Jesus' Church Is______

Do you ever wonder - why go to church?  Why do church?  What is the point after all?  There are so many other important things in you can be doing or thinking about on a Sunday morning:  sports, lunch, relationships.  Why does church really matter?  After all, Jesus is good - but the church is full of some messed up sinful people.  Can't you have Jesus without His Church?

In a word, no.  

Jesus is His Church.  If that's true, then what does Jesus' Church look like?  What does it do?  Would it look and be like Bellwether? 

Regardless of what anyone thinks, Bellwether IS Jesus' Church.  It's His and no one else's.  That being said, it's up to US as HIS people to B HIS CHURCH.  

The next two Sunday's are two of the most important sermons of the year.  In them, we at Bellwether will have an honest conversation about Who We Are as a church, Where We've Been, and Where We are Going as Jesus' Church.  It is a two-part series called "State of His Church."  Because Bellwether is His church.  Please make every effort to BE at church the next two Sunday's.  We believe not only will you be blessed, you will hear and see what His church, Bellwether, can be when we talk bold steps of faith to raise His Kingdom.  Our Scripture this Sunday will be Acts 2: 37-47 and Acts 6: 1-7.  

We hope you will come Sunday.  We hope you will invite someone whose eternal life matters.  We hope you will come expecting and planning to see God do things you never thought possible in His church named Bellwether - this Sunday and in the next year - and in you.  We can't.  He can.  

See you Sunday.  May you fully know the church of Jesus Christ.  It matters to your life now, and it matters for your eternity. 

The Life We Can Receive

Don't forget:  we are highlighting our India Mission trip this Sunday at Bellwether with a video on the trip and an Indian lunch afterwards at Fondren.  We hope you can be there to learn about this new mission and pray about being part of it!  

As for our message Sunday, how do you think one becomes a missionary?  How does a regular person go from a life of constant sin, to knowing Christ, and then being fully changed to GO into all the world for Him?  

I don't think it's random.  I don't think it only happens for those who are pastors or go to seminary.  I fully believe ALL of us are called to be missionaries and to GO.  It comes with being a follower of Christ.  Many simply don't because they believe it's not for them or they are not equipped.  We want to help everyone at Bellwether and beyond to go - and it doesn't have to be halfway around the world.  It can be to our neighbors, our friends who are searching, our families in trouble, and yes to missions around the world.  

Sunday, we will close the series "Alpha...in the beginning."  We've been looking at Genesis 1-3 at basic truths we easily miss over in these first chapters of the Bible.  Within these chapters, I believe we can find complete meaning and purpose in our lives.  We closed last week with "Our Fall" into sin and how Christ can lead us out of our personal pits and hells.  We will pick up this Sunday into how our the Christian life, the life of following Christ, is not simply about being saved out of hell, but much more.  It is about receiving a new life, a new way of looking at the world, a world we may have never seen before, a world of the Holy Spirit.  

We will stay in Genesis Chapter 3 and also look at passages in Romans 5 & 8.  We hope you have a great weekend and can be with us for Worship together on Sunday morning.   May God bless you!  

Modern Day Dysfunctional Family

Okay, so I've never seen "Modern Day Families."  I've heard from many it's hilarious.  I've also heard it's far from what we'd call "traditional family values."  Yet it's one of the most widely watched shows on TV. 

I am part of a family.  I lead a family as husband and father.  I'm part of an extended family which comprises parents, a brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.  And let me say with full disclosure:  I'm part of and come from a dysfunctional family. That said, I love my dysfunctional family and always will.    

I believe all our families - whatever they may look like - traditional, blended, or "modern" have a degree of dysfunction.  As much as we may want and portray the white-picket fence, there's some messiness in all our families.  It's called sin, it is real, and it can take some dysfunctional families and destroy them so badly you think you'll never be able to pick up the pieces.  

Thankfully, we have a Savior - Christ our Lord - who meets our broken, modern, dysfunctional families and can bring healing, forgiveness and redemption.  Even more, we have a Church - the Body of Christ (Ephesians 5: 29-32) - that is to be our supernatural family.  It is to be Jesus' Family, where people are accepted, reconciled, healed, and raised up.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, this is who we're praying to be at Bellwether.  We want you to be part of this family - fully and totally.

We also want to do all we can to help your modern day dysfunctional family.  Because at the end of the day, all of our families are dysfunctional.  Why pretend?  Why not lean on your church family and allow Jesus to bring healing and new life?  

Sunday at Bellwether we continue RAISE Redux and we talk about "A - Accept Your Family Role."  What is the special role you have to play in your family?  We hope you'll be with us, and bring your family, to find out!  Our Scripture passage for Sunday will be Ephesians 5: 22 - 6: 4 & 6: 10-12.  

We believe in your family, our family at Bellwether, and the global family of Christ we're part of.  We want you to feel like you belong to all of them too.  Have a great rest of your week, and we hope to see you Sunday.   

We're back.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and support our Honduran mission team received over the past week.  We all arrived arrived home safely last night.  It's good to be home to be with all our family.  It will be great for all our church family to be together this coming Sunday.  We'll be starting our new series on growing with Christ:  RAISE Redux.  We hope you can be with us. 

As for Honduras, we are simply catching our break.  It was an amazing time.  I'm only fully realizing how powerful everything was now after returning.  You'll probably be hearing stories from individuals for months (if not years) and we'll be putting together a video of the many great photos we have.  For now, here's a few things you can know about the trip: 

God spoke to everyone in unique and different ways.

People from our church family were healed from personal and emotional burdens.  

We built 3 houses for families who have nothing.  Literally, the walls of their present homes were sheets & tin.  Their floors were dirt.  

Over 700 patients received medical treatment.  

We worshipped together with our Honduras brothers and sisters.  

We led a Vacation Bible School where hundreds of children received blessings. 

We saw 4 personally invite Jesus Christ into their hearts.

We were honored to be part of two baptisms on the spot of our construction site.

Those are the few of the things we witnessed God do.  I believe there are countless other ways the Holy Spirit worked:  on us at Bellwether, and to the people of Honduras.  

I'm so thankful, blessed, and amazed at our Lord and Savior.  He heals.  He forgives.  He transforms.  He literally saves lives.  

And this is only the beginning.  Hope to see you Sunday.  God bless you.   

Alternative Community

What do you comes to mind when you think of Church?

It could be many different things:  music, worship, dressing in Sunday best, something you have to do, an hour to snooze, rigid, fake, peaceful, family, hypocrisy, money, prayer, Christ, celebration, inspiring, growing, fulfilling, buildings, and we could go on and on.  You may have positive or negative thoughts about the Church.

Do you ever think of it as an alternative community?  

When we say alternative community, we mean a place that is different from the rest of the world.  A group of people who are very much in this world, yet very much not of it.  Many groups have tried to form alternative communities throughout history, the majority of them not as Christians.  These would be what we'd call communes or the hippie movement.  You get the picture.  

However, the Church was always designed to be an alternative community.  When it is being true to Jesus's Call for it on earth, it is living as an alternative community by the power of the Holy Spirit.  A place that is different from this world, that functions as the family of Christ, leads people to Christ, and goes out into all the world for Christ.  Now, the question is:  is the Church living out this mission?  Are we as the people of Bellwether?  

Sunday, we'll conclude the series:  Alternate Reality, life by the Spirit.  Last week we talked about how that reality affected relationships.  This Sunday we'll talk about how it affects the Church.  The message will be:  Church as an "alternative community":  what this looks like and how to be one.  We hope you'll be with us to see what Jesus is calling us to as His people.  We hope you'll be part of His alternative community on earth - one that can change your life, the lives of people you know, and the world for Him.  

Destiny or Chance?

Have you ever wondered whether your life was influenced more by destiny and fate or by random chance? 

In our culture and world today, many people believe their lives are orchestrated by destiny and a higher power.  You see this with idealists who think fate has a hand in who they meet, form relationships with, marry, and even where they are born, live, and what they do with their lives.  We also see this in many films, books, and TV shows.

Others in our world believe there is no such thing as destiny or fate.  Everything more or less happens by chance.  There is no "luck."  People make their own luck.  Where you're born is simply random.  Who you meet and marry is totally by chance.  It could be someone else - you were simply there at the right time and place.  

To which of these do you lean more to:  destiny or chance?  Fate or randomness?  

What if there is a third way?  That our lives are neither orchestrated by chance or by destiny through some type of higher power.  What if a real, living, God is directing each and every step of our lives?  What if there are "no chance encounters."  That there is a reason for each and every person in our lives - good and bad.  Do you believe that?  

This summer, we're doing a series on "Alternate Reality - life by the Spirit."  It is looking at living in and through the Holy Spirit.  Tomorrow at church the message will be called "No Chance Encounters."  Why?  Because in this alternate reality, in a life led by the Holy Spirit, there really are no chance encounters.  

We hope you can be with us Sunday morning to see how God leaves nothing to chance.  Perhaps you'll see your life and relationships in a whole new life.  We hope so. 

Have a great weekend and God bless you!   

Scripture for Sunday

We'll begin sending Scripture used for Sunday's message before so you have an opportunity to be reading them before our worship.

For this Sunday, July 3rd, we'll be preaching out of:

Matthew 22: 15-22

Matthew 4: 8-10

Genesis 1: 26-27

Isaiah 55: 8-9

Ephesians 2: 18-22

1 Peter 2: 11-14

Hope you can read before and see you Sunday!