Storms of life…

On Tuesday, we had some incredibly powerful storms roll through Kansas City. I heard there were eight tornadoes that touched down. Thankfully, in spite of some injuries, no one lost their life.

Storms remind me of the power of God and my own weakness.

About a year ago, our men’s ministry went on our annual float trip. While out on the water we faced a storm.

This was not just some light rain; this was a thunderstorm.

Quite possible the worst storm I’ve ever experienced and we were on a river in the middle of nowhere.

Nearly forty of us were out on a river in aluminum canoes, floating down the river. Hmmmm…

There was a moment when everything got still….and then the winds began to pick up…then it started raining….not drops, but buckets of rain….and then it happened…

As we paddled our canoe downriver as fast as we could, a gust of wind swept across the land and capsized our canoe. Isaiah (who was seven at the time) was in the middle of the canoe and within a split second, we were in the water along with the coolers with the lunch for the whole group.

Fortunately, we made our way to shore along with the others who were paddling behind us.

Everyone was safe, however it was still pouring buckets.

While on the shore for at least twenty or thirty minutes, I remember fighting back fear. Fortunately or unfortunately….depending on how you look at it, we had no choice but to endure the storm.

Finally, it slowed down, we paddled back to the bridge where we were shuttled back to our campsite.

Warm clothes and a heater in the car never felt so good.

Storms are not simply rain and wind…storms can also be stressed out relationships, financial burdens, loss, etc.

This Sunday, I am excited to share a sermon from John 6:16-21 about a storm experienced by Jesus and His disciples. We will discover that storms reveal quite a bit about ourselves and in this story we are given hope to strengthen our faith.

I you would like to watch a quick review of the sermon last week, check this out on YouTube.

See you Sunday at 9:00 or 10:45am.

Troy

Jammed…

Have you ever had a circumstance that needed a solution, but you couldn’t seem to figure it out?

I think we have each been in this situation at one time or another.

This past week, I was driving home from a meeting in Kansas and noticed up ahead that traffic was completely stopped. I quickly looked it up on Google Maps and the Red Line extended for several miles.

I took the nearest exit and wove around side streets for a while until finally finding my way back to the interstate.

At the moment I realized traffic was backed up, I wondered what life would be like if I just had a helicopter or hovercraft.

I would be on time for my next appointment…for sure. It would also be pretty fun to fly up and out of the bottleneck of traffic on the roadway.

This Sunday, Pastor Dave is re-starting our sermon series through the Gospel of John entitled, “Discovering God.” He will be sharing the story of the miracle of feeding the five thousand from John 6:1-15.

I’m guessing the disciples felt a bit helpless with their dilemma….more than five thousand hungry people. That in itself makes the worst traffic jam seem pretty mild.

At the same time, when Jesus multiplied the bread and fish to feed the people, it was a miracle similar to what it might be like for my car to turn into a hovercraft and fly over the traffic.

It is a rare occasion that Jesus performs a miracle to get us out of a difficult circumstance, however He can and does do miracles.

If you need a miracle or even some hope that will come from a study of Jesus’ miracle, we would love to see you on Sunday.

If you have a few minutes (less than 4), you should watch the sermon follow up video from Sunday HERE.

Also, if you cannot make it to the service, we will have it live streamed at 10:45am, you can SUBSCRIBE to  our New Life Youtube channel here and never miss another service.

In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend,
Troy

Thou shalt not try me…

For Mother’s day, our kids (mostly the girls) worked very hard on their gift for mom. On their own, they found a scrap piece of wood in the garage, painted it white, stenciled on their message, tied on a few bows and put it in a gift bag.

The process took an entire Friday evening while Leigh-Ann and I were at a wedding. The finished product says, “Thou shalt not try me.” Mom 24:7

If you know Leigh-Ann, you know she loves our kids fiercely and part of that love is upholding a boundary. The kids know they can talk to her at any time, laugh, play and tell jokes, but one thing they can’t do is pull one over on her.

I was in on the secret. For at least 24 hours prior to Mother’s Day, I found myself thinking about how fun it would be for Leigh-Ann to receive this masterpiece of love from the kids. In addition, they had made cards and had other gifts and since everyone was prepared to give, everyone looked forward to that moment when Leigh-Ann would open her gifts.

Imagine how the mood would have changed if everyone had failed to plan for Mother’s Day. There is no doubt it would have felt awkward and uncomfortable. Leigh-Ann would have been disappointed, however I think the kids would be even more disappointed in themselves.

When it comes to giving back to God, I am convinced many people struggle simply because they haven’t prepared.

This Sunday, I look forward to sharing a sermon that explores some of the struggle and a great solution from 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 entitled, “God made us to be generous.”

This is the fourth and final week in our Vision 20/20 series where we have been covering topics that will help us fulfill our New Life Vision for every man, woman and child to experience and know the love of Jesus in Kansas City.

If you have a few minutes (less than 4), you should watch the sermon follow up video from last Sunday HERE.

Also, if you cannot make it to the service, we will have it live streamed at 10:45am, you can SUBSCRIBE to  our New Life Youtube channel here and never miss another service.

In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend,

Troy

Celebrating Mothers…

Mark Twain said, “My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”

Your mom may agree; I know mine does :).

The value of a mother could not be overstated. From the moment a mother gives birth, she is “on the clock.” My mom loved me like crazy, she taught me how to work and set goals for my future. She modeled a relationship with Jesus and she was always there for me.

Love and nurture, direction and guidance, help and hope and comfort and encouragement are some word pairs that not only describe mothers, these words also describe what mothers do.

So this Sunday, we have an opportunity to celebrate the mothers in our lives. I have not only been blessed with a great mother, I also have been blessed with a great wife.

With five kids, Leigh-Ann has an incredibly overwhelming role that seems to never end. On any given day she is a household manager, nurse, chef, finance director, CEO, CFO, CIO…not to mention she needs the skills of someone in the CIA and the FBI. She is faithful and loyal and works often without notice from early morning till late at night.

For Mother’s day at New Life, we will share a tribute during our community in context time of the service. KidCity has also arranged for professional photographs after each service in the Vow Exchange. Finally, we will have flowers as a simple token of appreciation for each mother in attendance.

In addition to the Mother’s Day festivities, Pastor Dave will share a sermon from Mark 4:1-20 entitled, “Sowing with Wisdom.”

Whether you are a mother or not, I am praying for you to be encouraged spiritually and emotionally by an opportunity to worship, build friendships and learn the Scriptures.

Hope to see you in the morning,

Troy

YouTube: 10 Questions in 3/5 Minutes. Would love for you to check out our sermon follow up video HERE. I attempted to answer 10 questions in 3 Minutes and it took closer to 5 minutes :).

Scars…

A few days ago, I was sitting on the couch with Dallas and I looked down at his hand and noticed that his thumbnail looked different.

“What happened to your thumb?”

It only took a matter of seconds for he and the rest of our family to remind me that Dallas’s thumbnail was deformed as a result of him slicing it open with a knife I had bought him a few years ago.

Immediately, I drew the comparison with my own fingernail that has been deformed since fifth grade, when I broke my finger playing basketball.

As you can see in the picture our nails match…maybe we should try a father son manicure….just kidding.

Likely, you can relate with a scar of your own. What is significant about scars is that for the rest of our lives, scars bring back a memory. Immediately.

A scar on our body is permanent, but what about an emotional scar?

What do you do when a relationship has caused a scar?

And what if that relationship scar happened with someone from church?

If you have attended church for a while, there is a good chance you have some relational scars. And if you do, then you probably know how difficult it is to invest in meaningful relationships.

What if you get hurt again? Is it even worth the effort?

I hope you are asking these questions and more as you consider what it means to develop relationship within our New Life church community. This Sunday, I continue our Vision 20/20 series with a sermon from Galatians 6:1-10 entitled, “Commitment to the Core.”

I look forward to exploring the what, why and how for church community. I hope you come, scars and all.

Troy

Announcement: Tomorrow, May 5^th the youth going to the Dominican Republic are hosting a Taco lunch as a fundraiser. After that around 1:00pm, we will host our quarterly core conversation and EVERYONE is invited. You can RSVP HERE.