The Sunday That Was (September 25)

Yesterday at the Suncoast was the chance for a lot of people to step up, which was really cool to see. We had two staff members and a couple key volunteers out of town so some new faces got to step up and lead the Suncoast! We had a new vocalist, a new person leading worship, a new tech person running video, new people doing set up and tear down... good stuff.

I can remember days 4 or 5 years ago when we were just getting this church started that this would have been a Sunday I would have dreaded because we would have had some huge holes that would NOT have been filled OR I would have had to fill them and totally killed myself before I even preached a word!

I am so thankful for our staff, for our volunteers, and for the new people who stepped up and made it happen this week. Virtual HIGH FIVE!

Sunday we also wrapped up a quick little series that packed so much punch called "Catalyst." We continued talking about the things God uses to grow our faith and how we can either intentionally involve ourselves in these things, and put ourselves in environments where this happens, OR at least be aware of how these things work in our lives when we experience them so we can work with God and not against Him. Here are a few of my notes... catch the message here on my blog later today:

The reason Jesus was so revolutionary was because He invited us to KNOW God through faith. Not just know about God (religion), but actually KNOW and relate to God as a Father.

The first two ways God uses over and over to grow that relationship from last week were Practical Teaching and Providential Relationships.

Private Disciplines is the third way He does this. Things like prayer, reflection, reading your Bible, giving, even fasting.

In Matthew 6:6 Jesus tells us there is a reward for doing these private things on our own.

Pivotal Circumstances is the next thing God uses to grow our faith and usually it is the negative ones!

The difference between your faith growing and your faith being devastated in a crisis is who you surround yourself with! THIS is why we want you in a NEXT Group this week!

Personal Ministry is the final thing people talk about in their faith journey as something God used as a catalyst for bigger faith. There is something about being put in a stretching situation that forces you to depend on God and your faith grows. This is why we want you to serve!

At the end of the day the thing I want Church of the Suncoast to be known for is our big faith. This isn't about building a church it is about building people. And when you have a big church, filled with people of big faith, you can make a big difference! How much fun would that be???

I said this on Sunday but let's "Go Fish" this week! We are starting a new series on forgiveness THIS Sunday called "F-Bomb" and I know God wants to do some incredible things in our lives over the next couple of weeks through this series. We will be talking about the things you never knew about forgiveness and why it matters so much. I wrote in my journal this morning that God would make ME a bold "fisher" this week. I want my unchurched friends and neighbors to hear this series! I want them to be changed by the power of Jesus forgiveness!

Cheryl shared this with me on Sunday afternoon as we were chillin' on the couch. If someone gave you free luxury box tickets to the Buc's Monday Night Football game next week how jacked up would you be? You would walk around with a spring in your step, you would be so excited, you would anticipate the day! Well, news flash... we have been given forgiveness in Jesus and the gift of eternal life and NOW we get to share that with other people and we can't even muster a little enthusiasm... ouch!

I want my neighbors to hear this series and I want yours to hear it, but they won't unless we invite them. Let's get a little jacked up about what we get to do this week Suncoast! Let's tweet it up, post it up, talk it up, share it up, txt it up! Feel free to use our website, twitter feed, any of my stuff to help get the conversation going.