Grace in perspective…

Several months ago, Leigh-Ann and I were able to take a trip together to watch Dallas play in a soccer tournament out West. We love to explore and see new things, so after the games were over, we decided to take a ride to the top of a mountain on a Gondola.

This was a blast. Literally…a blast of cold air at the top 😊(sorry about that dad joke).

The Gondola could handle about 30-40 people and when we boarded, the operator told us that we would actually be rotating while we traveled up the cable to the top of the mountain.

The G-Car would complete a full 360-degree turn every 3-4 minutes.

When it started to rotate, we were given instructions to stand still and slowly move our hands along the safety handles so everyone could see the mountain views from every perspective.

Unfortunately, a few of the people (who I’m pretty sure couldn’t understand the operator) did the opposite…They gripped the handle while the floor started turning and stepped in the opposite direction.

This created quite a pile-up…

Instead of enjoying the changing scenery and perspective as the G-Car rotated in a circle, they were hanging on to the security handle and looking at the floor trying to figure out why it was moving.

This is sad…but probably familiar if we are honest with our own perspective.

How often do you and I become fearful because something is unfamiliar and look down to attempt to figure it out, while we should be looking at the changing scenery and perspective with gratitude?

This Sunday, we are going to study the various perspectives of grace. In fact, the closer we get to know Jesus the more we will understand grace. He was full of grace (Jn. 1:14). We will continue our sermon series through the Book of Galatians, entitled, Deep Faith in the Gospel of Grace” by studying Paul’s defense of grace from Galatians 1:10-24.

I sure hope to see you on Sunday in the Crossroads at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am, or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 9:15 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

Have a great evening,
Troy

Peter, the rabbit….

This past Sunday we had just finished eating our Easter lunch when we heard our neighbor’s dog barking and pretty soon our dog, Gratzi bolted for the door with incredible passion.

It wasn’t long until Isaiah told us the dogs had found a nest of rabbits.

Although a few of them didn’t have fairy tale endings, Isaiah was able to rescue one of them.  

Once he was brought into the house, we had an army of advocates, googling everything from survival rates to how to care for a baby rabbit.

As soon as he was stabilized, they began working on a name. Using some basics from elementary biology, they figured out his pronouns were he/him 😊. And then it was decided….his name was Peter.

The narrative is deep here….but since he was rescued on Easter Sunday, it was almost a given to name him after the disciple who denied Jesus and then ran to the tomb arriving shortly after John.

For the next five days, Peter the rabbit became a focal point for conversations and effort. The big question was whether or not he would survive. We bought special milk and droppers…found ways to warm him with rice and a sock….even built a makeshift nest to meet his basic needs for survival.

However, last night, we could tell he was nearing the end. He looked skinny and his breathing became sporadic and then he went down fast.

As we observed him towards the end, even before he died, you could tell he had lost his will to live…he was still breathing but something had changed.

It is always sad to observe physical death…it is also incredibly sad to observe spiritual death. This Sunday we begin a sermon series through Galatians entitled, “Deep Faith in the Gospel of Grace.”

Paul wrote this book for a group of churches in the region of Galatia. He was incredibly passionate because he was observing Christians who had accepted the gospel of grace but had begun to digress spiritually by adding in the law as an additional requirement for their salvation.

Paul could see they were dying spiritually, and he wrote this letter to challenge those who were teaching a false gospel and encourage those who were listening.

I can’t wait to share more about the book of Galatians and the hope it provides for our spiritual growth. I hope to see you on Sunday at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am, or you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and Subscribe) or Facebook at 9:15 am. Additionally, we are also publishing our sermons on Spotify.

Have a great evening,
Troy

Big Day…

A few days ago, a friend, who knew I was a pastor, commented about Easter Sunday and said, “this is your big weekend.”

And it is a big weekend…its definitely not mine….but I know what he meant.

And between you and I, Easter weekend certainly is big….the list of tasks is big, the expectations are big and to be honest, the pressure is pretty big. And because of this, it seems every year once we get through the weekend, I and probably all the others in ministry breathe a sigh of relief.

Have you ever felt this?

Tasks, expectations, and pressure can threaten to rob us of our purpose and joy.

The irony is that even as I prepare to deliver a sermon about the resurrection…I need to apply it.

😊

For real!

Here’s the point…from birth, I’ve failed to meet the expectations God and everyone else has for me…however, Jesus came and lived a perfect life and because of His love, took my failures…EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.OF.THEM…including death on Himself.

And then defeated sin and death when He walked out of that grave.

This is a big weekend…not because of what’s happening in the Crossroads at New Life CityChurch, but because of what Jesus has already done, 2,000 years ago.

I don’t know what you might be dealing with today…maybe like me, it’s tasks, expectations, and pressure…maybe it’s something totally different.

I think we can agree…if we focus on the struggles, we will struggle. However, if we focus on the hope Jesus has provided through the resurrection we will thrive.

I sure hope to see you for “the big weekend” at New Life CityChurch. Don’t forget we’ve added a service so you can come at 8, 9, 10 or 11 am. I am super excited to finish out our sermon series, “Jesus the Story Teller” by looking at His last story from Luke 20:9-18. Within 72 hours, Jesus would be on the cross…and within another 72 hours, He would walk right out of that grave.

I hope to see you Sunday so we can celebrate together,
Troy