Pastor's Blog

Think like a King

I heard a story the other day that I want to pass on to you. One of our pro golfers was in another country playing golf with their King. After the game the king said,"I have enjoyed our game so much I would like to buy you a gift". The pro said, "Well I don't need anything, but If you want to buy me something, I do collect clubs". The king said "done". The pro, on his way home begin to think about what type of golf club a king would give as a gift. It possibly could be a solid gold putter. In a few weeks an envelope arrived for the pro from the king. Inside was a thank you letter and the deed to a golf club. The pro had been given his own golf course with club house. The thought here is, Kings think differently than other people. As one of God's Kings are you thinking big enough?

Here is more on the meeting. 9. Bro Jerry laid hands on everyone who wanted the anointing for favor. 10. The Hospitality team prepared a delicious meal for our guests (Which they really enjoyed). 11. As the Chariots of Light left the parking lot, their bikes roared a great shout of praise. 12. By Sunday morning, everything was back in place. 13. Lives were changed and your pastor is very proud of you all. You are the greatest!

Chariots of Light meeting

Wow, what a meeting and I mean WOW! Dr. Jerry Savelle and the Chariots of Light motorcycle team were with us last Wednesday night and it was the most powerful service I have been in for a long time. Her are some of the reasons it was so powerful. 1. It was a God ordained meeting. God put it together and He gets all the praise. 2. The meeting was planned well. 3. There was a great expectancy in the people. 4. The Helps team did a great job. 5. The Children's ministry provided a great movie night for the children. 6. The sound and video was tremendous. 7. The music was awesome. 8. Bro. Jerry had a great word on favor for us. More to come....

Partnership

Last Sunday I started a new Series called "Partnership, Getting plugged into God's Plan". I want to share a thought from the message. The church for a long time has used the term Membership to describe those who have "joined" a particular church. I shared that rather than calling people in our congregations members, we should call them partners, and here is why. The word member in the Greek is the word for limb, or part of a larger body. Member denotes who we are. We are part of the body of Christ. The word partner in the Greek word for sharing, and having in common. Amember is who we are, partner is what we do. I believe, we put more importance on who we are than what we do and it causes the church to look inward as if they belong to a clique rather than looking outward because we have something to share with the world. So, at Valley Word, we have partnership classes, rather than membership classes.

Wow, what a week!

It has been said, "a busy church is a healthy church". Well, Valley Word Church is a very healthy church! I love it. The church surprised Debbie and I with a celebration luncheon for Pastor's Appreciation. Karl Stewart declared the next two weeks "a time to appreciate our Pastors". The food was great as always and the fellowship was warm. Thank you to all of you, you're the greatest!  Then right on the heels of the luncheon the church is getting ready for Jerry Savelle and the Chariots of Light to roar in. The motorcycle club is on a Blue Ridge Parkwaytour and are stopping at Valley Word on Wednesday night. Come be a part of this exciting event. Then Debbie ,Brenda A., Rodney A, And Myself are leaving for Wave Conference in Va. Beach. This will be an informative and Refreshing time to see what God is doing in other churches. Then it is back to Roanoke and putting the final touches on the Trunk or Treat event for the 31st of October. With all that is going on this week I am believing for hundreds of changed lives. Will you believe with me. See you tonight ....

Extreme Disciples

I went to a dinner with our Extreme Disciples last night and we had a blast.Oh, in case you don't know, the Extreme Disciples is a group of on fire believers in Jesus in the 20 something age group (that means twenty to around forty).We met at the "fork in the alley". This get together was just for fellowship around dinner. We have some times where the focus will be worship and prayer. As the Pastor, it is hard to get to every group meeting, so I'm committed to this group once a quarter. This is just one of our single's groups, and if you are looking for some fellowship with people just like you, come try out one of our groups. You can check the schedules at the office and coming soon on the web. And to all the Extreme folks from the dinner Friday night, Thanks.

Exercise profits a little

I have tried to encourage you to be a better you in this blog. Today, I want to encourage you to be in better shape physically. We have started an exercise program, which we have been faithful to for just three weeks. We are already seeing some results and can see the benefit. Some of the things I have noticed are, a clearer mind, less stress, and I can move around better. I expected to lose weight and fat, which we are seeing, but, the other things have been a great bonus. Today I listened toBro Hagin on my ipod while working out. What a treat. So, Get up and exercise some. Take a walk, or join a gym, just do something and, no, lifting a remote and changing channels on the tv do not qualify as exercise.

Watch out for Disractions

Wow, there are a lot of things coming at us these days, and if we are not cautious we can become distracted. There are somethings that seem good, but they are distractions. Then there are pressure things that become distractions. Things like economic news, wars and rumors of wars, people who lack integrity,and etc. can become huge distractions. Have you noticed, when you don't feel good, you can become so focused on that, that you become distracted. So, what do you do when you feel yourself becoming distracted? Well first, if you don't feel good, take care of yourself. You are not productive when you feel bad, just don''t become so focused on that, that you can't see anything else. Secondly, remember your purpose, that will help you focus. Lastly, get in the Word of God and build yourself up. The stronger you are spiritually, the more in focus things become.

Water Baptism Service

Tomorrow we will be having a Water Baptism service. One of the points I want to make tomorrow is about repentance. In the western culture, we say I am sorry for what I have done, while looking back at the offense. In the Jewish culture they repent to be free for the future. The proper Bible response to sin is to repent so you can be released for something much better. If you are always looking back, that breeds condemnation. If you have sinned, you know it, God knows it, and the devil knows it. Don't dwell on the mistake, dwell on the forgiving power of the blood of Jesus and a future of freedom because of that blood. So, come tomorrow if you are in the area and watch lives be transformed. See you then...

Positioning yourself for the 100 fold return

Today let's look at some of the things Isaac did to receive the 100 fold return and make any adjustments in our lives that may be needed. First the name Isaac means laughter. His father Abraham declared this name over him. Today, we say, "I hope I can live up to my name, But in Isaac's day, the name caused them to live up to the name. When we are believing for increase and have sown seed, we can't be all down in the mouth. We have to be excited about our harvest. We have to be able to laugh at our circumstances and laugh at the enemy because we know he will lose. Secondly, Isaac was obedient to the Lord by staying in the land of famine and not following the crowd to Egypt. Egypt here refers to the world system. When we are expecting a harvest, don't run to the world's way of doing things. Find out what God is saying and stay with that. The third thing we can see in this story is that Isaac sowed when it wasn't convenient. In the natural, this was not a sowing time, this was a saving time.Praise God, Isaac opened his financial situation up to God's plan rather than the natural, and he received a hundred fold return. The last point here is that the Bible says, it didn't happen all at once or overnight. Issac began to prosper, and continued to prosper until he was very prosperous. God is no respecter of persons, so, if He did it for Isaac, He will do it for you!