A Great Tool for Churches

This is the logo for the website called Sermonspice. You can find them at http://www.sermonspice.com/ I was recommended to them about a year ago. The website is a great resource to find video clips that will come alongside your message. They are usually about 3 minutes in length and are very well done. The cost for each video is between $15-20. You then can make a copy so that you could use it again if you like.

One of their features is a countdown. They have multiple settlings like Easter and Christmas and these types of videos can be used time and time again. They have funny, serious, and contemplative type of videos. I have purchased multiple videos and use them quite often. Also, each month they give a free video away. This month was the Thanksgiving countdown.

I am constantly looking for things that will add spice to my services. Always looking for new ones too. Any suggestions?

Full House Yesterday!

Ok, well maybe it wasn't that crowded, but we had a great turn out for our Homecoming Sunday! There were 138 people here at Cornerstone Church yesterday for our Homecoming Thanksgiving Service!

I was very pleased with the entire day. Our music was nice. We used a video clip from sermonspice with a turkey that sang the blues. I preached on the four things that I'm most grateful for. We then enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings following the service.

A new attender was the person who brought the most guests. Her name is Duanna and she brought (9) people with her to win the Life Application Study Bible. One of our teens, Josh, was the person to bring the second most and he brought (8). We awarded him a $10 gift card for Family Video for his efforts.

Thanks for your prayers and concerns. God is definitely at work here in Boone!

Proper Church Attire?

I'm so thankful for guys like Rick Warren who have helped us to get rid of the old mindset that a preacher must be choked each Sunday by a collar and tie, or even worst yet, covered with some hot itchy robe for church.

Warren holds the Gilda Radner philosophy, "I like to wear clothes that don't itch!" I love that, and I agree 100%!

The way that I see it is that I have to be at my best game on Sunday's. I need to be thinking about what God wants to say through me. I must not be consumed with worrying that my tie does not match my shirt.

Also, who am I dressing to impress? I believe that God would rather me to be myself and not put on some false airs about myself that are not correct. I am a blue jeans and tennis shoes kind of a guy. When I go to conferences and meetings, I try to be Jeff. If I don't, who will? Sure, I do have a few suits and wear them on occasions like funerals and weddings, but not always! I also have some fun cartoon ties that I wear from time to time, but that is rare as well.

So if you visit us at Cornerstone in Boone, please don't come expecting to see the pastor in a suit and tie because you won't find him here...

Discipline vs. Punishment

I am working on my master's degree at Crown College. I'm currently enrolled in The Biblical Communicator. I am working on a project where I will distinguish between punishment and discipline.

I am under the conviction that these are separate issues. Punishment looks back. It is inflicting pain for something bad I have done. Basically, "I am mad at you, therefore I want to hurt you." When I was only six years old I got myself into a big helping of trouble with my mother. Granted it was 1971 and times were much different than they are today, but I took off with friends after school to play basketball at our local youth hangout. I did not get home until well past supper. When I walked in the door my mom said, "First you'll eat, then you get spanked, then you'll go to bed." The more she thought about it, the madder at me she got. Finally she said, "Forget it, you'll get spanked then you're going to bed without supper." Please don't think ill of my mother, she was only 23 at the time, and doing the best she could, but she gives a good example of what I am talking about. This was punishment. I did wrong and I was gonna get the switch.

Discipline is so much different. It is looking at the future. God wants us to be like Him. He wants us to learn from the wrong that we have done. He wants us to grow. Hebrews 12 talks about discipline. Discipline is not pleasant, but necessary. It is God's form of correction with His children.

I remember when I was 12. I had a friend who wasn't the best influence to me. He wanted me to go to this huge picnic with a rough crowd. He encouraged me to fib to mom and tell her we were going shopping. Mom bought the lie and let me go. When I got home I was scorched with a sunburn. Mom said, "How did you get a sunburn like that shopping?" I was caught. Mom grounded me from going outside to play for lying to her. She explained that I could have gotten hurt and no one would have known where I was. She disciplined me for my good.

Fun topic... Any thoughts or illustrations you want to share?

Homecoming Sunday

The title of this portrait is, Homecoming Sunday. I thought it was appropriate to use this Sunday as we have dubbed this weekend Homecoming Sunday.

I have asked the congregation to go out and invite as many people as they can who used to attend the church and have for one reason or another left. I am telling them to invite them to come back and check out what is happening these days at Cornerstone.

I have purchased a Life Application Study Bible for the person who brings the most guests. I just had a teen in my office that has (8) people coming with him on Sunday. Last week we topped out at a whopping 117! I am praying for 150 this week. Remember friends, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving! I am in a hotel with my beautiful bride in Chicagoland area celebrating the day with the outlaws, I mean inlaws. The boys are in the room next to us. My sister-in-law is a manager of a hotel and we get free rooms for a couple of days.

I am so thankful for a lot of things. In fact too many to try to mention them all. The one that comes to my mind, other than the fact that God has saved me from hell by sending is one and only unique Son to die for my sins, is the fact that God has healed Cindy from breast cancer. I was so worried that this thing had spread and I was going to lose her. The chemo has been tough, and the radiation will be a pain, but we will endure it.

God blessed me with a wonderful help-mate. I wanted to take a few minutes to publicly acknowledge her today.

Moving day... AGAIN!!!

We moved again yesterday. We had been living in a small two bedroom apartment in Madrid, IA waiting for our house to sell so that we could buy something in Boone. Four months later we still have no bites on the house. Financially it is killing us. Making $1,400 monthly house payments on top of rent is crazy! The church was kind enough to allow us to move into the parsonage for the winter. Regardless of whether the house sells or not, we will remain there through the winter.

Our house in Hawley is brand new. It is a five bedroom home in a great neighborhood. We were really spoiled there. Let me just say, this house in Boone is not like what we had in Hawley. Don't get me wrong, no complaints here. I am so thankful that I live close to the church now. It will be much easier to help Cindy along now that I am close. It was also very nice to walk to church this morning. It will mean though that the boys will have to drive each day to Madrid to go to school. Pray with me for their safety. Also continue to pray that our home in Hawley will sell!!!

Going to be 75 today!

Ok, well maybe it isn't Sunday, but I'm sneaking away from church this morning. A couple of local pastors and I are going to take advantage of the warm weather and find a golf course.

My oldest son would have loved to skip school and join us, but we went to parent teacher appointments last night, and he is definitely not skipping school for golf. He won't be skipping school for anything. That boy needs to graduate this year :)

I think I have got some tendinitis or something going on with my left shoulder. When I line up with my driver, it really drives a pain deep into the core of my shoulder. It doesn't bother me with my irons though. Weird! The good news is though that I can still hit my 5 iron about 200 yards, so I can at least keep up and keep my score between 90-95.

I have played on about five courses since I moved to Iowa. We have been very impressed. This will be another new one this morning in Dayton, IA. Looking forward to taking some frustration out on the little white ball this morning!

Election Day

Well America, it is Election Day. This is a big day in the lives of many Christians in America. I pray that everyone would show up at the polls and vote for their convictions. The values of many people are under review and up for vote. Many key topics like abortion, homosexuality, and gambling are on the front burner and being decided upon today.

It is sad that more people do not take seriously their "OBLIGATION" to vote. Yes, it is a privilege, but I also see it as every one of ours obligation as American's to speak our minds at the voting booths. How can we say that we believe in something and then not show up to support it.

I am praying today for a major Republican landslide. I would not say that from the pulpit, but from my personal blog I believe that it is my right.

There are issues like education and Iraq that I don't necessarily agree eye-to-eye with the Republicans on, but in the end I believe Christians are hard pressed not to pull the Republican lever. There are too many things that are very contrary to God's law that the Democrats are willing to sell out on.

Those are my convictions. Regardless of where you stand, get out and vote today!

A Broken Heart...

This was a terribly tough weekend for Evangelicals. One of our finest, a poster boy for morality came tumbling down. It is apparent now that all of the bad publicity that has been swirling about Rev. Ted Haggard from New Life Church in Colorado Springs is true. This breaks my heart.

I actually talked to Ted once on the telephone. My church in Rockford, MN was contemplating using television commercials, and the company we were dealing with had Ted listed as a reference. Granted this was 7 or 8 years ago, but I still remember Ted to be congenial, funny, and most of all God-fearing. He talked about the importance of getting the gospel out to the masses.

I know that there are things in my life that I am not proud of. No, I do not have the dark secrets that Ted had, but I am a sinner. I have been saved by grace. None of us are perfect. We preach of the perfect One. Jesus Christ!

Let's be quick to forgive and slow to pass judgement. Let's not be the one to cast the first stone. Let's pray for our Christian brother, Ted Haggard. Let's pray for his church and his family. Let's pray that God can take something very ugly and use it for good in His kingdom.

What's next...

I don't know about most people, but one thing that is terribly tough for me is patience. I am an eager go-getter. I want to see things done and done now. I guess that is why impulsiveness is something I also battle with.

Here we are in Boone, and less than two months into this we are seeing incredible happenings. One lady in our church made three sepatate contacts this week, and it is a very good chance that all three families will be here with us for worship tomorrow. The church is ready to break that 100 average attendance for good. In October we had an average attendance of 95!

In Boone I have found a great group of people who are ready to do church. I am preaching a series on the importance of breaking away from yesterday and pushing on to tomorrow. We all have hurts and hang-ups that we have to deal with. Let's learn from them, but move past them. God is far more interested in your today and tomorrow than He is in your yesterday. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Cor 5:17 Don't you love the exclamation point on the end of this verse? It is something that needs to be highlighted or put in bold! The old is gone. Put it away forever!

We are inching closer to the holidays. With the holidays will come a major face-lift to our facility. I'll try to keep you updated with what is happening. Just keep in mind from a previous pic what the front looked like, and watch the changes. I'll try to keep updating stuff on the inside too!

Please keep praying for our house in Hawley to sell quickly!