like to join us for a powerful, visual portrayal of Christ’s victory over sin, please let me know how many tickets you would like, and whether you want to attend at 9am or 11am, and I’ll set them aside for you. Don’t miss this one!

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Devotions For Lent

March 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Today is Ash Wednesday: the start of the season of Lent. For the next 46 days, people all around the world will be preparing themselves to celebrate Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday.

Whether you have celebrated Lent for years, or you aren’t quite sure what Lent even is, I’d like to suggest a great tool. I love how YouVersion has made the Bible so accessible. Not only in multiple languages and a variety of translations, but via smart phones and the web, it’s so easy to read the Word.

There is a daily devotional plan now available for the Lent season. You can access it by clicking here. This is a 46-day Bible and devotional reading plan. I started it today, and I encourage you to read along with me.

Let’s keep learning more and more about the amazing work Christ did for us on Calvary, and what our response to His atoning work should be. As I tweeted this morning:

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Great Reviews

April 9, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve continued to hear really positive comments about our Easter breakfast drama—Conspiracy!—from those who attended. I thought I’d share a few with you:

  • A fresh way to get the message across.
  • It was great! I hope we do more of it.
  • Everyone did a great job!
  • Very nice approach to a very special day.
  • Great presentation!
  • I really enjoyed this! Thanks for everything!
  • LOVED IT!
  • It was freaking sweet!!
  • Awesome 🙂
  • Very creative and innovative!
  • Great way to illustrate the Easter story.
  • It was great. Enjoyed everything and felt so welcome!

And in case you didn’t hear: 18 people invited Christ into their lives after this drama! That’s the highest compliment of all! I can’t wait to do this again!

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Worth It

April 4, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

We went big for our Resurrection Sunday celebration. Instead of our usual format, we had two services, we provided breakfast for everyone, and we wrote and presented an original Easter drama. It was a stretch for us. Going big means:

  • More nights and weekends spent writing and rehearsing.
  • Recruiting more nursery workers.
  • Asking those nursery workers to give up being in the service to minister to our kids.
  • Spending Saturday setting up tables and chairs.
  • Spending money on food that we wouldn’t normally spend.
  • Asking our music team to come earlier and stay later.
  • Speaking twice.

But it was so worth it! At the end of the morning, 18 people invited Jesus into their life!

Since Jesus gave His life for these folks, I think it is a small sacrifice for us to give the money and time and effort that we gave.

I’m so proud of my cast and crew, and kitchen workers, and worship team members, and nursery workers. Not to mention all of our church members who invited family and friends to come to our Easter breakfast drama this morning.

Ah, yes, it is so worth it!!

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Good Friday

March 30, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

My favorite weekend of the year is here! I love remembering what Christ did on Calvary, and then celebrating His resurrection. Please make plans to join us for two special services this weekend—

Good Friday Service at noon on Friday, April 2. We’ll reflect on the meaning of the Cross, especially focusing on exactly what was nailed to that old rugged Cross.

Conspiracy! An Easter Breakfast Drama at 9am and 11am on Sunday, April 4. Join us for breakfast, an original Easter drama, uplifting music, and a look at what really makes our hearts feel alive.

Looking forward to celebrating with you this weekend.

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Weekend Recap

March 20, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

We had a great time Rockin’ For Haiti on Friday night! This was our fundraiser for Convoy of Hope, to assist them in their work in both Haiti and Chile. Based on the amount of money we raised, we’re helping COH provide nearly 500 meals!

We’ve already got our next benefit show planned. Save Friday, April 30, for Rockin’ For Smiles. More details coming later, but Edge From Falling will be our headline guest.

A couple other things to keep on your radar screen (and your calendars):

  • Tomorrow we’re wrapping up our two-part series on the life of Andrew. This is an amazing disciple of Jesus. Although he’s only mentioned by name 13 times in the Bible, and only has 27 words recorded, we see something desirable about his life: all he did was bring people to Jesus. I could talk a lot more about this man (and we will do so later on), but we’re wrapping up Be An Andrew on Sunday.
  • Passion week is coming up quickly. We’ll have a noon Good Friday service on April 2. And don’t forget about Conspiracy! An Easter Breakfast Drama on Sunday, April 4. Breakfast, music, a celebration of Christ’s resurrection, and an original Easter play. It’s going to be fantastic.
  • One final thing. I’m really excited for our special guest speaker next Sunday, April 28. Our Assembly of God Michigan District Superintendent will be with us. I love Bill Leach, and you won’t want to miss the powerful word he is going to bring.

So many great opportunities to invite your friends to meet Jesus—just like Andrew did. I hope to see you at Calvary Assembly of God soon.

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Out Of The Tomb (Box)

March 15, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’m getting more and more excited about Easter Sunday. Jesus is out of the tomb, so we’re going to do something out of the box.

We’ve written an original play called Conspiracy! We’re going to present it on April 4 as a part of our Resurrection celebration at our Easter breakfast drama. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but let me just say, this play is going to take a lot of people by surprise.

There’s no cost for the breakfast, and we’ll be presenting the breakfast drama twice: at 9am and 11am.

Make your plans now to join us… it’s going to be an incredible celebration!

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