Coach’s Corner

On the 4th of July, our family enjoyed an evening on the riverfront and a front row seat to a phenomenal display of fireworks. Last year we viewed fireworks at Mt Rushmore on the 4th and to my surprise, little ol’ Peoria may very well have matched if not exceeded Mt Rushmore. There was one firework in particular that was fired off several times that literally filled the sky. It set off golden sparkle trails that looked like a giant weeping willow tree. It was literally breathtaking. And those in combination with many others provided a sense of wonderment and gratitude. As I set there I couldn’t help but think that all of this was totally unnecessary.

“Hi! We’ve never met, but I love you and you should listen to me!”

It sounds like one of these spam emails from some “God-fearing” person with tons of cash that needs your help and will reward you handsomely to do so. But it’s really the gist of Colossians. Paul never went to the church found in Colosse. In fact, he wrote this letter while in prison in Rome. But Paul had heard much about them, and had a few things to share with them based on what he had heard.

Today we kicked off a brand new series called “You’ve Got Mail”. We all love to get personal mail. In fact, if you go to the mail box and find a personal letter, it’s the first thing you’ll open. We love personal mail for a variety of reasons, but I think there are two main reasons.. 1) It’s actually for us personally & 2) It’s almost always from someone we know and care about.

What I find interesting (even in my own personal life) is how anxious we are to read personal mail, but how often we’ll ignore some of the most important personal mail we will ever hold in our hands..

The theme of freedom rings loud and clear in Galatians. This is a wonderful day to discuss freedom since today is the 4th of July. Freedom is an important message from Paul since everything else is counter to God’s desire and his provision for us.

Imagine being the heir to Donald Trump, or Bill Gates, or Sam Walton. Imagine the resources and potential that is yours at the appointed time. In a sense, it already belongs to you since you are a child and therefore an heir. But for some reason, they don’t usually open up the full allocation of resources until you’ve grown up. It’s yours, but the fullness of it is witheld. Paul says that’s not much different than being a slave that is in bondage even though he’s the eventual master of the estate.

Yesterday I began on “online Bible study” in Galatians since we will be focusing on that book this week. This morning, I’ll cover chapter 3. Chapter 3 is a powerful explanation and exploration of faith versus the law. In many ways, this is still the dividing question between those who would follow Christ and those who don’t. Check this out… there was an article in USA Today recently where they discussed the different religious points of view. Here are some of the highlights:

I may be weird (I heard you out there…easy…), but I look forward to opening the mail.  I always hope that there is something personal.  So I sift through the daily pile of junk mail in hopes that there is something someone sent actually just for me.  Well, the New Testament has several letters that [...]

I entered the blog world back in January this year.  As a result of that, i have been exposed to some really phenomenal church leaders who blog as well.  I read their thoughts and I try to learn from them and their experiences.  It was because of these blog connections that I became aware of [...]

Where do I even begin?  This weekend…. this month… what’s ahead… It’s all amazing.  During a month that is typically rough for churches around America, we have experienced a fresh wind from the Spirit of God.  As we conclude June, I look back with gratitude for what God has done and I look forward in [...]

IT’S OFFICIAL!
The Grove Church will be changing it’s name to Second Chance Church.
There are many developments and sources of input that have contributed to this change.  When taken in total, it seems abundantly clear that God has been urging us to follow this path. Here’s a brief overview of how this came to pass:

We [...]