marriages to be ruined…

jobs to be lost…

reputations to be damaged…

relationships to drift…

kids to be pushed a way…

And for what?
All for the achievement of one of the greatest and most addictive illusions of our life: control

Control is never achieved when sought after directly. It is the surprising outcome of letting go.

When life gets tough we always want to try to create  the outcome the way we want it to be. In reality we should stop trying to control it and give it over to God. He always has and always will be the one in control anyway.

What is it you’re trying to control and manipulate that you should be giving back to God?

Last night me and a friend went to hang out with my Pastor Joey and his wife at their house. We went with no real agenda other than to be poured into and drawn closer to God.
On the way over there I prayed that God would challenge us all. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for hanging out and having fun but I love hanging out with people and sharpening each other to look more like Christ. To me that’s the most fun thing I can be doing while hanging out with someone.

We get to Joey and Laura’s house and the girls went their way and me Joey went ours. Me and Joey pulled up Youtube on the Wii, played some worship music and just talked. Then we stumbled upon this movie “Finger of God.” The girls came in the room and we watched the movie for the next hour and spent another hour talking about things in the movie.
It challenged me beyond belief and I’m still wrestling with some of the things. Since it impacted me, I thought I’d pass it along to you. I hope you enjoy!
If you like the first 5 clips, I’ll post the next 5 later.

For instance…
Students are crazy PASSIONATE…
Students want a place to BELONG and call HOME…
Students long for people who are REAL…
Students want a chance to LEAD…
But one of the biggest things I’ve learned about Students is they have QUESTIONS!! Such as…
Where should I go to College?
Why did my parents get divorced?
Does God even like me?
What am I supposed to do with my life?
Can I listen to Rap Music?

As the Church Leaders if we don’t provide ANSWERS based off Biblical truth for these students, they will go elsewhere for the answers.

So at House of Grace and UnAshamed, we’re going to do our best to answer your questions based off scripture the best that we can!

The Series “Q&A” for UnAshamed is Sept 8th, 15th and 22nd at House of Grace Church at 7:00pm.
The Series “Q&A” for House of Grace College is Sept 7th, 14th and 21st in Walker Hall at 7:30pm.

Week 1: Culture and Church
Week 2: How Do I know God’s Will
Week 3: Relationships Marriage and Sex

Aight guys so now here’s the thing! WE NEED YOUR QUESTIONS!! So feel free to comment them here, email me trousey@gmail.com or message me via Facebook! Anythings on the table!

Can’t wait to hear from you guys!

Mark 10:35-45

When was the last time you volunteered to do something in service to another person?

If you’re a father, you’ve probably done something selfless already to serve your child or children today. If you’re a husband, chances are you can remember the last time you served your wife without her asking. But if you’re a single guy/girl in your first job, scraping together a living and trying to make ends meet, it’s possible that it’s been awhile. Most of us know we should serve others and really want to, but we don’t really know how.

Talking about serving is a lot easier than actually going out, looking for it a need and meeting it. It’s uncomfortable and most people let the uncomfortable situations scare us. Jesus served throughout his ministry. When he served others, the act often involved self-sacrifice and very uncomfortable situations. Ultimately, he sacrificed his life for our sins. When we serve others, especially those who have no way of repaying us, we imitate Jesus.

We represent Christ to those we serve. Kenneth Leech writes, “Christian spirituality is the spirituality of the Poor Man of Nazareth who took upon himself the form of a servant. To follow the way of the kingdom is therefore to follow him who fed the hungry, healed the sick, befriended the outcast and blessed the peacemakers.” Even with Jesus living and serving right in front of them, the disciples didn’t seem to get it. They wondered how they could be great. But Jesus answered, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (verse 43-44).

That’s the paradox of serving. When we give ourselves away in service, we find ourselves. When we empty ourselves in service, we find fulfillment. A lot of people search for identity and self-fulfillment. Most look for it in repeated highs of promotions, exotic vacations or an endless parade of worldly possessions. But real fulfillment comes from serving God by serving others. When we give ourselves away in service to others, we find meaning and joy in life that selfishness can never equal.

Guys I just want to extend an opportunity for you to come serve with me and a few of my friends. Some of us have been talking about doing as much outside of the Church as we do inside the church! But now the talk stops and it’s time to go out, take action and be the Church!

I heard a friend of mine Chris Hadsell say one time “We always talk about helping the poor but we don’t KNOW the poor!” It’s time to start looking for ways to serve and a group of us are going to start today and hopefully it will become a way of life! This isn’t about “House of Grace”, “UnAshamed”, “House of Grace-College” or a certain church or anything like that! THIS IS ALL ABOUT JESUS and making his name famous to the world!! If you can come that would be awesome but if not I encourage to seek opportunities to serve and pray for us as we do!

SERVOLUTION IS HERE!!

“I would never want to reach out someday with a soft, uncalloused hand–a hand never dirtied by serving–and shake the nail-pierced hand of Jesus” –Bill Hybels

Monday- Free Cook out! Meet at the Church at 4:30pm and we’ll head over to the location.

Tuesday- Passing out water bottles on MGC campus inviting students to Church and talking with them.

Wednesday- Free hair cuts at the Church 5pm-7pm! Dinner after Church service.

Thursday- Free car wash! Meet at the Church at 4:30pm.

Friday- Parents Night Out. College Students and Youth will be keeping kids at the Church while the parents enjoy a date night.

Saturday- Passing out water bottles downtown Cochran. Cutting peoples grass that needs to be cut. Picking up trash on the streets of our community.

#1 – I believe there is more God given potential in you than you realize.  (See Ephesians 2:10)

#2 – I believe He has a plan for your life…one that He is revealing in steps because IF He revealed it all at one our minds would explode.  (See I Corinthians 2:9)

#3 – I believe in order to achieve what God really wants for you then you will have to embrace both the uncomfortable and the unknown.  (See Luke 9:23)

#4 – I believe God is after your heart, not just your behavior…and quite possible the reason He’s not taking you to the next step is because your current step is for you to let go of the idol that He has been exposing in your life.  (See Ezekiel 14:1-5)

#5 – I believe whenever God asks us to give something up it is because He wants to replace it with something better.

#6 – I believe that God’s plan for your life IS going to include an “oh crap” moment, one where you finally realize that implications of Hebrews 11:6.

#7 – I believe that you can do exactly what God has equipped and empowered you to do.  (See Philippians 4:13)

#8 – I believe that if you are faithful with the little things He will entrust you with many.  (See Luke 12:48)

#9 – I believe you should ask yourself the question over and over again, “what would I be willing to attempt for God if I knew I could not fail” and allow Him to develop a holy discontent in your life.  (See Romans 4:17)

#10 – I believe God uses ordinary people to accomplish extrordinary things.  (See Acts 4:13)

#11 – I believe that as your view of God increase…so will our level of obedience.  (See Isaiah 6:1-8)

#12 – I believe that true desperation for God will bring revelation from Him…that He wants us to know more than we actually want to know.

#13 – I believe when God sets your heart on fire with a desire that is from Him…you should not leave Him alone until you see that desire accomplished.  (See Isaiah 62:6-7)

I’m that guy who has to pray for people right then and there because if I don’t, more times than not, I’ll forget.
I’m that guy who is on staff at an amazing Church yet feels so inadequate and undeserving.
I’m a guy who should have a lot better relationship with his family.
I’m a guy that God serves Humble Pie to on a constant basis because of my PRIDE.
I’m a guy who is leading an AMAZING group of young people but is still learning how to lead daily.
I’m that guy who used to wear tight shirts because they make him look like he has muscles… until he saw a picture, then he knows he’s just fat.
I’m that guy who struggles being real with himself, others, and God.
I’m that guy who has made more stupid mistakes with girls than I can count.
I’m that guy who could lose his job at any moment because of making a stupid mistake.
I’m that guy who spends 200 dollars for a pair of Jeans then makes you feel bad for not giving to the poor.
I’m that guy who shaves his head because his hair is thinning.
I’m that guy who is jealous of most people who are more intelligent than him.
I’m that guy who over promises and under delivers.
I’m that guy who talks big about commitment to the local church yet forgets to say thank you to his awesome volunteers as many times as I should.
I’m that guy who never smiles in his pictures because of my teeth.
I’m that guy who is just really learning how to read scripture.
I’m that guy who struggles with lust.
I’m that guy who leaves my computer in my office, not in my house so I don’t look at porn.
I’m that guy who’s still waiting for God to put the “one” (if there’s such a thing) in my path.

But
Despite all of this,
I’m a guy who is going to continue to let God use him, mold him and shape him in spite of all that Jazz.
Because for some reason in spite of all my crap…God is using me and it is only just beginning.
So now that you see how screwed up I am. When are you going to stop waiting until you are out of your “sinfest” and let God use you in the midst of your arrogant, selfish and sinful chaos?

Get over yourself and let God use you.

Stress. We face it every day. We eat stress with our breakfast, sit next to it on the ride to class or work and dream about it at night. Stress can consume us to the point that we feel like Robert Orben, who wrote, “Sometimes I get the feeling the whole world is against me, but deep down I know that’s not true. Some of the smaller countries are neutral.”

As hard as we try, we simply can’t control the pressures that bombard us–unreasonable workloads, financial woes, relational struggles either with the girl tripping or something with the guys, unexpected layoffs, life-threating diseases, or a loved one’s death. Whether we create the crises ourselves or they attack us from the outside, our futile efforts at preventing disaster fall woefully short.

This psalmist certainly understood pressure. He described an agonizingly stressful version of existence, characterized by earthquakes, mudslides, tidal waves and erupting volcanoes. Perhaps he intended to create a more figurative but equally stressful image: one in which the foundations of society crumble and nations topple. Or maybe the songwriter was attempting to describe the consequences of inner turmoil and stress: Our bodies quake under pressure until, unable to bear the strain, we helplessly collapse.

What should we do when our stress load has our brains in a vise?!? Give up?!? Let It Go?!?

This not the answer a typical guy wants to hear. We like to control the environment around us, secure in the belief that we can handle anything life throws at us. But is that the kind of rugged individualism really proper for the Christian man?!? True, we can’t simply sit on the couch and trust that God will pay the electric bill or change the attitude of a rebellious friend. The “letting go” comes not in the action we have to take but in the results we expect our actions to effect.

Different situations call us to act, to be sure. But when we relinquish control to God and let go of our own plans, we leave the results in his hand because we acknowledge that we never had control in the first place. When the pressures of life threaten to crush you and you’re called to action, begin by simply willing your mind to be still and recognizing that God is in control.

“Sometimes God puts us through the fire to help us recognize he’s still and always has been and always will be in control of the furnace.”

Buy a new car…
New house….
Shopping spree at the best clothing store in the world “H&M”…
Season tickets to watch americas favorite basketball team the Lakers

Well Bud Post actually won 16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery and he was set for life. At least that’s what he thought. But his ex-girlfriend and I’m not saying she’s a gold digger but she successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. And Bud’s brother definitely hasn’t watched “Band of Brothers” because he hired a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit some of the money.

Sadly, Bud’s troubles didn’t stop there. Due to his fulfilling repeated request for debt relief from friends and family and making a large investment in a business venture that brought no return, Bud found himself over 1 million in debt within a year of winning the lottery. By the time he had reached retirement age, the former multimillionaire was surviving on 450 a month and food stamps.

Post isn’t alone. Within five years of hitting the jackpot, one third of all lottery winners declare bankruptcy. They make huge material investments–houses, cars, businesses–with out realizing that all of those things carry hidden costs. They give away large sums without realizing that more request are on the way. They assume their money will always be there for them, but they’re wrong. In the process, they learn tough lessons about the dangers of misplaced trust.

King David placed his trust in the strength of his fighting force. He probably felt secure when the census takers assured him that more than a million soldiers protected his kingdom. However, David’s security didn’t last long. The king realized too late that nothing on Earth is invincible. Only God deserves our trust.

Too many times we allow our sense of security to get tangled up in a bank account, a stock portfolio, a girlfriend, a frat, a title or nice clothes. But, like Bud Post and King David, we discover too late that nothing is certain except God.

Where does your sense of security come from? Is it tied up in temporary treasures? Or have you placed your confidence in the one eternal Sure Thing?

“Security is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God, no matter what the danger.”

Late in the winter of 1569 Dirk Willems found himself running from the Dutch authorities. Although no one today would see his beliefs about baptism as radical or threatening, leaders at the time regarded them as heretical and illegal.

Fleeing for his life, Willems came to a pond covered with thin ice. After safely making his way across, he discovered that his pursuer hadn’t been so fortunate. Responding to the officer’s cry for help, Willems ran back, pulled him out of the frigid water and dragged him to shore. The guard then seized Willems and escorted him to prison. Soon afterward, authorities burned Willems at the stake.

Now Willems is LEGIT!!! This guy took to heart the teaching of Jesus to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (verse 27). I gotta be honest and I know I’m not supposed to say this because I’m a Pastor but that would of been tough for me. His action of saving his purser certainly defied what we might call “logical” reasoning. Because the “logical” thing to do would of been to look at the officer and tell him to “kick rocks” and run to Switzerland. BUT follow Christ isn’t always about doing the “logical” thing but it’s always about doing the the CHRIST like thing.

Chances are you’ll never have to make the kind of life-changing decision Dirk Willems faced. But life still presents plenty of opportunities to apply Jesus’ Challenging words. A crazy driver might cut you off the next time you’re on the road. You might be stabbed in the back by that person you thought was your friend. Tension might come to a head with a coworker who seems bent on making your time at work miserable.

Few of us would call loving our enemies or people who hurt us as “natural.” Jesus didn’t say we’d enjoy it. But no matter how we feel, we can honor Jesus’ command to “pray for those who mistreat us” (Verse 28).

A friend of mine Chris Hadsell who is an amazing writer wrote a note not too long ago and an awesome quote stood out to me. “Nothing that we despise in the other man is entirely absent from ourselves. We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or don’t do, and more in light of what they suffer.”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I don’t know if that resonates in you the way it did me but I thought it was amazing. In most occasions people don’t really mean harm when they hurt us (I said most). It’s usually stemming from something else that’s going on in their life. So friends I challenge you, that we would pray for our own attitudes so that we can respond in a Christ like way when we feel hurt.

We can’t control other peoples actions but we can always control our own and the way we respond to situations.

By the way here is a link that explains Dirk Willems
http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/Dirk_Willems.html

The story of Joshua starts off as a terrible story, but trust me, it changes for the better.

Sacred Heart, a hospital in Haiti, found a 12 year old boy from Haiti suffering with cerebral palsy and pulled him off of the streets to start caring for him. Before Joshua was found by Sacred Heart’s team, his mother was letting him die on the street because the worse he looked, the more money she made when she begged. She had never given him a name, so for the first 12 years of his life, he was known as her “dog”. He had never been loved, never been kissed and nobody had ever told him that he had value. Sacred Heart changed all of that.

Since then he has been placed in a new home by SafeWorld/SafeWater where he will never go without love again. After they found Joshua a safe home, SafeWorld/SafeWater were asked by the UN and Haitian government if they would help place more children like Joshua in homes. They realized there were too many children and not enough homes, so Joshua’s Village was born. SafeWorld/SafeWater is developing Joshua’s Village in Haiti for at-risk, abandoned children with disabilities. It will also be a refuge for young girls who have been raped/abused in tent cities and to keep trauma counselors on hand to help those toward who need recovery and healing. The elements of Joshua’s Village are things that most of us take for granted each day. These things are sustainable construction, comprehensive primary/secondary schooling and a convenient medical clinic to those that need care.

Now, that the major earthquake in Haiti has done its damage, the people of Haiti need help more than ever. YOUR HELP. SafeWorld/SafeWater is really trying to make a difference there, but of course helping Haiti recover takes time and resources. They have actually been on the ground in Haiti since 6 days after the earthquake. Wow.

After saying all of this, SafeWorld/SafeWater really needs your help to raise $10,000+ for ground work to finalize and launch the project.  The completion of this project will change so many people’s lives. Lives that are probably a lot like Joshua’s.

The story of Joshua doesn’t stop here, though. In the coming months I will be updating you on how things are going with Joshua and the building of Joshua’s Village. I believe God can change this nation. I believe we can help. Everyone has something to give. If you don’t think you can give anything, your prayers are some of the best things that can be done. I know we can help make this happen.

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