Finding freedom in love

I've been pondering the issue of love while preparing for this weekend's message on "Freedom from unhealthy relational patterns." Everybody's looking for love, everybody needs it, everybody's been hurt while looking for it, and we all do silly things that keep us from experiencing it. What a mess...

What I'm finding is that love can't happen when we're focused on ourselves. (I know that's brilliant.) And yet, when we get hurt that is exactly where we turn. So what do we do?

Simply, we keep turning to Jesus and allowing Him to direct us into loving responses. We do that by talking to Him, listening to Him, worshiping Him, and responding to Him. We put to death the natural inclinations to do the unloving thing.

A friend of mine in England pulled up to a stop sign only to have a guy on his bike start cursing at him. He leaned out of the window and said "bless you my brother." As you can imagine the guy went into shock. BTW, saying that would be quite unnatural for me. But that is exactly the point...

In life and our most meaningful relationships we get into bad habits of doing what we naturally do - anger, attack, defensiveness, justification, withdrawal, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc. Let's be honest: loving isn't easy and doesn't always come natural. But God is in the business of loving and His love can and does transform us. That is what freedom is all about.

Join us this weekend as we explore freedom from unhealthy relational patterns and invite Him to bring freedom!

Joys of love, family and friends

Our youngest son Jordan surprised us coming home from college on fall break last week, somehow keeping it a secret from his mother and I (though everyone else knew). As he walked in the door I heard my wife say "oh my gosh" to which I wondered what was wrong..., only to see his smiling face walking up the stairs. We had a wonderful time together, as all three brothers were here over the weekend. It was cool to see Jordan worshiping, playing drums with the worship team on Sunday.

In just 2 months we're seeing the positive effects of him having solid relationships with other followers of Jesus at college (unbelievably important). He is thriving -- hearing from Jesus, helping others, and in keeping with his generation has already changed his major :)

His mom joined Facebook a few weeks ago so we could be "friends" and get updates beyond sporadic texting.

Life is changing rapidly, but some things stay the same: the joys of love, family and friends.

Wow, some great things are happening at SHV!

The completion of our sanctuary renovation mid-August has been a picture of sorts -- new beginnings, change and transformation...

First of all, people are being set free in the Real Freedom message series. Free from the past, problems, addictions, and materialism. There is an amazing dynamic that occurs when we worship and study God's Word together - our fragmented souls become whole :D

Secondly, we're making significant strides toward serving our community. Our recent Single Parent Support Day and Saturday of Service were both wonderful events. People are tasting of Real Life, Community and Mission.

And finally, we're taking steps forward in our vision - to be a training center, planting communities of faith and sending people out into mission. With all the turbulence and uncertainty in society, it is encouraging to see God at work.