I like to consider myself a manly man one that does not cry… much! Something that breaks my heart is young girls who have been sexually abused. I have watched the pain in the women closest to me as they deal with the past abuse. This poet has become my favorite as she preaches the cross of Christ in the midst of this pain. You have to watch! Please tell me what you think.
One of my greatest joys in ministry has been to participate in and lead what we call “encounter.” Encounter is a one day event where we focus on the Gospel both in proclamation and activation. We just finished another encounter and, once again, it was just amazing! I wanted to post some cool testimonies from a few of those who went through the event. I hope you enjoy and are encouraged by seeing lives changed.
Love this video advertising John Piper’s book. What I love is the deep desire to not just think about God but to be a lover of God. This was the whole point of my message Sunday at Life Connection Church. We need to know God and delight in God and not just think about him. Our right thinking is important to knowing God but it is not the end.
I just watched this Ellerslie Short film and I was soooo moved. I am not posting the whole 7:55 min. I just trimmed out the first 1:39 min. If you get a chance watch the whole video but this clip hit me deep so I wanted to just post this. I am also posting some verses that have been speaking to me.
Proverbs 21:13
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Matthew 6:1-4
Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 25:41-45
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me.’
Luke 14:13-14
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
James 2:1-7
1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
Not much to say now… I am still praying and asking God to work deeply in my heart. I am really wrestling with the word “partiality”. Every once and awhile I write a post just to hear what you all think, this is that post! What do you think?
This weekend I got to go to be with a dear friend of mine, Jorge Villalvazo. He has an amazing Church in Sierra Vista AZ called Centro Cristiano Shiloh. I have had the opportunity to preach in a lot of churches and I love each opportunity. Each community has their own environment or church culture. The funny thing is you can only see it if you are new, or from the outside, because if you live in it, you do not recognize it. As a preacher, it is always good to preach to a soft, open, and excited atmosphere. That is what we experienced this weekend. The people of Centro Cristiano Shiloh are just loving people. It is a great place to preach!
When I go to other churches it always makes me ask God some questions. What kind of atmosphere do we have at Life Connection Church? How do guests feel when they come? Is it a welcoming atmosphere? Are people soft-hearted, open, and excited?
It is hard for me to know, but I pray that we are a people who love God and love people. I know that the Gospel offends and our worship experience is uncomfortable for some. But what I am asking is, “Are we loving?”
John 13:35
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This week Dana and I are going to Speak for a Valentine’s Banquet. We are going to be using an article we wrote for destinyinbloom.com as our outline. I wanted to post it on my blog so anyone who wants can check it out. I hope you are encouraged!
Aaron writes:
I remember the first time I saw Dana … wow… let me pause for second because the thought of it still makes me dumbfounded. I was a young Bible college student looking for a job. I went into an Italian restaurant and there she was, not only a waitress at the place I was applying, but also she went to the same college. It was a moment that I will never forget. It was like we had known each other for years. I was so attracted to her, but also, so comfortable with her. We were instant best friends! That is the kind of girl my wife is. She is so open, honest, and friendly that you cannot help but become friends with her very quickly. I knew right away that I wanted to marry her. Now don’t get me wrong, we had our struggles, but we were friends, and by God’s grace I got to marry the most beautiful, loving, and loyal friend I have ever had. Still, 14 years later, I look at her and wonder how I got such a blessing. The other day a girl at work said to me, with a confused look on her face, “How did you land Dana?” I could have got easily offended if I did not already know that there is no way I should get to be married to her. My only answer is and always will be … “God’s grace!”
Dana Writes:
I have the same memory of our first meeting! It was so fun! It wasn’t just meeting a guy, it was meeting someone that I wanted to spend so much time with and get to know every detail about! My moment of knowing that this was the man I wanted to marry, the man that would lead me and love me the way Christ loves the church, was shortly thereafter. We were at the end of what seemed like a very typical date. Aaron was walking me to my dorm when he stopped me and got very serious. There was a spiritual issue in my life that he had noticed was not in order. He pointed it out to me in a very concerned but confident way. I wish I could say I responded in love and appreciation, however it was nothing like that! I got so mad, I yelled and stormed off slamming the door behind me! As soon as I got inside my apartment I sat on the couch and realized this was the man that I needed to be with forever! No boy that I had ever dated cared at all about my walk with the Lord. In that moment, I realized Aaron cared more about where I was spiritually then where our relationship was going if he confronted me. He loved me more than he loved our relationship! He blew my mind that day!! I was safe and protected and I knew that I would continue to have that if I got to marry him. As much as he says he knows he shouldn’t have gotten to marry me, I am blown away that he asked me to marry him!
We Write:
We have discussed long and hard, and brainstormed for a long time, to figure out what we have to say since we were asked to write this article. To be honest we probably do not have much to say except, “We are evidences of God’s grace.”
For all of our married life, we have been in the ministry and spent much time working with couples in pre-marriage, mid-marriage, divorce, and post-marriage. We have seen the worst of the worst. The one thing we have learned over the last 12 years is when we get our eyes off Jesus, marriages fall apart really quickly. There are a few reasons why that we would like to share with you:
(1) In our culture, marriage is worshipped and not looked at as a way to worship Jesus, which in itself is idolatry. Many young people spend most of their time dreaming of being married, and even worship Jesus so that He will give them a “good” spouse. So many single adults do not feel complete until they are married. Marriage has become an acceptable idol in the church. Many married couples look to their marriage to give them identity, worth, protection, joy, hope, and fulfillment. All of the things we are supposed to receive from that which we worship the most, the place God is supposed to be, and the only place He will sit in our lives. Marriage is a good thing, but once it becomes a god, then we are in an extremely dangerous place. We do not want to harp on this to much but ask yourself this … “Do I worship marriage or do I worship God with my marriage?” Make sure that Jesus is the object of your worship.
(2) Marriage is to reflect the glory of God and not your love. We have been asked many times, and I have heard other people be asked, “why is your marriage so amazing?” Now we all know our marriages are not as amazing as they look, but it is so foolish and arrogant to take that question and praise ourselves, our chemistry, our endurance, or our strength, instead of pointing to the One who began the work and will be faithful to complete it. The power of the Gospel is: if God begins something He will sustain it and complete it. Jesus has given us His spirit, and anything that comes out of our marriage that is good is only a reflection of God’s spirit producing good fruit in us.
(3) Many times spouses are looking to each other as motivation and example for the kind of spouse they are to be. So, you have a husband who is not going to love because his wife will not submit, instead of looking to Jesus who loved His bride so much that He saw her dirty, and came and washed her, clothed her, and presented her to Himself. Jesus did not love the church because she was submissive, but because He is good and loving. Then you have a wife who will not submit because her husband will not love or lead. If she looked at Jesus who was equal with God, who is God, and who humbled Himself and submitted Himself to His father all the way to the point of death she would see what it means to submit. In marriage we need to stop looking at each other or we will find every reason to accuse and, in doing so, take the side of our enemy who is the “accuser of the brethren”. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He will lead you and give you the strength, endurance, and grace to be who you should be in your marriage.
(4) It is so interesting that the number one reason for divorce in our country is sex. Sex has become a tool that is used to manipulate to get our own personal agenda! When marriage is hinged on how good the sex-life is, it’s in the wrong place in the marriage. It’s in the wrong place because sex is not designed to produce love. It’s designed to remember the love that is already existing there. When a spouse feels that they have to perform to keep love or prove love, it becomes very damaging. When a spouse knows they are loved, and uses sex to express that love, then it is very purposeful.
We have, through God’s overwhelming grace, the opportunity to be a reflection of Him. In a book we are reading right now called “You Can Change” by Tim Chester, he writes it this way:
• “We were made to be in God’s image on earth, to know Him, to share His rule over the world, to reflect His glory. The idea is probably that of a statue of a god that represents the authority and glory of that god. But we’re not to make images of the living God precisely because we are His image. We’re God’s representatives on earth. We’re God’s glory, displaying His likeness. After each day of creation God declared what He had made to be “good”. But on the 6th day God’s verdict on a world that now included humanity was “very good”. God’s work wasn’t finished until there was something in the world to reflect His glory in the world. We often excuse our actions by saying, “I’m only human.” There’s nothing “only” about being human: we are truly human as we reflect God’s glory.”
As a couple, our desire is that our marriage reflects God’s glory. Marriage was not created by God for just our enjoyment, but for His Glory. Creation is not meant to be worshipped, but to worship it’s creator. God created marriage and is the only one deserving worship.
Ephesians 5: 31-33 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
The mysterious and profound part of marriage is that it has more to do with Christ and the church than it does about being married. So if there is anything we would challenge you with it’s this: keep your eyes fixed on Jesus … He is the author, sustainer, and finisher of your marriage. Worship God with your marriage!
Over the last 5 weeks we have been in a pivotal series for LCC and it was appropriately named “Called” The goal of this series was to address the misconceptions that surround the word “called” and to get us to stop chasing a calling and start walking in the calling we already have. Here is a list of misconceptions that we went over every week.
I must say I could not even begin to express the joy I am experiencing right now by watching the spirit empowered motion of this body. Last week while I was praying and thanking God for the movement at LCC He reminded me of a couple of pastoral letter’s I had written 6 months ago titled, The Stalled church. The basic plea of those letters was for us to move out of pride or condemnation and move into action.
I feel like God has been answering our prayers and He has moved us from a “Stalled Church” into a “Called Church”. We have moved from a people who are paralyzed by fear to a people who are empowered by His spirit. I feel like God gave me a picture of this In John 5:8. Jesus is speaking to a paralytic who was waiting for the pool of bethesda to move so he could get healed. He asked the man “If he wanted to be healed” but the man came up with excuses for why he wasn’t healed. Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” Just like this man I think we would rather have excuses then power. Many of us are more comfortable being a victim then being a victor. What Jesus did is healed the man by commanding him to carry his own bed and walk. He immediately gave him an assignment and purpose. This healing just spoke to me that the call of Jesus is both for our healing and for His purpose.
My challenge to you is to walk and live in the call of God.
If you would like to preview any of the called series messages please feel free to at lifeconnectionchurch.net.
I have always wanted to be a “hype man” but as you can tell from this video I am more of a jester. This was fun! Lee Green is my favorite hip hop artist and he just happens to go to Life Connection Church and is a huge blessing to us. So in our called series we filmed his testimony and then I begged him to let me by his hype man and he let me do it. Check it out. All I have to say is… WHAT NOW?
This is a question sent in by Mike on the “Ask Aaron Anything” link:
What would you say is the proper way to “retire” a bible. I would feel kind of bad throwing it out like i did my english text book.
My Answer:
This is a solid question Mike. I actually know what you mean, just reading your question gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach because it reminds me of some of my old Bibles. Selah
When you use a Bible by marking it, taking notes, and knowing where everything is you get attached to her. For example, You know when you get a new bible and you can not find a verse for some reason but your old one would just flop right to it? It was like your old bible could just read your mind. I kind of believe a bible is like a good wine, the older it gets the better!
This is a hard one for me to answer… But… What I do is shelf it (cry and sing the B.I.B.L.E) and pull it out for future reference. So I guess I get the newer model but I leave the old one around for nostalgic reasons.
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