Sunday Service Snippets- from the CUTE Pastor!

With our Pastor out of town, my hubby was asked to give the Sunday morning message at Calvary Chapel Crossroads in Antioch. It was quite the nervewracking experience.....filled with anxiety, mental exhaustion, wardrobe changes, and loss of sleep....and I'm sure Jarrod was feeling something too!



Oh yeah, I was a mess the night before....."Are you ready? What are you wearing? Should we go shopping? Are your notes typed up? It's 1am...shouldn't you be sleeping???"

HA

you'd think there was something riding on this one sermon...... ;)



But if you know what we've been going through for 3 years, then you know that THIS is what Jarrod wants to do.....teach the Word of God! And he has been waiting in the wings since we unsuccessfully put our house on the market over 2 years ago. He's not waiting for anything in particular....just to be used.....and he's been faithful to serve anywhere, anyhow, the Lord has lead since then....He is MUCH more patient that I am....and it shows by the 'fruit' in his life. He embodies goodness, faithfulness, gentleness.......as he waits for the green light, or atleast an arrow to point the way toward our 'future.'





But cool as a glass of sweet tea, my hubby stayed prayed up and delivered a Spirit-filled, cohesive, thought-provoking, and exhorative message to our humble congregation.

And he led off with this gem: "Last night, my wife asked me what scripture I'd be teaching from....and I told her Mark 16......The Empty Tomb. Her response was....didn't we just cover that at Easter? So I'm hoping you'll get more out of this than she is expecting to...." Cue canned laughter!

Well, he was right......I thought...out of 66 books, isn't there somewhere NEW you'd like him to touch on...or atleast somewhere let recently touched on?? Instead here on some things I learned this morning.....from my favorite cutie patootie pastor-in-training:

How to Live A Life Touched by the Resurrection:

Start with Worship.....be a worshipper.....like the women who went to annoint His body at the tomb. They were expectant and excited to honor the one they loved so much....... (Mark 16:1-2)

Be Determined......the women knew there was a stone that needed to be rolled away before they could prepare His body........that was not something they were capable of moving.....but they went there anyhow.....determined to see it moved. What obstacles in my life do I need to plow toward without regard to the 'how'.......? (Mark 16:3-4)

Remember where I came from.......Mary Magdelene had been healed/rescued from 7 demons.......What are my demons? The things in my past that Christ has saved me from? Where did my life u-turn? How has proclaiming to be a Christian changed me? When I remember the differences in my life.....I WANT to worship Him. I believe again that miracles DO happen, and NO one is TOO far from grace! (Mark 16:9-10)

Don't let Doubt Get the Best of Me........The 11 disciples....ones who had lived with Jesus, eaten with Jesus...intimate friends for 3 years......these disciples DID NOT BELIEVE! Even though Jesus had predicted his death.....they sat there mourning and weeping...at a time that should have called for rejoicing at the fulfillment of God's plans.....These were men on whom Christianity would be founded.....but they were just as prone to doubt as I am! (Mark 16:14)

Wait on Him.......how can I expect to KNOW Christ and to recognize His voice if I do not practice listening? When you're in love with someone you dedicate yourself to learning their habits, the sound of their voice, the way their hugs feel. It's the same with Christ....I want to be able to KNOW Him with my eyes shut, and without second guessing.

So those are a few of the things I got from the message the Lord spoke through my hubby.

I'm sure I don't do it justice here. I'm definitely getting sleepy...so let's wrap this puppy up!

What has the Lord show you this week??