blog.arrowheadchurch.com

Don’t forget to set your clocks back on Saturday night! The extra hour of sleep is gonna be nice. And, if you don’t, you’ll get to church an hour early and that would be horrible (ha)!

Check out Matty’s testimony for his baptism. Seeing what God has done in his life strengthens my faith.

Matty Finlay - Baptism Testimony from Arrowhead Church on Vimeo.

Matty is from Liverpool, England and plays soccer at Carson-Newman College. This video is a short testimony of his life change and how he has come to know Christ.

Incredible day today! We only did 1 service but I feel a whole lot more than half as tired. Having to move over to West High School today was potential for a tough day, but it went so well.

• Celebrated the Lord’s Supper today. Those are by far my favorite days as a church. I just believe God moves so powerfully when we focus in on the cross.
• Got to baptize Matty Finlay today. He is evidence that God truly can change a life. We’ll post video of his testimony this week.
• Thanks to everybody who volunteered with kids today. They had to miss the service. I’m so impressed with everybody who’s willing to sacrifice for the good of the church in that way!
• Thanks to everybody who pitched in on our Pastor Appreciation Month gift!
• Didn’t so much preach today and share some things that are ahead.
• We kick off a new series next week called Family Life. It’s gonna be fun as we look at some Old Testament families.
• November 9th we’re hosting a night at Fun Expedition called Gospel Parenting. $10 for the whole family for 90 minutes of play for the kids and a chance to hear from several families about how they talk about Jesus with their kids.
• November 19 we’re hosting a night on campus at CNC called God & Sex. I’m blushing already. Ha.
• December 4 we’re throwing some parties. More details to come.
• Got to introduce our guys being trained as elders. I’m proud to serve alongside those guys.

Off to a hayride with the family! Have a great week!

Just a quick blog reminder that we’ll be at West High School on Sunday for one service at 10am. It’s going to be a great day. We’ll be baptizing, taking the Lord’s Supper together, and sharing some great news. Hope you can make it.

Since it’s Tennessee/Alabama week I thought I’d post this. Don’t know if this guy’s in Alabama, but it’s likely.

Definitely a different kind of day today at Arrowhead on our 9 month anniversary. We were very hard hit by sickness. I have counted 28 people who told us they wouldn’t be at church today because of sickness either themselves or with kids in the family. And, nearly all of those people were volunteers (thus the reason they told us they wouldn’t be at church). In addition to that, it was Carson Newman’s fall break. So, the few of us at church had a great time!

• A few weeks ago God began to show me that even the early disciples had to “devote themselves” (Acts 2:42). When they did, everyone was filled with awe. Their obedience to the Lord brought about in incredible experience. But, they had to devote themselves. A day rarely comes when following Christ is easy.
• Worship set was different today. Couple of older songs, which was fun for a switchup. The band actually did “I’ll Fly Away” today. Huh? Yep. Also did Hosanna (Paul Baloche), Worthy of My Praise (Passion), Inside Out (Hillsong), and How Marvelous (Chris Tomlin version).
• We added a 2nd trailer today, which means we officially have too much stuff! It changed things a lot today and cut our time tearing down drastically.
• Next week we’ll go to West High School for 1 week! I can’t wait. We’ve got so much big news to share. Don’t miss it! 1 service at 10am. Spread the word. It will be a great day to invite someone to come with you and everybody who has visited needs a reminder that we’re moving.

Today in my message I mentioned that one of the most effective ways to grow as a Christian is to read through the Bible each year. My typical plan (which you can read about in the post below this one) doesn’t quite get me through the Old Testament but gets me through the New Testament each year. Since it’s October, it’s kind of a funny time to start a through the Bible in a year plan, but you don’t have to start in the beginning of the Bible!

In the message I promised a link to some through the Bible in a year plans. Here ya go: http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/

If you don’t like any of these or you feel they’re a little too much, just Google “Bible reading plans” and you’ll find lots of other options.

Beginning in 2010 we’ll offer some practical help by continuing to remind you week in and week out around Arrowhead, but this should get us started right now.

“…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…” Phil. 3:13.

Paul taught the Philippians to forget their past. He did it himself, and it’s great counsel. The past can hinder us from what He intends for today and tomorrow. But, sometimes we move on from things in the past that we shouldn’t move on from. There are lessons learned and things accomplished that have much to teach us.

My spiritual formation is a daily struggle, just like it is for so many of us. I want to know Christ, but my flesh is very strong. I tend to think that it’s time to move on from practices that helped me grow in the past because I’m somehow further along than when I experienced God in that way before.

That’s wrong thinking. The greatest times in my life of spiritual growth were when I would sit down every morning with the same pattern - I’d pray for God to speak, then I’d read 1 chapter from the Old Testament, 1 Psalm or Proverb, and 1 chapter from the New Testament. You may think that’s a lot of reading, or you may think that’s not enough. I don’t know. But I do know that God used that framework for several years to help me grow. So, lately that’s what I’ve returned to.

There was some great music in the 90s and early 2000s (ugghh…that sounded really old for a second). I would drive down the road singing to the Lord with all my heart. Then, those songs got old and I quit singing them. I think I’m going home now to get out some old school Caedmon’s Call!

What spiritual practice have you “moved on from” that God may want to use again? Could be a simple prayer or a routine you used to say or do. Could be an old song that the Lord used in your life. Could be anything. Maybe it’s time to return.

Closed out 30 Days to Live today. What a great 10 weeks it’s been. Many of us made commitments during these weeks that will change the trajectory of our lives for a long time.

• Message today was: I’d trust God to provide. If you want to be able to trust God financially - 1. Give 2. Stop comparing 3. Enjoy God’s blessing. Worked our way through Philippians 4:10-19.
• Great worship time today as well. Songs were Sing Sing Sing, Blessed Be Your Name, Glory to God, and How He Loves.
• Got to introduce 4 ladies from CNC that are going to Calcutta, India over their Thanksgiving break. Pray for Katie, Cara, Kayla Beth, & Megan! These 4 girls are away from home and call Arrowhead home while they’re at school. Their worlds are about to be turned upside down and they know it as they see first-hand what life is like for the 20,000 prostitutes on the street in Calcutta. If you’d like to give financially, you can still do that as well. Here’s a video that gives you a glimpse of what they’ll be doing.
• When we showed up for church at 6am it looked like there had been a U2 concert in Rose Center. So funny the amount of sound equipment that was in there. I would have loved to heard what was coming through it on Saturday night. Slight overkill.
• Purchasing a 2nd trailer this week. I think you know you’re serious about being a portable church when you get so much junk it takes 2 16-foot trailers to haul it all =) If you know of anyone looking to sell one let us know.
• 2 weeks until we meet at West High School - don’t forget about October 25!

Have a great week.

Week 9 of 30 Days to Live today. Hard to believe 1 more week and we’re done. I absolutely love the book of Philippians. Gonna miss it for sure, but today was right up my alley. I love thinking about what I’m thinking about and how it affects me.

• Points of the message today from Philippians 4:4-9 were: Never forget to celebrate, We can always exchange our anxiety for peace through prayer, and Changing your thinking = Changing your life. God wants to transform us from the inside, not just clean up our exterior. What we think about is about as personal as it gets.
• Songs were O Happy Day, Majestic, Mighty to Save, Your Name, Amazing Grace, and Yearn. Lots of music today but it was awesome. Great to add Ryan Kelley to our worship team this week too. Love that she was nervous to sing in church even though she’s no stranger to the public eye. Shows where her heart is!
• Saturday night at Rose Center there were at least 300 people still there at 10pm. We were really nervous about Sunday morning but it was not too bad. So thankful that the staff at RC is communicating to Saturday renters that they need to get things somewhat ready for us on Sundays.
• World record for longest, draggiest teardown today! I think everybody was still drained from staying up til midnight watching the Vols lose.
• Several of our folks were away at YoungLife camp this weekend. Great to pray for them in the service. I love what the Lord is doing through YoungLife in the Lakeway area. Heard they had a great weekend.
• Don’t miss the last week of 30 Days to Live next week! If you haven’t posted anything on the 30 Days site, do it this week!