To be clear…

A few days ago, one of our kiddos lost his tooth. He had been working on it for several days, however, it was a molar and that meant the retraction was a bit more difficult.

Finally, after quite a bit of wiggling, it popped out.

I think my kids view losing their teeth as a part-time job.

As an outsider, you might think they were pretty hard up for cash the way they maneuver their teeth. But trust me, they are just fine, they simply would rather have some money in their pocket than teeth in their mouth.

I’m sure that will change someday, but for now, it’s all about the tooth fairy.

So, after the tooth was lost, he told me the tooth would be under his white pillow. (He brought an extra pillow into bed with him so he wouldn’t be disturbed in his sleep….I can’t even….)

Unfortunately, the first night the tooth went under the pillow, I forgot (I mean, the tooth fairy was backed up with customer service issues and needed to reschedule 😊…yeah, that’s it).

So, the next night, I got another subtle reminder the tooth would be under the “white pillow” in case the Tooth Fairy was able to get there.

Good news….I remembered…and I had $2 in my wallet, so things were looking up. I remember when I grew up it was .25 cents….so I figured that was fair since inflation continues to rise. Anyway, he’s happy, so if you give your kids more $$ don’t tell him :).

As a parent, there are times when schedules are busy and our minds are pre-occupied with more things to do than there is time in the day….and we need clear communication. Now my son and I are each grateful he was clear in his communication. He made a few bucks and I have a good lesson for my sermon.

This Sunday we are going to talk about clarity when it comes to the gospel. In Colossians 4:2-6, Paul taught the church in Colosse, they had to be clear about the sufficiency of Jesus and this meant they had to prioritize prayer, make sure their conduct didn’t detract from the Gospel, and then simply speak well.

I sure hope you can join us in person at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity) or 10:45 am, or watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am.

Have a great weekend,
Troy
Announcement: Women of New Life: If you would like to get more updates, tips and online friends, you are welcome to join our NLCC Women’s P31 Facebook Page HERE.

Represent…

I read a few days ago that over the past decade, the population of downtown Kansas City has grown 29.4%. The vibrancy of downtown KC has continued to expand…businesses continue to open and grow, blighted real estate is being transformed and every day more and more people are coming here to live, work, play….and PRAY.

New Life CityChurch has also been growing. In the midst of tough times, we have added a third service and are still needing to plan for more space.

A few weeks ago, in our Core Conversation, we talked about the plans to expand our auditorium. To add more seats and squeeze every bit of space into something useable.

I shared some building plans that will elevate our seating and allow for a coffee shop/community space underneath. The plans will also provide some additional office and meeting space to meet the needs of our growing leadership team.

I just love looking at plans and dreaming about what the building will look like in the future. In addition to remodeling our auditorium, we are talking about planting new locations around the city to fulfill our mission to develop a community that inspires people to know and follow Jesus.

What if we started to gather supplies and build out the space but it didn’t reflect the plans?

The city would refuse to pass our inspections…we wouldn’t be able to meet for services….and we would waste a lot of time, money, and resources.

If the actual building doesn’t reflect the plan, we have a big problem.

This Sunday, I look forward to continuing our sermon series through Colossians. Our Big Idea is that we are to represent the sufficiency of Jesus in everything. Specifically, in Colossians 3:17-4:1, the Apostle Paul gives us practical examples of how we will represent Jesus in marriage, parenting, and our work-life when Jesus is sufficient.

I sure hope you can join us in person at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity) or 10:45 am, or watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am.

Have a great weekend,
Troy
Announcement: Tomorrow (Saturday, 8/21) morning we will host a men’s breakfast from 8-9:00 am at New Life CityChurch. We will be discussing the topic of forgiveness and enjoying plenty of great food and coffee for breakfast. I hope to see you there.

Coming out…

We have two dogs in our family, Gratzi and Poppi. And I must say, my growth as a “dog person” has been slow and steady. At first in our marriage, Leigh-Ann was the sole lover of dogs in our household.

I put up with a dog because I love her…however, I certainly didn’t love the dog. Our first long-term dog was Pepper…and when she was a puppy, she and I had our share of differences 😊. Back then, dress shoes had tassels and she bit off the tassels of two different shoes, which meant I lost two pairs of leather dress shoes.

Time has a way of healing and when we finally had to put her down after twelve years, I admit, I had a lump in my throat. Our next long-term pet was Zoe. She did a lot to win me over, especially toward to end of her life (R.I.P.).

A year ago, we welcomed our COVID puppy Gratzi and now a few months ago we added Poppi. It’s never been my idea to get another dog, however, I’m glad we have them.

There, I said it…. 😊 😊.

These two are great friends and what I like about them is they just love to be touching a human. If they aren’t running around like crazies….they are lying next to someone close enough to touch.

This morning, I was getting ready to roll out of bed after my alarm went off and Poppi jumped up next to me and simply wanted to be touching me….so I stayed in bed a few more minutes. And to be honest, felt great about how our relationship has been progressing.

As I look back over 22 years of dogs in our household, my journey towards acceptance and enjoying pets has been slow and steady.

The Christian life can be like this…at first, you may hear about knowing Jesus and are turned off because you have heard stories about “Christians” who are unloving and judgmental. You may not want to make sacrifices or changes in the way you live your life. You may struggle with what the Bible teaches about morals and objective truth.

However, in a much greater sense than owning a pet, if you continue to pursue a relationship with Jesus, you will discover the sacrifices you make are not only minimal, they are actually for your own well-being. You will also experience companionship and intimacy with God that would have been impossible for you to explain before knowing Jesus. You will also be content to simply rest in the presence of God.

This Sunday, we continue our sermon series in Colossians by looking closely at Colossians 3:5-17. We will focus on what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and for Him to be all and in all.

I sure hope you can join us in person at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity) or 10:45 am, or watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am.

Have a great weekend,
Troy

Teamwork makes the dream work…

Tomorrow, Leigh-Ann and I celebrate twenty-two years of marriage.

The day we stood together before a pastor and a few hundred of our closest family and friends, we made a covenant to become one. In order for this to work, we each had to give up our individualism and pursue a new identity. In Genesis, when God gives instructions for marriage, He tells husbands and wives to leave (parents), cleave (together), and weave (in covenant with God).

Of course, this is easier said than done. I remember a few weeks into our marriage we were deciding on paint colors for our house and what started as an amicable discussion turned into an argument.

I’d like to say we learned our lesson (Leigh-Ann knows way more about making our home look great) but we’ve had plenty of arguments since then. At the same time, we’ve also had incredible moments of synergy and vision, and accomplishment.

Fortunately, before too long, we recognized we are each pretty hard-headed, and if we disagreed we could do plenty of damage, however if we could get on the same page, we could change the world (or at least survive and have a few kids 😊).

In marriage, it’s important to create a new identity, that is made up of the equal parts of husband and wife.

When it comes to our relationship with God, it’s different. We don’t combine our identity with His, rather we become one in Him through Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, I look forward to continuing our sermon series, “Colossians-It’s all about Jesus” by studying Colossians 2:16-3:4. In these verses, we will continue the theme from last week about satisfaction in Jesus. When we focus our mind on the things above, we will confirm our identity in Jesus.

So, how do we do that?

You’ll have to come Sunday to find out 😊. I hope you can join us in person at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity) or 10:45 am, or watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 10:45 am.

Have a great weekend,
Troy
Announcement: Gary and Barb McClintock and Leigh-Ann and I will be hosting a Marriage Panel this Tuesday, August 10th. We would love to hear from you with any questions or topics you would like us to address. Please take 2 minutes to share them here: https://newlifekc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/73/responses/new.

New Life CityChurch COVID Team Announcement: Please check your email tomorrow for an update regarding our COVID protocol with regard to the new KCMO mask order.