How to pray for one hour

At New Life Community Church we are in the midst of 21 days of prayer and fasting. Part of this includes each New Life location hosting 24hrs of non-stop prayer from 7pm on one day to 7pm the next. At New Life Lincoln Park where I am our 24hrs starts tonight. We have over 30 people signed up for 1hr blocks to pray for one another, our church, and our city.

Praying for an entire hour?!? Wouldn't you fall asleep? What all could you possibly pray about for that long?

Praying for an hour may seem intimidating at first but for the person prepared the time in reality flies by. At the end the prepared person would be checking the clock on their phone with astonishment asking, "That's it? That was an hour?"

Here's how you get ready to pray for an hour:

Aug 2nd: Gospel appreciation day

I am declaring that August 2nd is Gospel appreciation day!

• Let all those who love Jesus and say they are followers of Him live like it!
• Remember that sin is disgusting and you did NOTHING to redeem yourself - Jesus did it ALL.
• Embrace the life that you did not earn but were given based on the sacrifice of Jesus. 
• Find joy in the truth that you could change nothing about yourself that would make God redeem you or love you more - both before you met Him or after. 
• Find peace in the truth that God is continually working on you and is always with you.
• Find passion in the truth that God wants you to join Him in what He is doing in the world (though He doesn't need you to accomplish it).

Appreciate the Gospel today!!!

• Appreciate the Gospel by caring about the type of person you are!
• Appreciate the Gospel by caring about the type of character you have!
• Appreciate the Gospel by caring about the type of words that come out of your mouth!
• Appreciate the Gospel by knowing the names of those who live around you!
• Appreciate the Gospel by learning the stories of those you interact with! 
• Appreciate the Gospel by treating cab drivers and waitresses and fast food workers like actual human beings and not endentured servants. 
• Appreciate the Gospel by speaking truth from a spirit of compassion and not of judgement!
• Appreciate the Gospel by disagreeing with people respectfully and not in harshness! 
• Appreciate the Gospel by communicating your disagreement of politicians without insulting them!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being concerned with how the poor are treated!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being concerned with how immigrants are treated!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being concerned with how the LGBT community is treated!
• Appreciate the Gospel by caring about the manner in which you talk to people!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being a person of truthful character! 
• Appreciate the Gospel by being an honorable person! 
• Appreciate the Gospel by being a person of justice!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being a person of purity!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being a lovely person!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being a person who can be commended!
• Appreciate the Gospel by being a person of excellence!   

Appreciate the Gospel by living it!

Because how you live out the gospel with the people you actually interact with day in and day out is more important than if you bought a spicy chicken yesterday. 

Gospel Appreciation: not just Aug 2nd.  

Everyday!

Keep the altar of private prayer burning

For New Life Lincoln Park peeps who are participating in the 50 Days of Prayer (info HERE), this is awesome reading from Charles Spurgeon on the need for daily private prayer:

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”

— Leviticus 6:13

Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital and experimental religion.

5 simple steps to get the most amazing study Bible on the planet right now (for free)!!!

One of the most important things for someone who loves Jesus to be engrossed in is the Bible. Not to merely read it but to study it, learn it, and live out its message. That type of study takes time, work, and resources. For the last 10+ years the best tool I've found and used for my own study is Logos Bible Software. It is the most amazing resource that actually saves me time and makes the work of studying fun and easy.

I'm incredibly pumped about a new resource that Logos has recently released, a brand new study Bible called Faithlife. There really isn't anything else out there like it and it has the potential of empowering the church for Bible study like never before. Check out this short video that gives an overview:

Pastoring: the happiest of jobs, the most painful of jobs

Within the same hour yesterday I came across two different articles that speak about the job of being a pastor: 

• One from Forbes: The Ten Happiest Jobs 
• And one from a daily devotional that a friend from church forwarded to me: What Our Pastors Wish We Knew.

Though seemingly in contradiction of one another, both are accurate. 

To be honest though, I hope more people read the second one.

 

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you." 1 Thessalonians 5:1

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Thankfulness for someone who encouraged thought

A great man of God passed away yesterday: Chuck Colson.

There are leaders of the faith who have inspired me, those who have equipped me, those who have encouraged me. But Chuck Colson is a leader who challenged me to think about and understand my faith. And in doing so he inspired, equipped, and encouraged.

The first time I ever heard Chuck Colson I had no idea who he was or that it was him I was listening to. At the beginning of his song, "Heaven in the Real World," Stephen Curtis Chapman had a sound bite of Colson saying this:

"Where is the hope? I meet millions of people who feel demoralized by the decay around us. The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us, or what laws we pass, or what great things we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people. And that's where our hope is in this country. And that's where our hope is in life." 

His life story is about that hope. His story is a testimony to the powerful grace of God.

If you've never heard of or interacted with the work of Chuck Colson, I highly recommend you do.

Read his obituary press release here.

Read his story here.

Check out his books here. If you want some suggested starting places I'd go with The Faith, How Now Shall We Live, and The Body. 

And check out this video...

"It's tough being the one there holding a father and mother when they just lost their son"

That's what my friend Matt DeMatteo shared yesterday with our pastoral team after Johnny Vargas passed away. Around 1am I received this string of texts from Matt:

 

Johnny's death came from a gang related shooting (Tribune link). He was only 19 years old.

Week in review #27

One week of 2012 down, 51 one to go. The last time I did a week in review post (#16) was a few months ago. That lost time was summarized in a post last week, so things continue on with #27. This one is coming right from a trip to the nation's capital:

Me & Mark Driscoll

Yesterday I was part of the Love Life conference with Mark Driscoll down in Athens, GA. Regardless of the whether you are a Driscoll fan boy or the exact opposite, his messages on love, dating, and marriage were phenomenal. The content is based on a book he has coming out in January, and subsequent speaking tour that Logos is sponsoring. Really powerful stuff, highly recommend checking it out. Based on the current schedule he'll be in Rockford next September. So you have some time to plan ahead. =)

Wrong worship in the church

This video is rather funny, and also rather potent with truth and reality:

May we never minimize worship to simply singing songs on Sunday.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 

When was the last time you went to church?

Just because the last message was incredibly boring doesn't mean today's will be.

Just because no one said HI before doesn't mean no one will smile and say welcome today.

Just because fakes were at the last place doesn't mean they aren't genuine at the new place.

Just because you were hurt at the last church doesn't mean you can't find healing at the next one.

Just because the last pastor was a prideful jerk doesn't mean the next can't be a humble servant.

Don't condemn all Christians as guilty because a few act like complete idiots.

Don't attempt to hold Jesus hostage because of how His children behave sometimes.

Don't allow a few worse case scenarios to blind you to all of the best ones.

When was the last time you went to church?

Don't miss an opportunity today.

Pray Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani doesn't get executed!

Literally just heard of this within the last 15 minutes. 

And in light of the situation, the reality of the above sentence is in and of itself a complete travesty!!!

Here is the situation, copying from the Washington Post:  

Just days after Iran released two Americans accused of spying, an Iranian court has upheld the apostasy conviction and execution sentence of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s supreme court had previously ruled that the trial court must determine if Youcef had been a Muslim before converting to Christianity. However, the judges, acting like terrorists with a hostage, demanded that he recant his faith in Christ before even taking evidence. The judges stated that even though the judgment they have made is against the current Iranian and international laws, they have to uphold the previous decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom. 

Here's the the link to the full article: Christian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces potential execution.

Stunned about this. Heartbroken for Pastor Nadarkhani, for his wife and children. Praying fervently for him right now. 

Taking this from another blog I read about the situation, it sums up actions steps that can and should be taken:

• EDUCATE. Read the story below from the Washington Post and educate yourselves. [here for RSS readers]
• ADVOCATE. Click this email form to write the Iranian embassy, urging them NOT to go ahead with the execution following the trial. I’ve included a copy of my letter in the comments.
• PRAY. Pray. And pray some more.
• SHARE. Share Pastor Yousef’s story and faith. 

I wrote a note to the Iranian Ambassador. If you do so, please be respectful and follow the suggestions given on the site. If you're not going to act in such a manner, then don't write an email.

And pray...pray...pray for Pastor Yousef Madarkhani.

Exciting new part of the Moss fam's journey

In the last couple "Week In Review" posts I've mentioned that big news was coming in regards to what's going on with our family. Well, here is:

No, we are NOT expecting another child. =)

This past Sunday at New Life's Lincoln Park campus, Pastor Mark announced that I would be stepping in to take over for him as Teaching Pastor.  Jeannette & I will be joining with Rick & Sylvia Allen to lead the location and bring the gospel to the Lincoln Park area. My primary responsibilities will include teaching/preaching on Sundays, but also to provide leadership in various areas of the church and to help build up the community.

We've been attending NLLP pretty consistently since February. To say it's an understatement that we are excited about this would be an incredible understatement. The people at LP are AMAZING! There are such great people serving and making things happen, and we are humbled and grateful to be able to join in with them.  

Yes, I'll still be working at Logos and teaching at Moody, to answer the expected questions. Logos is my primary job and I love it, being able to travel the country helping people get equipped for Bible study. I'm fortunate to be able to do both. Going into next semester I'm rearranging my teaching schedule at Moody to only be teaching one day (Mondays), so we're going to see how that goes. 

Because of a couple previous commitments in the church and other things, the official transition/start isn't until around Thanksgiving. Between now and then though I'll be teaching most evenings during the 5pm service and also a couple times in the 10am service. 

We are excited, pumped, freaked out, little nervous, but are so ready and anticipating great things to come!!! Without listing all the names here, there are so many people who have carried us through to this point in the journey. "Thank you" seems inadequate, adding "we love you" still not enough. But I feel both very deeply.

Thankful for yesterday, in awe of today, dreaming about the future.

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

How denominations see one another

My friend Pete shared this with me and it brought much laughter to my afternoon. 

Had to bring others into the chuckles (click on the image to enlarge it):

The worst Christmas program ever...

...includes what?

Hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. So I'm looking for some input from whomever will offer it: 

When you think of Christmas programs/services that churches put on - what makes them just plain bad?

What doesn't make for a good Christmas program? 

As I'm thinking through things for Christmas this year - I'm really curious what people will share. Please be honest - and please don't bash/critique someone's opinion. =)

Leave a comment below. Thanks!

Week in review #11

Just woke up from getting over 9 hours of sleep last night. Can't remember the last time that happened. But based on the past week, the extra sleep was needed:

Week in Review #8

School has started, summer is ending, life is busy but awesome. Didn't get to do a "week in review" last weekend, so this is a double reflection:

"That was a pile of crap" - a note to preachers/teachers

Every teacher or preacher has that moment when they feel like they didn't do a good job. It doesn't matter if you are just starting out or have been speaking for years - that one Sunday, that one class, that one group will come.  It will be over and you'll feel like you need to apologize to someone.

For me this day came a few weeks ago. An intro to a talk I had come up with didn't go as smooth as had planned, I was getting lost in my notes, and just felt like things weren't flowing very well.

Bono, the blind man, and the 2nd commandment

We are going through the 10 Commandments at church, and I've been fortunate enough to have spoken on the first four of them. It's been an incredible time and a really amazing series.

Last week I saw a sweet video of U2's recent concert in Nashville that reminded me of the power behind the 2nd commandment.

Pastor Troyer

When I was in 6th grade my family started attending Bethel Baptist church in Merrillville, Ind.  We had floated around other places for awhile, but didn't really feel at home anywhere. The fact we moved about a 1/2 mile from Bethel and that many of my classmates attended the church made the decision to be there rather easy.  It quickly and easily became our church "home." 

The pastor at Bethel was Marv Troyer.  

I am honored to be able to say that he was and always will be my pastor.

A week ago today Pastor Troyer past away.  He was 77.  Today in Ohio is a memorial service for him, and it is killing me that I am unable to be there.  I would love to be able to add my voice to the many people I know will be sharing stories and words of appreciation for this great man of God.

Someone will mention his huge smile and laugh.  

Someone will mention his Amish stories.

Someone will mention his preaching.

Someone will mention his heart for people and his leadership.

So many stories, so many words that can be shared.  

I hung out at the church a lot with my youth pastor and did my college internship at Bethel, so I was able to interact with Pastor Troyer a lot outside of Sundays.  And I do have fond memories.