I have never been prouder of the Iron City family than I was yesterday afternoon.  I had the joy of helping Ami M. and six or seven other servant-leaders from ICC distribute and wrap all the toys that we collected over the last few weeks. 

As a part of our Christmas Conspiracy, we partnered with our friends at Faithbridge Community Church to help out their community during the holiday season.  One of the greatest needs that was shared was the very real concerns of parents – many of whom have lost jobs this year - who were afraid that they may not have anything to give to their children this Christmas.  We shared this need with Iron City and they responded in unbelievable fashion, overflowing the collection boxes every week.

In three short weeks, we collected enough toys to fill a Honda Element and to make Christmas morning special for a couple dozen families in McKees Rocks.  In addition, we were able to tangibly demonstrate the love of Jesus to an anxious bunch of parents.  And as I watched grateful parents file in and out of the gift room yesterday I was reminded of this passage:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.   James 1:27 (NIV)

There has been so much going on lately.  Most of it inside of me.  God is still hard at work (can you call it “hard” if God’s the one doing it?), shaping me into the man He created me to be.

I felt that it was time to break the silence because this post  from Steven Furtick hit me right where I am a lot of the time.  This, incidently, is one of the major areas of my life that God has been re-shaping/re-framing my perspective.

No promises on how often I’ll be posting, but the above is a must read.

OK.  So last Friday and Saturday we got probably 4-6 inches of snow and it was in the 20’s for much of the time.  Amber, TJ and I went sledding Saturday afternoon to celebrate the first of March.

Then yesterday it hit 68 degrees and beautiful blue skies.  Now it’s been raining all day and it’s back down to 37 (and dropping). 

Not to mention that it’s hard to know what to wear out of the house at any given moment, this is a good illustration for what we talked about on Sunday.

I talked about how Caleb was a man of “Uncommon Courage.”  He was courageous enough to have faith in God’s promises in spite of facing giants and walled cities.  I mentioned that it wasn’t because he was delusional that he believed the Israelites could take the land.  He was realistic about the obstacles in front of him, but he chose to look realistically at the circumstances in light of God’s promises.

Too often I think that we — in spite of our relationship to the King of the universe — allow ourselves to be swayed by our circumstances, which change like the weather around here. 

We claim to believe and have faith in God’s promises to be with us no matter what, to give us life to the full, to make sure we have our daily bread, to provide wave after wave of grace and forgiveness, and (insert your favorite of God’s promises here). 

And then the weather changes…. Life happens…. Something unforeseen goes wrong…. ”Downsizing”… The doctor gives us the bad news… He or she leaves…. That loved one dies unexpectedly…. and BOOM! 

Suddenly all we can see are the circumstances (the weather) and we forget that God’s promises overshadow life’s situations.  Nothing that happens on this earth leaves God scratching His head. 

I’ll say it again: COURAGE IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE SIZE OF YOUR GOD — BIG GOD = BIG COURAGE!  No matter what the weather’s looking like in your life today, God is big enough and loves you enough to follow through on His promises.  Take courage!

I don’t know what it was completely, but today was an amazing day at ICC.  The energy level was sky high, the band knocked it out of the park, and I felt really good kicking off our “Heroes” series with a message about Caleb.  Attendance was up (highest yet at ICC) and it just really seemed like things clicked all day.

In the Heroes series I’m excited because we’re looking back at some of the Old Testament “heroes of the faith” and examining the character attributes that God brought out in them to make an impact on the world.  The tagline is “Ordinary People.  Extraordinary Impact.”  I believe that’s what God wants to do in and through each of us if we’ll allow it.

Today I talked about how Caleb was a man who exhibited “Uncommon Courage” to have faith in God’s promises, to face down giants, to stand in the face of opposition, and to remain faithful through unjust suffering.  I love preaching through the stories of the Bible.  There is something about the narrative that just really connects with me and, in turn, with the people I’m sharing with.

Praise God for an awesome day @ ICC!

Man it started snowing yesterday about mid-afternoon and went pretty much all night.  There’s a beautiful layer of pure white snow on the ground outside and I love it. 

I spent most of my life in the south where you have pretty much two seasons: hot and too hot.  Then there were a handful of days during the “winter” when you may have to throw on a light jacket.  Amber and I were talking last night about how we love having 4 distinct seasons here.

I especially love the snow.  As a boy in New Jersey I first got to experience it and I can’t get enough.  Even with the headaches it sometimes causes.  Here’s a few reasons why I love the snow:

• It’s pretty
• It doesn’t quite fit into a box (not rain, but not quite ice)
• It’s soft and fluffy (like me)
• It’s kind of unpredictable
• Finally, it reminds me of this great old hymn:
  • Nothing but the Blood (Robert Lowry, 1876)
    What can wash away my sin? nothing but the blood of Jesus;
    what can make me whole again? nothing but the blood of Jesus.
    O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
    no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

When it warms up around here I’ll have to deal with the messed up yard, the sloppy driveway, the dirty cars, but I’m thankful every day that thanks to Jesus I don’t have to worry about what’s buried under the snow of my life. 

Have a great day!

For anyone who may be interested, I’m using the 1 Year Bible reading plan from YouVersion.com this year.  Very well done, and you know the Kingdom-minded folks at LifeChurch.tv (who developed YouVersion) continue to fine tune the system.  Thanks guys!

Here’s the link: http://www.youversion.com/1yearbible.php

I love Christmas.  I enjoy giving gifts (and receiving them in moderation).  I enjoy spending time with family and friends.  I enjoy stuffing myself with various food items and watching football on television.  I even enjoy hearing Christmas music on the radio (for the first 14 hours at least).

But more than all that stuff, I love CHRISTMAS.  I am amazed that the God of the Universe loved us so much that He sent His own Son – Jesus Christ – to take on flesh and dwell among us.  I really like how The Message Bible phrases this sentiment (John 1:14).  It tells us that Jesus (the Word, God’s Son) “became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”  Unbelievable.

Why?  Because we were created to live in a relationship with our Creator.  He made us with the opportunity to choose good or evil and we chose evil.  That left a separation between this Holy God and the unholy us.  And no matter what we tried, how we thought we could “make up for it” or “be a good person,” we couldn’t — ever.  This is why religion itself is a failing venture.  Because there is no way we can make our way to God.  In less spiritual terms, we were screwed.  Because the price to be paid for these screw-ups (aka: sin) is death.

That’s where Christmas comes in. 

The turning point of God’s Conspiracy to save us and redeem us is that He sent Jesus.  Not to be born into a wealthy family with a silver spoon up his in his mouth.  Not to rise up to political power or special religious office.  But to be born to a common, hard-working, real family. 
And to live a sinless life. 
And most importantly to die in our place.  To pay the price for all of our sin. 
And not only that, but being fully God, Jesus defeated the one thing that takes out all of the rest of us: death itself. 
He rose again three days later a victorious champion.
Through the finished work of Jesus, God made a way for us to Himself.

And He offers that payment to us for nothing more than to receive it.  What a deal!  In return for cashing in our screwed up lives, He gives us a new one.  Complete with a relationship with God now and forever.  Eternity.

Yeah, we celebrate all of this again at Easter, but it’s Christmas that made Easter possible.  It’s only because of Jesus’ birth, that we can celebrate His death.  It’s only because of Jesus’ death that we can celebrate His resurrection.  And it’s only His resurrection that gives us Hope.  For today.  For tomorrow.  And for eternity.

And that’s why I love Christmas!

We started our new series yesterday.  It’s called “Conspiracy: The Ridiculous Plan that Changed Everything,” and it’s about God’s conspiracy to make a way back to himself through Jesus.  The service itself went all right, but there seemed to be a lot going on under the surface.  The weather was a little cold and slippy and our overall numbers were down a bit, but I think the best way to describe the mood was “heavy.” 

God has been doing some unbelievable things in and through ICC lately and I think yesterday was just a prime example of spiritual warfare.  It’s so easy to get caught up in those things we can see and touch and feel and “control,” but from time to time I need to be reminded of this:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.     Ephesians 6:10-12

Praise God that He’s doing something here in Pittsburgh that makes the enemy stand up and take notice.  I love the fact that we know how the story ends and that he has already been defeated!  The same Jesus whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas has already won and we can walk confidently in that victory!

Yesterday afternoon we had a vision meeting for people who have been attending ICC and wanted to hear more about the vision.  It was also a good forum for them to ask questions that have been on their mind.

We held the meeting at the local library and had a total of 11 people there.  We enjoyed some lunch and then had what was probably my favorite part of the whole meeting — everyone got to tell who they are and what brought them to Iron City Church.  Awesome stuff — what a great reminder of why we do what we do!  Most people showed because of the “More Jesus, Less Crap” signs and have stayed because of the authenticity, based on their comments yesterday.

I got to share how we got here (the backstory), where we’re heading (the vision), and what we’re about (our values).  I just love connecting the dots for people.  The meeting went very well and I think most – if not all – of the people that were there are in it for the long haul.  We did have some good, spirited conversation about some of what we do and what we believe, but it was all in good taste and I think we all left on good standing and encouraged.

It is awesome to be so close while God does so much for so many! 

I shared yesterday that it’s my dream that in 5, 10, or 20 years if we were to mention something about closing the doors of Iron City Church, that members and leaders of all the communities of the Pittsburgh metro area would rise up in opposition because we have made and we are making such a difference in the lives of their people that they couldn’t bear to do without us.  Only God can do that — and that’s why I dream it!!!

Thank you God for all you have done, are doing, and are yet to do!

Yesterday we had our second week of our “Building Blocks” series.  I’ll have to post some photos (maybe after next week) of the stage layout.  It’s not hugely elaborate, but it is big for us. 

More than that, I really feel like the messages are connecting with some folks.  The idea of this series is that our lives are like an ongoing building project.  We’re preaching through 2 Peter 1:3-9 and talking about the building blocks to a productive and effective life.  I’ve known a lot of churches in my life where we “got people saved” and just left them there.  In time that leads to an unproductive and ineffective church. 

We don’t want to be that kind of church.  We want to make disciples of Jesus that make disciples of Jesus.

Incidently, the numbers were back up a little (37 total) and the vibe in the place was good.  We’ve got to find some local musicians to be a part of what’s happening at ICC.  This was the second week in a row without a drummer and there’s a noticeable difference in the atmosphere without that driving rhythm.  Pray with us about this and – better yet – if you’re a good drummer in the North Hills (or willing to drive) and want to be a part of something bigger than yourself, let me know…

Here’s the audio of Sunday’s message: http://www.ironcitychurch.com/messages/2007_03-BuildingBlocks/102807_BB02.mp3

General message downloads page: http://www.ironcitychurch.com/downloads.html