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Jesus said that if I refuse to forgive other that I would not receive forgiveness from Him. I am afraid that many times we come to church with a huge load of anger and resentment toward others because of what they did to us. Carrying around an unforgiving spirit means that my relationship with God is hindered. I can’t worship that way I should when I harbor an unforgiving spirit. After all, God has forgiven me for way more than I will ever have to forgive someone else for what they have done to me. I must regularly release forgiveness if I want to stay in communion with God.

Repentance is also necessary for worship. I must acknowledge my sin to God, agree with Him about it, surrender to Him, admit that I can’t get better by my own human effort, remember His grace, and then allow Him to change me from the inside out. There is no one who is perfect, only forgiven. When I remember that I will be a part of a community of grace that is redemptive, healing, and whole. That would be the kind of church that pleases God.

Ritchie

We will wrap up the “One Prayer” series this Sunday with Andy Stanley speaking on the subject “God is Certain.” I am sure that participating in these messages with thousands of other churches has been a big blessing to Avalon Church and I believe that we have grown spiritually from the experience.

Andy is one of my favorite speakers. I listen to his podcasts nearly every week and I believe he is one of the most powerful communicators in America today. Go to i-Tunes and download some of his messages or his talks on leadership. I have learned a lot from him and I believe you will too.

Andy is the pastor of North Point Ministries which include North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA; Buck Head Church in Atlanta, GA; and Browns Bridge Community Church in Cumming, GA. He is a best-selling author and is a leading innovator in the church today. I know you will love hearing him.

I can’t wait to be back preaching at Avalon next week. We will start a brand-new series called “Because I Said So” and I will talk about where the Bible comes from, why and how we should read it, and why it is the final authority in our lives. I CAN”T WAIT TO SEE YOU! I will probably be so excited that I will lose my voice but it will be a lot of fun.

I love you.

Ritchie

• The Bible says that if you want to have friends you must be friendly

• The Bible commands us to be kind

• The Bible commands us to love other Christians and to express God’s love to those who are not Christians

• You never know how much pain a person has felt during the week

• Your smile, handshake, or hug may be the only kindness or affection the person sitting near you has received all week

• Most likely someone is near you who needs Jesus Christ and your friendliness could make or break their decision to come back

• It makes you feel better

• It helps you focus on God and others rather than your problems

• It makes you more like Jesus Christ

My prayer is that you will have a life-changing encounter with God when you worship Him at church. Here are a few ways to make sure that you get the most out of a service.

• Sing – the Bible says to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”

• It is OK to raise your hands in worship (the Bible actually encourages it)

• It is OK to clap your hands when singing or even when you hear something that encourages you in the teaching (the Bible actually encourages it)

• It is OK to express emotion

• Your participation actually encourages others

• Do not criticize a song or a style (You will not like every song or every style but remember that we should not be critical of something that is bringing glory to God)

• Remember that it is not about you it is about God

• Do not be a Christian consumer who soaks up resources but never gives back

• Give in the offering

• Serve in a ministry

• Try to think about how much you have been given grace by God and then try to give grace to others

• Greet others cheerfully (it is actually a command in the Bible)

• Get a good night of sleep

• Seriously, staying up late and then giving God less than your full attention tells Him that He is not at the center of your life

• Get up in plenty of time to get ready without feeling rushed

• If you have small children do not let delays or disasters on Sunday morning throw you off – determine that you are going to focus on God anyway

• Ask God to help you focus on Him and to speak to you during the service

• Get to church in plenty of time to check in your children and get a seat before the service starts

• Determine to follow what you hear taught from the Scriptures and bring a Bible

• Participate in the music

• Greet lots of people – especially people you have never seen before

• Talk about what you learned on the way home with your family

• Because it is distracting to others when you come in late

• When people have their attention diverted it could keep them from making an important spiritual decision

• It distracts me from my job of teaching the Word of God

• We believe that people need to be saved and anything that distracts them from that is harmful

• If you feel like getting up and getting a cup of coffee is OK while I am preaching then I may just punch you in the throat!

• I have given the ushers permission to use tazers on anyone who leaves and tries to come back in (just kidding…maybe)

• The Word of God takes the highest priority at Avalon

• Because I love you and want the best for you

The “One Prayer” series is going great and we have had some tremendous speakers so far. I believe our church is growing spiritually and we are seeing God move in us and among us. You will definitely want to hear our speaker this week. His name is Francis Chan and he will speak on the topic, “God is Strength.” I can only describe his messages as life-changing. Trust me when I tell you that you want to hear what this man has to say.

Francis Chan is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. He is a nationally sought-after speaker and is the author of Crazy Love.

You can learn more about him at http://francischansblog.blogspot.com/ or http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/. You can buy his book here.

I love you guys. Have a great week.

Ritchie

I have been talking to you about the importance of worship in the last few blogs. We are created to worship God and I think we have established how important it is to worship.

Let me ask you a very important question. If worshipping God corporately at church is a big deal then why would you be late to church? Seriously, I think that when we are late it is because we do not really think it is a big deal.

Let me tell you why you need to be on time for church services.

• When you are late you are telling God that he is not as important as your job

• When you are late you are telling others that you have more important things to do than worshipping God

• When you are late you are telling lost people that are in the service that you do not think they are very important

• When you are late you miss a main part of worship – the music. We do not plan the music as filler but as a vital part of your worship experience

• When you are late you disturb others

• When you are late you take people’s focus off of God, salvation, repentance, the Word of God, and worship and put it on you

• When you are late you are not ready for worship and you are short-changing yourself spiritually.

Let’s be on time. It is important.

I love you.

Ritchie

Paul wrote to us in the book of Romans and said that faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Faith is developed by serving, by trusting God, by taking action, and by hanging out with other Christians too, but hearing the teaching of the Bible and reading the Bible is essential to develop our faith.

At Avalon Church we put a high priority on the Scriptures. We believe that it is the final authority in all that we do and it is the source of truth for all of our behaviors and decisions. That is why such an emphasis is placed on the teaching in our adult worship services, our preschool, our children’s ministry, and our youth ministry.

One thing I should keep in mind when I hear the truth of God’s Word taught is that worship requires surrender. That is actually what worship is – and act of surrender. When I do not obey what I hear and let the Holy Spirit change me and lead me to repentance then I am not worshipping but I am actually rebelling. Repentance is a necessary part of worship. Repentance is agreeing with God and letting His Holy Spirit change me from the inside.

You should spend time in prayer contemplating what you have heard and confessing sin every Sunday so that you truly worship.

Ritchie

One of the ways that worship is offered to God is through our service and our volunteering. The Bible teaches us that the church is a place that every Christian should serve God by serving and loving other Christians. In fact, the Bible tells us that one way people will know if we really love God or not is by how much we love other Christians. Worshipping God involves serving God by serving others.

We believe the Bible teaches a two-fold approach to serving. We are to serve the body of Christ which is manifested practically in the local church. In other words, we are to use our spiritual gifts and natural talents to minister to others in a local church setting. That is why we have so many places for you to serve during the week or on a weekend.

We also believe that Christians are to serve people outside the church. This follows the example that Jesus set. That is why we have opportunities for you to serve the community through HOPE. We serve the poor, minister to the sick, and do acts of kindness to people through Second Serve because it is a part of worship. When we have huge HOPE events where we give away bikes, shoes, back packs, or food the reason people feel so good afterwards is because they were actually worshipping God through service.

You can’t truly worship God and come to church and sit on your butt and soak up resources and never serve. It just does not work that way.

Ritchie