Merry Christmas

Have you ever wondered why we say Merry Christmas? Modern day use of the word merry means festive or cheery; but hundreds of years ago, merry also meant peaceful and blessed. Thus, when you say Merry Christmas you are literally wishing someone a peaceful or blessed Mass of Christ(although Christmas can also literally mean Christ is sent). As protestants, we don't celebrate mass, but rather attend services or church. On Christmas Eve at Horizons,we usually gather for a service of carols,communion and candle lighting to celebrate and remember that Christ has been sent and we are called to remember His cradle, His cross and His crown and share that hope and light and love with others.

From our hearts to yours - Merry Christmas! And may Christ be the center of your Christmas this year.

Pastor Rich

Preventive Maintenance

Often times we act on need or impulse. I continue to learn this valuable lesson of preventive maintenance. We can do some things today to prevent failure, sickness, issues that come in life. I get my oil changed and I ensure that all my fluid levels are up to make sure my car is operating at  high level.  I take my vitamins, eat my green vegetables, exercise, all to stay healthy. It's much easier to maintain than deal with sickness.

As we begin to start the holiday season, excess become our buzz word.  Hey its the holidays let's indulge in all the goodies, pile on the helpings we may say.  I am not denying that human side of us that likes to let our hair down for some temporary yummies.

When it comes to our spiritual well being, that is our spiritual health; what are we doing to prevent crisis?  It is incredibly important to maintain our spiritual nature. We are constantly at war with our fleshly nature, as it is in  constant state of being fed. We must feed our spiritual nature. We can't live on a Sunday only meal, we must dive into the word, get into fellowship, and pray "continually".  When we take these proactive steps, we can avoid many of the pitfalls in life. Not all of them, because occasionally they have purpose and we learn and grow from them and manage through the trial. Scripture encourages us to live by the Spirit.

Romans 8:13,14 "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God"


I would encourage you to read more in Romans 8 as this is a marvelous chapter to help us sort out the spiritual nature and the power of God's love as we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.

Life has its challenges let us all be "More than Conquerors" as we learn and grow together.

Pastor J

Wide Eyed Wonder

I love the wide eyed wonder of a child when it comes to the Christmas season. I can still remember the uber joy of my kids on Christmas morning. They still get excited; but there is something special about those early years. On Sunday, our movie is Elf - a funny movie that has some great themes. One of those themes is the special innocence of the main character and his overjoyed expression about all things Christmas.

As we grow older, we lose some of that wide eyed wonder. My prayer for you this Christmas season is that you will rediscover some of that awe in the remembering of the Christ child being born in a manger; the King of Kings come in the form of a babe so that we might experience the fullness of God's grace.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.

Rich

Happy Thanksgiving & Sunday

I will go home this afternoon(it's Wednesday) and begin hours of preparation along with others - so let's just say a total of 25 hours by different people in our group will be spent to prepare a meal for 13 of us that will gather on Thanksgiving day for at most an hour long meal, What's the point - that a lot of life is about preparation - the hard work of doing something for those few meaningful moments.

But I love those meaningful moments. In the crazy world that most of us live in around here; it is these special moments of connectedness that mean so much. Pastor Jay is preaching from the movie Home Alone this coming Sunday and there are some valuable spiritual lessons to be learned from not living life alone. But we have to be intentional about those relationships and put in the preparation for those meaningful moments. My encouragement for all of us is to be more intentional about our connectedness.

I pray that you enjoy your Thanksgiving and that you will have a blessed Holiday season. See you Sunday.

Pastor Rich

Storytellers

There are great storytellers that we all know. They are relatives, friends, co-workers, and inspirational speakers. They weave facts with emotions and events we can relate to. Their story conveys a message, has a point, evokes a laugh, makes us empathize.

You are a storyteller. Your life tells a story. The way you live it, the way you talk, the way you behave. In the pressure cooker of getting it right on a day to day basis we let our lives tell a story and sometimes its not too pretty. It's important for we as Christians not to be perfect, but to be Christlike. That does not happen by accident.

Join us this Sunday as we talk about telling the right story. Tapping into the resources and tools that God has given us to ensure that our life is telling the right, redeemed, life giving story of someone that has met the Savior.

Remember we are called (all of us that follow Christ) to be salt and light. I may read that and wish it, but there are some steps to take ensure that our saltiness is good and our light is shining on a stand brightly.

blessings

Pastor J

Deeper In

That is what we are talking about on Sunday. How to have a deeper prayer life. For most of us; our prayer lives our centered around our petitions. But the prayer life that God desires for us to have in this plentiful life is a much richer and deeper experience than what is common to most of us.

One of my favorite albums this year has been Gungor's Beautiful Things - track 11 is Late Have I Loved You. The lyrics are taken from Augustine's Confessions and speak to the challenge we all face in really communing with God. But our experiences with God do not have to be a challenge; maybe we just need a better education about prayer and that is what we will focus on Sunday.

I encourage you to attend this Sunday so that you can go deeper in with God and then make a commitment to come to the Prayer and Worship night on November 12th.

Pastor Rich

Fan the Flame

Not quite time to start the fireplace but we are getting close. It is just about that time of year that firewood will be cut and flu's and chimneys cleaned. We do this in preparation for a good warm fire for those cold nights. Or you may be like me and turn on the gas line to hit the switch. In any case we need fuel. The fuel is the source to make the fire burn.

As followers of Christ we have a flame. Scripture encourages us to fan the flame. When the flame of Christ ignites we heat up. When we heat up things begin to happen. I love this passage in Acts 4:13 "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." Awesome, no eduction or training needed to be a difference maker but Jesus fuel is necessary.

If you are wondering why you haven't felt so good, or been victorious, or noticing all the bad in life, complaining a lot. How's the fuel level? Maybe it would be good to throw a log on the fire. Maybe time to turn up the gas, hit the switch. It is our own personal responsibility to be with Jesus. Pop over to the Facebook page and join the discussion there on ways we can connect to Christ to keep our fuel up.

pastor Jay

History of Halloween

We begin a new series on Sunday and we want you to be there. The new series is called Cornucopia - The Plentiful Life and it's going to stretch you to live the life that God calls each of us to live.(did I used the word live/life too much?)

On another important note. I know that for a lot of Christians, there are times that we lack the knowledge/information we need to make wise decisions. We are here to help when it comes to Halloween. For many believers there is just a general lack of knowledge about the origins of this "holiday". So here you go - read and pray.

The History of Halloween
Our Pilgrim forefathers well knew of Halloween's occultic roots. In fact they banned celebrating Halloween in America. Halloween was not celebrated in this country until 1845. At that time, multiplied thousands of Irish emigrants flooded into New York because of the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-46. They brought with them the old Druid holiday of Halloween. Gradually, celebrating this day spread throughout the rest of the country.
Now, to understand Halloween better we must go even further back. I found that the original celebration was not called by its present name, Halloween. But, it began among the ancient Celtic peoples (Britons, Gauls, Scots, Irish). They observed the end of summer with sacrifices to SAMAN (Shamhain). He was "the lord of death and evil spirits". This marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year.


A Note About Saman
Depending on your source material, the Druid lord of death and evil spirits was called Saman, Samana, Shamhain or Samhain. His "holiday" was called "The Vigil Of Saman" or Samhain (pronounced so-wein). You probably have seen a modern day version of SAMAN without even knowing it. This pagan god was shown as a ghostly, skeleton holding a sickle in his hand. He later came to be known as THE GRIM REAPER.


More About the History of Samhain (Halloween)
Ralph Linton in his book Halloween Through the Centuries, says "The American celebration (of Halloween) rests upon Scottish and Irish folk customs which can be traced in a direct line from pre-Christian times. The earliest celebrations were held by the DRUIDS in honor of Shamhain, lord of death, whose festival fell on November 1st."
Searching other sources, I have this information to add: The Celts considered November 1st as being the day of death because the leaves were falling, it was getting darker sooner and temperatures were dropping. They believed Muck Olla, their sun god, was loosing strength because Samhain, lord of death, was overpowering him. Further, they believed that on October 31st Samhain assembled the spirits of all who had died during the previous year. They had been confined to inhabit animals' bodies for the past year as punishment for their evil deeds. On the eve of the feast of Samhain, October 31st, they were allowed to return to their former homes to visit the living. Supposedly to protect these people, Druid priests led the people in diabolical worship ceremonies in which horses, cats, black sheep, oxen, human beings and other offerings were rounded up, stuffed into wicker cages and burned to death. This was done to appease Samhain and keep the spirits from harming them.


Modern Day Occult, Witchcraft and Satanism Celebrate Halloween
You need to understand that even today Halloween is STILL an occult worship day. Phil Phillips says in his book, Halloween and Satanism, "...Halloween is a day witches celebrate above all other days."
Witches and Satanists love Halloween. They get a lot of media coverage around that time of year. It's good P.R. (public relations) for them. That coverage usually portrays them in a favorable light. In addition, it generates interest in "the craft" and is good for recruitment purposes. As Craig Hawkins put it, "...with increasing vigor, witchcraft is coming `out of the broom closet.' Many witches are actively seeking public understanding and acceptance." (quote from an article in Christian Research Journal; Winter/Spring 90 entitled "The Modern World of Witchcraft" by Craig S. Hawkins.)
Despite the public relations campaign to "sell" the public on the "virtues" of witchcraft, modern day witches and Satanists still worship demon gods & goddesses, practice bizarre & immoral sexual rituals, and certain groups offer animal and human sacrifices.


The Origin of the Name, "Halloween"
Where did the name Halloween come from? Originally this Druid Holiday was called "The Vigil Of Saman." In early Britain it was called Samhain, which is pronounced So-wein. But, here is how we got the name Halloween. It came from an attempt to "Christianize" this pagan worship day. In A.D. 800 the Roman Catholic Church moved "ALL SAINTS DAY" from May to November 1st. The new day was called All HALLOW'S DAY and it soon became the custom to call the evening before ALL HALLOWE'EN. It was shortened and called HALLOWEEN. The important fact to note is that the CHRISTIANIZATION of this Celtic New Year's sacrifice day MISERABLY FAILED.
To summarize this section on "THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN" let me share with you the words of Dr. John MacArthur. "First of all, dressing up like witches, ghosts, or goblins is incompatible with a Christian's testimony. Furthermore, many of the customs of Halloween are associated with the worst kinds of pagan beliefs and ceremonies; they are usually sinister things such as demons, witchcraft and superstition."
He further stated, "If we as Christian parents simply disregard the unchristian aspects of such practices as mere fantasy or superstition and then encourage our children to participate in them, we run the risk of communicating the message that the spiritual battle waged by the rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10) is not to be taken seriously."
Let's move on to the origin of some of Halloween's customs.

Origin of Costumes
How did the practice of wearing costumes at Halloween develop? The early origin of costumes is repulsive. On the evening of October 31st, the Druids, who were the occultic priests and teachers of the Celts, ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built a huge new year's bonfire of oak branches, which they considered sacred. They burned animals, crops and human beings as sacrifices to their sun god Muck Olla and Samhain, their god of death. During this diabolical ceremony the PEOPLE WORE COSTUMES made of animal heads and skins. They then practiced divination, looked for omens in the struggle of the victims sacrificed in the fires, jumped over the flames or dashed through them, dancing and singing. All of this was done to frighten the evil spirits away.
In the 11th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 12, page 8578 it states, "It was the Druids belief that on the eve of this festival (November 1st, Celtic New Year) Saman, lord of death, called together the wicked souls (Spirits) that within the past twelve months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals." Saman would then send these evil spirits to attack people on the eve before the November 1st celebration. The only way these people could escape was by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves. (See Christianity Today, October 22, 1982, p.32).


TRICK OR TREAT
Now, just by chance if you had forgotten to dress up or could not fool the demons by dressing in animal skins or other disguises, there was a way to exorcise them. You were to set out a TREAT of food and fruit, and provide the wandering spirit with shelter for the night. If the demon was satisfied with your TREAT, it was believed that they would not TRICK you by casting an evil spell on you causing havoc.
I came across a shocking account of Trick or Treat written by a former witch, Irene Park. She says, "...the Druids in Ireland would go through the neighborhoods and countryside on the eve of October 31st to collect offerings to Satan. They would carry lanterns, bags of money, and canes with very sharp points on the ends (currently known as leprechaun staffs, good luck horns, or fairies' wands). At each house, they would demand a specific amount. If the household would not or could not give the offering (penance or treat), the Druid would use the cane to castrate the male human or one of their prize animals." (From; Seven High Pagan Masses and Halloween by Irene A. Park; page 1)
In later years James Napier says, in his book, Holidays of Legend, Irish farmers went house to house begging for food for their ancient gods. Good luck was promised to all who donated but threats were made against those who would not give. There is absolutely nothing in Trick or Treat that honors the Lord that I can see.

Pastor Rich

Reboot

So today I went to print off a document and my print function would not react. I opened the control panel and went to printers. I found that no printers were in that folder and my computer could not communicate to one of the five printers that it normally can communicate with. After a few attempts at my troubleshooting, I decided to reboot. As the computer came back on my print function now worked and all the printers could be seen by my computer once again. I found this interesting because I see spiritual life being similar. Occasionally our normal functions get a bit gummed up and we can see, can’t communicate clearly. We need to shut down and restart. Take this scripture and consider it:

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

So when we feel weary and tired. Wait on the Lord. Retreat, pause, meditate, ponder, contemplate, and get strength that will allow us to run and not get weary. When we achieve a dream no matter how big or small the natural mode is to stall out, get comfortable and just kick back. Relax and let things just go on autopilot. We are closest to God when we show our dependency on Him. So reboot, get new strength and start pursuing the next God dream.

Let's be Dream achievers and then repeat as necessary.

Jay

Dream Time

I'm sure alot of us are really giving thoughts to the big dreams God has for us. But, most of us don't like the timeline of fulfillment of those dreams. I am often impatient when it comes to dreams. Time is such a huge factor in the dream process. Our dreams get blocked, delayed, hindered by our own decisions and by other factors, but I believe a God dream awaits all of us. If you have been struggling with your dreams (like I have), then the message on Sunday is for you.

Dream Big! See you on Sunday or check out our Sermons on demand at http://web.me.com/horizonschurch/Horizons_Church/VOD.html.

Rich

Simplicity of the Segway

I just rode my first Segway this past Sunday. We had them in the church fellowship hall/gym and folks were given rides (laps) around the gym. As I watched people jump up and take off it looked like a simple thing. When it came my turn I was amazed at how you made it go. No buttons just pressure from your toes to go. A simple lean and that is how you turn. I jumped on it and within just a few seconds I was on my way and in control. The Segway was doing the work but I was the one driving.

There is a lesson to be learned here. Most often people make life complicated. They, by there own devices allow life to become noisy, fast paced, hectic, even frantic. The over schedule, over promise, over do it - in an effort to pursue the American dream.

God has a plan for our lives, not to make them perfect, but to make them simpler. When we listen to his instructions and pursue His dream for us, it gets easier. Make no mistake, I am not saying without difficulty. What I am saying is that it works for us not against us. The Segway worked with me to help me get forward movement. That is what God is saying to us in his word when he says..."Take my yoke which is easy, and my burden which is light" (Matt 11:29.30). What could we do get out of the Rat Race and join God's Race. What could we do to change how we live ...so that its for His dream not our own.

Greater Things

I'm looking to God for greater things. Greater things with my walk with God, at our church and in my personal life. I believe as the Chris Tomlin song says that God still has greater things have yet to come for all of us. We must apply the formula we learned this past Sunday - faith+courage+effort+time = fulfillment(repeat). It begins with the faith that God places in our hearts and that we lean into as God breathes new vision and new dreams into our lives.

This Sunday is going to be spectacular. I pray that you are making plans to be a part of the Tailgating Event here at Horizons church as we reach out to each other in fellowship and our community with love and a warm welcome. You never know the power of acceptance with someone until they reach a teachable moment. Just think about that for a bit.

Let's trust Him for Greater Things as we Dream Big this week.

Talk at you soon.

Pastor Rich

Walking with Peace

I woke up this morning with a song in my head.."All I Need is You" by Hillsongs United. I also had a passage... Phil 4:5-7 which says that we should not be anxious about anything but to pray so that the peace of God will guard our hearts and guard our minds. It's so easy to just go into each day in our strength, but we should be doing it in God's strength. God is the giver of dreams, but it is not achievable unless we learn to realy on Him. What are some ways that you practice the discipline of reliance? What are some ways you find peace in the midst of the pace of life.

Jay

Lessons we learned and big weekend we had

I am going to share what I have learned during this past series this coming Sunday. We started this journey of David and it became very clear that we can all relate to David and or one of the people in his life. What did you learn and how has that changed you? I would love to share these stories on Sunday. Go to the discussion on our Facebook page or comment here.

Huge thanks to our volunteers this past weekend. We are blown away by the volunteerism that made our Sunday service and dinner so successful. I love to see the truth of "many hands make light work" and that was no more apparent than the transformation of the facility on Sunday afternoon.

This weekend a Jr High lock in with 44 of them plus leadership. We had a Men's Group and Fit meeting on Saturday. 633 in two services on Sunday and near 400 returned for a luau that evening. Wow - big weekend. Can't wait for Tailgating 2010..

Blessings to all

Pastor Jay

An Intervention?

I find it interesting that TV has popularized this idea of intervening someone in an out of control habit. I guess it makes good TV to see someone on the brink of failure or death, plagued by some habitual addiction that controls them. I am not making light of it, I just ask the question why wait on the intervention.

When it comes to our spiritual journey that we and our friends have, why do we wait? My prayer and hope is that we can trust each other to speak into our lives. This passage Heb 10:24-25 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ", speaks to us about being a people that help one another and pick each other up so that we don't fall. That positive relationships don't happen without trying, risking, trusting, and acting. Let's move forward together. Pick each other up, intervene when someone gets tempted. Help each other when we are tired. Let's make the devil mad by showing that our fear of acceptance will not rule out over our purpose as the church of Jesus Christ.

I am amped about sharing this final piece of the life of David and the relationships that he had. This Sunday will focus on the the Risk to confront, in love, for the sake of someones soul.

J

Make your heart work through your hands

I love to see life change. We are a blessed church because life change is happening everywhere. Prayerfully, most of it for the better. The joy of reading the testimonials from our communication cards and hearing stories of a changed life is awesome. When we see and hear the stories of Life's journey with people, as they share in the Baptismal, it blesses all of our hearts.

The heart is being changed and we are seeing that played out into how our lives are lived, differently. My passion is to see the character and action of Christ lived out in our real world situations. This week we will talk about how one man made a commitment to another and it changed everything. His commitment was followed up in his actions as he proved to be someone that understood the concept of his actions have to follow his words.

Let's all challenge ourselves to not just be hearers of the word, but doers as well.

Be the miracle that someone in your path needs.

Jay

Slow road to bitterness

I see so many relationships start out with promise, passion, and hope. Yet often, over time we see a deterioration of that relationship. What once was filled with love and laughter is replaced by apathy and bitterness. Is it because we place unreal expectations upon it? Is it because we don't understand the trials of life? Is it because of us or them or both we ask? Whatever the case may be, the drama of our life's journey can take a toll and the people closest to us suffer.

Here's the good news, it's not too late to make a change. God is the God of a second chance, a third chance and even more. If we allow ourselves to learn from the mistakes that we make and learn from the people in the bible and the mistakes they made, success can be had. We can learn some keys to keep our heart soft and enriched in the joy of the Lord. This Sunday the drama "The Pride and the Passion" continues with some fresh perspective on how we can have great relationships. Don't miss this important and life changing message, and invite a friend to HC.

Shalom

Jay

Heart

I love reading the bible. I love when the truth of God's word jumps off the page. That is not always how it goes but recently as I studied the life of David and Saul I got a fresh revelation about the heart.

The difference of Saul being rejected as king and David being blessed as king had nothing to do with their ability to do good or evil. They both did both. It had to do with the condition of their heart. When confronted with their misdeeds one blamed others, the other took responsibility and repented.

David's life was filled with drama and people that had soft hearts and hard hearts. The question for us is how is the condition of our heart? The good news is that we can learn how to protect it and how to get it revived or renewed. Join us for Sunday's in August for "The Pride and the Passion".

Blessings

J

Passionate Pursuit

One of the things I struggle against is the volume of stuff that I end up dealing with. Relationships, crises, job, volunteering, personal stuff, etc.(like FEDEX this week – “no, I specifically remember leaving the package – me in response “but we didn’t get the package” – FEDEX guy – “no, I left it” – calls to FEDEX, concern about someone stealing it – maybe the 2lb package blew away in the wind; and then, mysteriously, it just shows up on the doorstep the next night…ughh and sigh of relief)

Underneath all this stuff is the real issue of what are we truly passionate about. Where are we placing the emphasis in our life? I can get passionate about all kinds of activities – running, Reds baseball, Redskins football(who am I kidding – football in general), a great meal, amazing music, etc. – but what is my life based upon.

The founding fathers gave us some key documents to help us understand what the intent of the creation of this great nation was all about – the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. God has given us His Word as a living, powerful document that guides our lives and aides us in our understanding His intent for our lives. But, how passionate am I about this; that which should be the central focus of my life from which all else emanates? It’s an important question for each of us, and one we will deal with this Sunday as we conclude In God We Trust.

Pastor Rich

He's got the whole world...

I loved singing that song in Sunday School and later in Kid's Church. I can remember from a very early age feeling a deep connection to God. I have always believed that God cares for His children, but like most parents - He is more concerned with my character that my comfort.

The providence of God is a mystery. Our finite minds have a hard time wrapping our intellect around the infinite; and yet He gives us the grace "to understand in part" because He loves us and wants a real and personal relationship with each of us. Join us this Sunday as we continue the series In God We Trust and examine the general and special providence of God.

I also want to give a huge shout out to our creative team for a wonderful job on the set design. I appreciate each person who volunteers at Horizons to make a difference in the lives of others.

Check out our facebook page and tell us about a time when the special providence of God was evidenced in your life.

Talk at you soon.

Pastor Rich

Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

This quote comes from an article entitled "No peaceful warriors" by Ambrose Redmoon a paraplegic in 1991. I love it because it sums up the truth about courage. Courage is not the absence of fear, but of facing your fear, overcoming your fear.

This Sunday we continue the Unstoppable series. You will hear from Pastor Craig Groeschel of Lifechurch.TV teach on courage and the truth that the path to your greatest potential is often straight through your greatest fear.

If you are reading this, you have a fear. You have a fear in your faith walk? This Sunday is for you to learn the secrets of overcoming fear with an Unstoppable Courage.

PS: Saw Toy Story 3 twice this past weekend...Awesome, last ten minutes will wreck you.

J

Make the Father Happy

Well its Father's Day this Sunday. We will honor our father's this Sunday in a celebration and recognition of the role of father. As a father I have to tell you something funny about this week. I went to Chloe's (my 7 yr old) award ceremony. She got two awards for citizenship and reading. She like every other kid walked into the room looking for mom and dad, beaming at the recognition of them and knowing we were present.

I grinned as every kid that stood to receive their award. They would first upon hearing their name, stand up, then turn to audience for eye contact with their parent, smile, and then proudly walk to the stage. As I grow older, I sure appreciate the joy you see in children. I love it when the kids are happy, proud, and enjoying the moment.

I can only imagine that God our Heavenly Father loves it when we make that eye contact with Him. When we flash a smile and make our Father proud. When we work and live to show that we belong to this family and we want to make our family look good. Do you live like that? Do you live to make God smile on a daily basis? I am convinced that He loves us far more than how we love our own. His Love is what makes us Unstopppable.

This week you will see and learn about that incredible love in story of an Unstoppable Comeback. Why a comeback? Because we all need one. We all fail but as we are told in Prov 24:16 "a righteous man falls seven times and rises again." He keeps going, He gets back up.

We are Unstoppable when we really believe scripture and apply it to our life. Do not miss this Sunday at Horizons Church.

The Unstoppable Me!

Not that I personally am saying "I am Unstoppable." Rather that each of us could say we are unstoppable. We all could say with conviction "Unstoppable ME!"

I remember a pastor asking the audience one Sunday what is the most important thing that is said...What God says...What the devil says...or What you say? Immediately I heard people responding with "What God says!" The pastor gently corrected and said...Its what you say. Why? Because people will do what they really want. God's word what He says is right there. The measure of what God says and us doing what God says has everything to do with our belief and our action.

What God says is fact, it is truth, and it works. That doesn't mean that we are going to live by it, that is our choice. If we do believe it and live by it...apply it to our lives. Then we could be Unstoppable.

We listened to a fabulous message last week from Pastor Kev ...You're free so drop the baggage. Now if you did that...the next step is believe it and live. I can't wait this Sunday to share more on the truth that the only thing can stop you is you. The time is now...Let's be people of action and become exactly what God intended - Unstoppable.

Summer

I know it's not officially summer yet, but for the Pennington family - we begin summer with Memorial Day. At our Memorial Day picnic we have a large badminton tournament and Paula and I won again! I look forward to the summer months - Memorial Day, my birthday, July 4th, beach trips, youth camp for the kids, the start of football, the baseball season heats up, and Labor Day. There is always alot going and summer is no different.

As you begin the summer season - I encourage you to remain faithful. We all need the break that comes with summer and even the vacation. Sometimes, we take a vacation from our Christian walk and that's not good. Sometimes, people drop out of church during summer, but my encouragement is for you to remain connected. Keep giving, keep serving, keep connected by watching our video on demand and connecting via facebook.

Talk at you soon

Pastor Rich

Sweet Smell of Success

I just love it when things go well - as Matt Redman sings -

blessed be Your Name
when the sun's shining down on me
when the world's all as it should be....

But how do we respond to the success in our life - Jim Collins just wrote a good book - How the Mighty Fall that deals with companies and how they fell or died after having had success. There are a lot of great parallels for Christ followers in this material as well.

This Sunday - we wrap up the Survivor series as we deal with Surviving Success and we also find out who will win Survivor Horizons.

Visit the Horizons Facebook page and let us know how you handle success or what was your recent success.

Talk at you soon

Rich

How to Handle Conflict

One of the best questions we can ever ask ourselves about any situation we are facing is - Am I responding to this situation in a way that God can bless?



First, let me say how much I love Horizons Church and it's people - that mean you :)



We are so blessed as a church by so many wonderful people who serve, pray, support, encourage and give their best for God and for their fellow friends who attend Horizons.



However, for all of us there will come a time when there will be conflict - do you know that the Bible even teaches us how to respond to conflict in a way that will honor God - join us this Sunday to discover how.



Also - go to our facebook page and join in the discussion of how you have handled conflict - you can click this link - or visit the updated Horizons family page on our website and click on the message board button.





Talk at you soon.



Rich

It's not whether you win or lose...

...its how you play the game. In the game of life, we have to make decisions in the moment. That moment is often defined by how we have lived our past; how we have surrendered those ugly parts of ourselves to His grace and sought the power of His wisdom to learn from those experiences and to build a moral warehouse that will serve us well in that moment of decision. This Sunday, I kick off a new series that will use the TV show Survivor as a backdrop to talk a look at what the Bible teaches us about playing the game of life, dealing with conflict, disappointment, and even success.

Also, Happy Mother's Day to all of our wonderful moms. Walking through the hallway at our facility this morning, I was able to view some of our moms gathered and supporting each other during the MOPS(Mother's of pre-schoolers) meeting. I will have a special Survivor themed game for a couple of moms in each service.

Talk at you soon.

Pastor Rich

New Day

Wow! this past Sunday was truly awesome. For me personally but prayerfully for many others as they made a decision to start a new journey. It is a journey that is without absolute certainty except that God has a plan. God has a plan and purpose for each of us.

I think one of the biggest challenges we find facing the church (its people) is that they don't believe they can or that they could be a spiritual hero. We almost always think of those in the bible and the stories we hear about others as someone that we could not be. Yet upon further review we see that the heroes of bible are just human beings. There has been only one Jesus..the Son of God. Everbody else is on the same playing field.

Sunday I felt with all sincerity that God had called me to lay a challenge before the congregation to understand the call, and to answer it. My encouragement is not to give any excuses about culture, past, skills, education, career, or anything else. The simplicity is also the complexity..it is just go...Take a step. See where and what all that God will do in life.

To everyone that felt the Holy Spirit tug on their heart to start a New Day with new perspective to take on a new Journey. Get ready ..Pray that "God use me" prayer and then start to look for opportunities for they will come. God will and wants to use you to expand His Kingdom.

Be blessed and be a blessing,

Pastor Jay

Growth Happens

I know that life is filled with surprises and most all of us experience them. We have unexpected turns, delays, issues, and seasons that we didn't see coming. It is often in the midst of all these types of occasions that God is teaching us something. Do we hear his voice? Do we see it beyond the circumstance to embrace what God is showing us, teaching us?

Growth happens to those that understand its opportunities. Our spiritual growth is so important and yet do we even see the opportunities that present themselves or do we continue to see the stuff of life as just...LIFE. I propose a what if. What if we began to believe that God is speaking, He is reaching, He is so desiring to connect to each of us and grow us. Our growth happens as a result of planting a seed, taking a step, or making a stand. Depending on your season and whats happening around you, you may need to do something. Don't let any of the excuses stop you from all that God wants to do in you and for you. ACTION

J

Action

I recently received some promotional material for upcoming conferences. I read a powerful quote from Bill Hybels ..."Personally, I've never understood inactivity. Why a person would sit when he could soar, be a spectator when he could play, or atrophy when he could develop...is beyond me."

This is a call to action. This is a challenge of no longer spectating from the sidelines but participation. I truly believe that God has placed a calling on His church and that we are always to act on that call. However each season has its own importance. That is why I am very passionate about God's call to action in this season, in this time of our life.

Scripture calls for "workers in the field" and that if we don't faint we can reap a great harvest. I am privileged and excited to share in this new series "Action". Hope to see you this Sunday.

Pastor Jay

He is Risen!

Oh, the glory of it all is He came here for the rescue of us all that we may live for the glory of it all.(Crowder)

I love how God takes dust and dirt and makes something beautiful out of it and out of us.

He is Risen - He is Risen Indeed!

Here Comes the Sun

The week began as dreary, damp and cold. Looking outside at this moment I am enticed by the warmth and brightness of the sun. I can tell you that the taste of gorgeous weather we had on the weekend of the 20th was so nice and made me want more. Then the reality of "not yet spring" hits with our cold, wind and rain the following few days.

Well the forecast is awesome for the coming days and absolutely fitting for our Easter message. He make Beautiful Things out of ugliness. Our ugly days are giving way to the beauty of spring. Here comes the Sun. To those of you that are dealing with ugly situations or difficult times.. Here comes the Son (a little cheesy play on words but no less relevant), to change your day and maybe your life. We will celebrate a Risen Savior this coming Sunday, but let's celebrate what He can do in your life for He makes 'beautiful things" out of dust and out of us.

Can't wait for the weekend..

Pastor Jay

Our Story

God has given all of us a story and all of us a command to share that Good News with other people. Get out there and share your story.

Join us this Sunday as we wrap up the series Mythbusters and look at the myth that our faith is a private matter.

Talk at you soon.

Rich

All Things New

To me,one of the most impactful moments in the movie, the Passion of the Christ is when Jesus is carrying the cross and He looks at his mother and says: Behold Mother, I make all things new. This line actually comes from Revelation 21:5 "And He who sits on the throne said, Behold,I am making all things new.

We are entering that time of year when newness will spring forth all around us - the warmer days will initiate that ancient cycle of rebirth. A few weeks ago - that word was spoken to our church during the time of worship - that God was about to do a new thing in each of us. What new thing does God want to do for you and in you? Join us this Sunday as we continue the series Mythbusters - we will look at some of the ways God wants to be active in our lives.

Talk at you soon - enjoy the awesome weather.

Rich

Do you have a license?

I still remember the thrill of getting my license to drive. That was 28 years ago. Today I have two daughters who Paula and I have taught to drive and a third one that can get her permit this Summer.

Almost everyone has a license to drive; but do you know that you have a spiritual license as well. Join us this Sunday as we examine what it means to have a spiritual license and deal with the myth that God only uses deeply spiritual people.

Talk at you soon.

Rich

Freaky Stuff

How come we view spiritual things as freaky or weird?

We are beginning a new series at Horizons this week called Mythbusters. We will be talking about the Holy Spirit. One of my daughters upon finding out about this new series asked me - "Dad, are you going to be controversial?" It made me smile - we view spiritual things that way - as controversial. But maybe we just don't understand and because spiritual things are beyond us and our common experience; maybe it's a classic case of we fear what we don't understand. I hope to burst some of those myths in the coming weeks.

As a special treat - my dad will be preaching with me in this first week of the series and the videos Jay and I created for the intro should be interesting - if not hilarious. See you Sunday.

Talk at you soon.

Rich

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