Church Notes

Gotta love it when you go to a church that hands out the little half sheet of white paper with a basic outline of the message with blanks to fill in!

I went to Great Lakes church in Kenosha, WI today and for some reason just feel like sharing my notes and my thoughts. Italics are my thoughts.

Title: Elephant in the Room... Greed
Speaker: Dave Nelson

Greed
-Greed says, "Life is about me!"
Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:4
-Greed is tamed by taking an interest in other people.
So encourage each other and build each other up... 1 Thes 5:11

Encouragement
-Encouragement brings change
Then he asked them "But who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Now i say to you that you are Peter (which means "rock"), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matthew 16:15-17
-Encouragement creates confidence
Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians 4:29
-Encouragement is a constant "yes" in a world that says "no."
...What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45

How to encourage
-Proactively look for good in other people.
...bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry. 2 Timothy 4:11
If we are unfaithful, God remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. 2 Timothy 2:13
-Find multiple and creative ways to communicate the good you see in other people.

o Starting point: Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.


The focus of the message was more on encouragement than greed. I really would have liked to hear more about greed. And my first thought (or second or third thought) is not to match greed and encouragement as opposites.

Anywho. One thing that stuck out to me was Philippians 2:4 which says "Don't look out ONLY for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." What happens if you take that "only" out? It becomes "Don't look out for your own interests..." Honestly, I think of Christianity as being something where your goal is to be as selfless as possible. Like watching out for numero uno is a no-no, a sin. But when I read this it was like a shock to my system. I was like "Wait... so we can care about ourselves?" I really honestly think one thing that holds me back is the thought that I am supposed to be selfless. That one word "only" changes things. God says to me, "You have much to learn, my young apprentice..." and He lifts that burden from me.

Turn Signals

Now here is something I'm passionate about. Turn signals. Turn signals are one of the greatest inventions in the world, yet they are so unused and under-appreciated. They are used incorrectly and sadly misunderstood.

Have you ever been driving down the road when out of nowhere somebody you're behind starts slamming on their brakes for no apparent reason? And you're like "What the heck are they doing?" As they almost come to a complete, then they flip on their turn signal. Oh. They're turning.

Or how about this: You're sitting on a side street, waiting to turn out onto a busy main road. All you want is to make an easy right turn, but there are just so many cars. Then you see a break after these last 4 cars pass. But the third car is slowing down, but it doesn't look like they are going to turn at all. Before you realize it, you see their turn signal as they race on to your side street, turning so fast that they almost go on two wheels! If you only knew they were turning, you would have had plenty of time to pull out on to the road. Great. Now the break you were waiting for is gone, for there are more cars here.

Why do we have turn signals? What is the purpose of them? When do we use them? Obviously nobody knows! Well, I've got good news for you. I know the secret to turn signals. I know the answers! Are you ready for them?

We use turn signals to alert other drivers that we will be changing lanes or turning soon. We're supposed to use them before we start braking, so that people know why we are braking! So we don't start braking, and then as we are turning quick flip it on. Yes, it is a law in some states that you must use your turn signal when changing lanes or turning. But did you know you're supposed to put in on at least 100 feet before turning? Some states require 500 feet! And you retards flip it on as you're turning.

Now changing lanes is the same thing. But changing lanes is a whole other blog. I don't have room to go into detail about that.

So when it comes to turning, people, please, use your turn signal. It will save lives. To help you use your turn signals, I have a plan. Each time I see you fail to use your turn signal correctly, I will write down your license plate, and soon as you get 3 strikes, I will accidentally drop my cell phone on the floor, bend over to reach for it, taking my eyes off the road, and I will gently smash you off the road.

You wanna keep your Lexus? Well, make sure you use those pretty little turn signals.

Can I get an 'amen'

Around Thanksgiving time I submitted an application to a new CostCo they just build by my school. From what I saw on their website, it looked like they would be paying more than minimum wage and there would be benefits. I was sure they'd hire me.

A week went by. No call. Ten days passed. No call. I figured they would have called me by then if they intended to even interview me. So I simply have given up on that.

But I really need a job still. I have a good amount of free time, plus I could really use the extra income. Actually, I straight up need more income.

So last night at a Bible Study I was at, they asked for prayer requests. I simply said that I need God to provide a job for me. So my highly respectable man of God prayed for me.

Lo and behold, I received a phone call from CostCo! I have an interview Friday. Now, I know I don't have the job, I still need to pass the interview/impress me session.

At the Bible Study we talked about what the deal is with 'hope.' The simplest, main thing I got out of it is that hope is a joyful expectancy, an assurance of what is to come. I am confident this is an answer to my prayer, and I hope that I get this job.

But there is a slight down side. Just today I had become comfortable and excited about having a month off for Christmas. And if I get the job I will probably have to work. Sad face.

But praise God for answering my prayer so quickly! What an awesome God.

One man... one mission... one vacation... one city...

In an unknown land, one man is on a mission so adventurous words cannot describe. The land is not entirely unknown, simply unknown to that man. That land is what modern folk call "Memphis, Tennessee." This man was in this city on one mission, which can be described in one word: vacation. But actually it really wasn't just vacation, because he was also there to visit his friend. He was really just there to visit his friend, and it happened to be during the man's fall break from school, so he just called it vacation. This man was there to visit another man, namely named "Super Suave." What an epic name. They say the Super Suave once defeated an army of people with dandruff in one single shampooing. Unbelievable.

That man is me, Tony Nelson. It's true. I went to Memphis, Tennessee to visit my friend/superhero, Super Suave. I rode a megabus down there. The megabus itself wasn't bad, but the 10 hour ride wasn't too pleasurable. The one down there left Chicago at 10:15 PM. The returning bus left Memphis at 11:15 PM.

However, everything else about the trip was just dandy. I really didn't see anything special about the city itself, except for the fact that there was a pyramid and a prominent police presence. But just being there with Super Suave was fun. I had a good time. Here's some of the stuff we did:

• Ate BBQ nachos
• Skipped rocks along the Mississippi River
• Walked along a 5 block long replica of the Mississippi River in a seemingly deserted park-like place on Mudd Island
• Went to Hope church, which has it's own recording studio (which I got a nice tour of), and a sanctuary that fits like 5,000 (and I got to see their video control room)
  
• Spent 2 hours at Guitar Center
• Went on an adventurous hike in a park, ended up on private property checking out abandoned farming vehicles, and getting about a billion of those seeds that stick to your clothes stuck on my shirt.
• Went to Texas Roadhouse and stuffed myself (right before getting on the return 10 hour bus ride... not smart)
• Ate pizza while sitting on a fence
• Watched Law Abiding Citizen
  
• Got semi-lost looking for a disc golf course
• Went disc golfing on a dusty course

I think thats most of what we did. It was a good trip. I'll probably go back. Super Suave, you're my man.

New Read

Just started reading The Barbarian Way by Erwin Raphael McManus. Just finished the first chapter, and I gotta say... I love it so far. I am definitely tired of how ritualistic, institutionalized, and lethargic Christianity and the Church has become. I want to embrace a barbaric faith that is real and untainted, true and passionate. Lets just say, I look forward to the rest of this book, and I look forward to seeing God make some changes in my mind and my heart.

Not Impossible. Inevitable.

Procrastination. I wonder how many times I've thought, prayed, blogged, complained, and struggled with procrastination. Each year at the beginning of the school year I plan to battle against the procrastination from within myself.

Every year I lose the battle miserably.

Procrastination is completely inevitable for me.

Homework always ends up being done a few minutes before its due. It ends up being finished halfway or skimmed through. It ends up being late. Or it ends up not being done at all.

But for some reason, which I can't explain, as of this moment I have done all my homework. I do not owe any work for any class. I am not behind. Everything has been read and done.

So maybe this is this year where I gain an upper hand. Maybe this is the year where I let procrastination rule me no more. This is the year I rule the air.

Who do we pray to?

Sometimes when people pray, I hear them pray to God. That's great. Sometimes I hear people pray to Jesus. That's cool. And sometimes I hear people pray to the Holy Spirit. And I wonder... are we supposed to pray to the Holy Spirit. We are to pray in the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26), but do we pray TO the Holy Spirit. Technically, the three are one. But still... do we address the Holy Spirit directly when we pray? I think about this from time to time, but I've never taken the time to investigate.