What's Your Problem?

Have you ever noticed how lately everyone seems to have some sort of problem.  Now I know that at first glance the term "What's Your Problem" can cause peoples defenses to go up but hang with me here for a few moments because I am going somewhere with this.  "Problems" we all have them: people problems, health problems, job problems, money problems, relational problems, government problems, and sometimes just general problems.  We all deal with problems on a regular basis and I am not trying to minimize the size or scope of your problems. 
However, I do want to challenge you with something. I believe that we live in a culture that has made some things major problems even "First World Problems" that are not really problems at all.  Think about it.  When Starbucks stops carrying Pumpkin Spice we can sometimes have a major meltdown.  Or when someone is only driving the speed limit in the fast lane on the interstate "how could they go so slow?" what about when the server gets your order wrong when you go to the restaurant and you cannot believe that this could happen to you ever single time and you loose it. 
Does it ever occur to you that the things in our culture that we have deemed problems may actually be a series of problems that we as a culture have created due to our own "entitlement issues". Over the course of the next 4 weeks we are going to be addressing some serious 1st World Problems at Relevant Church during our weekend series and I thing we are all going to be challenges to look at our problems through a different lens. 
Join us this week as we dive into this new series "First World Problems" it is going to be a game changer.

Superbowl of Jesus Sports

Can you believe that in just 5 days 7 hours and 41 minutes as of right now we will be celebrating what I have dubbed the Superbowl of Jesus Sports.  Yes that is right in just 5 days we will be celebrating Easter and here at Relevant we do not like to do anything halfway especially on such a special day like Easter.  For 3 weeks at Relevant we have been talking about Investing and Inviting and this week is the perfect time to put that investing and inviting into practice. I would like to encourage every person who calls Relevant home to use every possible tool at their disposal to get as many people here Sunday as possible. FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, EMAIL, PERSONAL INVITE, PONY EXPRESS, what ever it takes.  We will be launching a brand new series called #523Greater and I know that it will impact everyone here. Here is a run down of what to expect.

• Incredible music from our Band 
• Creative relevant teaching with the launch of a brand new series "523Greater"
• Fun filled Children's ministry with special play area open after each service
• Bounce Houses
• Super Slide
• Obsticle course
• Games
• Cotton Candy
• Kona-Ice Snow Cones

You don't want to miss the opportunity to bring a guest with you, young or old they will have a great time.  Remember we will be having 3 service times to choose from on Easter. 8:45, 10, and 11:15am they will all be identical and all ministry areas will be fully staffed. 

See you all Sunday,

Paul

Let the Dunking Begin!!!

We are right in the middle of college basketball's "March Madness" which now stretches into April and that is kind of confusing to me, but I digress. This is the time of year when Cinderella stories take on a whole new meaning and sometimes the underdogs end up as heroes.  It is a time when dreams are made and hopes are dashed.  Since those games are sometimes only remembered by the dunks,  here are a few reminders of some of those types of dunks:  Tomahawk, Put-back, Reverse, Triple Pump, Windmill, and my personal favorite, The Alley Oop!  Oh the dunk is by far one of the highlights of any basketball game, and I realize that the three-point shooters reading this are probably begging to differ with me; but the facts still remains that the dunk is just an epic way to score in basketball.  My son Anthony loves to play basketball and he and his buddies like nothing more than to lower the rim to the height that they can take their place with basketballs greats and dunk. 

This got me thinking. What is it about dunking that is so incredible?  Dunking in basketball is something that sets you apart from the rest of the field. But I think there is another dunking that is even more incredible.  It is the spiritual dunking called baptism.  You see dunking a basketball is awesome and it sets you apart in the basketball arena, yet spiritual dunking, through baptism, sets you apart for the Kingdom of God.  Spiritual Dunking-Baptism is a public display of a transformation that has already happened on the inside of a persons heart when they began their relationship with Jesus.

Tomorrow there will be several March Madness games played and I am sure that there will be several epic dunks.  However, I do not think any of them will compare to the dunks that will take place at our very own March Madness here at at Relevant.  Come out tomorrow and support some life changing spiritual dunks.

If you have been thinking about getting baptized and would like to get baptized tomorrow just email me or Josette and let us know and we will get you added to the list.

OBEY

WOW! I cannot believe that I looked at my blog and it has been over a month since I have posted anything.  Not that I am an avid blogger, but that is a long time.  With the summer almost at an end and school cranking up I think it is a perfect time for us as a church and me as a person to consider this idea of OBEY.  Now upon fist glance a series like OBEY may seem a bit childish because we all want to think that the idea of obeying is something that only children struggle with. However,  I am learning that as an adult I seem to struggle with obeying even more than I think my own kids do.  Please do not tell them I said that it could ruin everything.  LOL!

I think as adults we struggle with obedience because most of us have mastered the art of justification.  When we do not want to do something we just justify why it does not fit into our lives any longer or if we want to do something that we know is completely against what scripture teaches then we just justify why it is OK for me to ignore scripture.  Of course any time we do either of these two thing there are consequences.  And just like a child, we never focus on the consequences until they are effecting us in a negative way.

So over the next 2 weeks at www.relevantchurch.com we are going to explore this idea of OBEY through the life of a prophet named Jonah and see how far his justification took him and what it took to get him back on the right path.  We are going to use this definition of OBEDIENCE as we journey together.
OBEDIENCE- doing what you are told to do, when you are told to do it, with the right heart attitude.

WOW!  Doing all three of those together is going to be difficult but I think we are all going to learn a ton about ourselves through this journey together.  I read a verse today in Galatians 1 that rocked my world in consideration of this idea of OBEY.  Check it out.

Galatians 1:10 (NLT)
Obviously, I’m not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Strong words and a strong message.  Join us this weekend as we kick off "OBEY"