Live Event sermons on your YouVersion App

For all of you out there with The YouVersion Bible App on your phones or tablets or even your computers I decided to Publish my sermons for people to be able to follow along either at our church or even as you watch them off of our website. This week there will be a new one and this time it is available tomorrow, that way you can answer questions early and we can use the poll question in the service. please check it out if you haven't. click here to view the live event

Pepperdine bible lectures recordings

For all who were unable to attend the Pepperdine bible lectures this year go to this link http://www.cvent.com/events/2014-pepperdine-bible-lectures/custom-131-a49ae54774f0411ca2e645172dfc70c8.aspx at the bottom is a link to ITUNESU follow that link and it will bring up all the recordings from the week at Pepperdine. I hope this is a blessing to you

Letting God break though my walls

Everyone is searching for something. Something to make us feel full, to fill the emptiness that this world has put in side of us. However along this journey of life many of us have put up huge internal walls initially to protect us from being hurt, feeling ashamed, being rejected, and so many other negative feelings. What we didn't expect as we started putting up these walls was how it has blocked God from fully working through us and within us. That something you have been searching for won't fully appear until you allow the spirit of God to break through your walls like a Miley Cyrus would call a wrecking ball. As you allow these walls to come down you will feel a different kind of construction within you, no, not more walls but bridges. These are bridges connecting us to God's will and purpose. We will see bridges leading to love,  to forgiveness, to reconciliation, to hope, patience, peace, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, selfcontrol and so many other Godly attributes. We will start to feel our life perspective change, one that was geared around a ME outlook to one geared around a life that is less of ME and more of GOD and loving OTHERS. However please take caution, people who have worked on this have found their family life become more loving and encouraging, others have found their marriage grow to new levels, and yet others have found going to work more rewarding, and all have shown better ability to overcome life's hurdles. If we want to have true breakthroughs in our life we must daily work on allowing the spirit of God to break through our walls of self doubt and fear that this world has instilled in us! Let's work on this today, start with asking God for forgiveness in your mistakes, repent of your pride, and ask God to allow His spirit the freedom to roam in your life to break down your walls and build bridges to Him. 

My special gift

So every night I get the pleasure of tucking my little princess in bed; and each night I get to be the last voice she hears so I make the most of it. I let her know how beautiful she is, how smart she is, how kind she is, and I always finish with telling her that god made her perfect with such a loving heart! See I do this because I know there will be a time when someone will hurt her feelings and say things to her out of ignorance because of her disability, but each day she can end it knowing the truth from her father about how amazing she is.... Not just me but the Father who created her knew her before she was in her mothers womb, the one who made her perfect from the beginning and has great plans for her, to show the world through her what beauty, perseverance, strength, love, faith, and true compassion is! Be on the side of encouragement today, love someone who is different and use your gifts to make this world a better place to live in.

STAY TUNED!

Ok everyone so I think I decided that I am going to start implementing video blogs soon. I think it will help us see the picture Jesus is painting in my thoughts a little better. So with this there is good news and bad news. First the good news: first you won't have to read anymore, and second I feel I can go a little more in depth to what God is speaking through me. Now for the bad news: you have to look at my beautiful face and hear my wonderful voice, all of which you'll have to decide if it is true or not. 

All joking aside I am looking forward to speaking with you all in the near future, in the meantime there are sermons uploaded on our website www.elkgrovechurchofchrist.org 

If only

If only

There is a phrase that we use from time to time when something bad or tragic has happened in our lives, and that phrase is, "if only." You know, if only he wouldn't have gone to work today he wouldn't of got in that car accident, if only she would have been more careful, if only he would have eaten healthier, they would still be here. We use this thinking to help us live in some nostalgic fantasy of what could've been. This is common for us because death wasn't in our original plan, and through time have lost the big picture view. In John chapter 11 Jesus' friend Lazarus gets sick, word gets to Jesus and instead of coming immediately he waits a couple days. After a couple days Jesus lets his disciples know it was time to leave because Lazarus was dead. When word got to Mary and Martha (siblings of Lazarus) that Jesus was coming Mary stayed and Martha came to talk with Jesus, this is what she said, "“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:21, 22 NIV) Martha drops an "if only" on Jesus! If only you were here my brother wouldn't have died! You can feel the grief and pain in her voice. Jesus gives her comfort by saying "Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” The words were good but you can almost feel her thoughts, "I know he will he loved you and served god I know he will, but what now." As Martha answered with , “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:23, 24 NIV) but Jesus brings the future to her present and lets her know, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die...” (John 11:25, 26 NIV) he lets her know I am that resurrection day, I am the one who brings death to life, I AM! He calls out of the tomb to his friend and says Lazarus come out, after being dead a few days Jesus speaks life into him, he is showing prior to his own death and resurrection that He and only he has power over death! But wait there is even better news, Jesus brings life to our present also, he brings life that pulls us out of our own death, our spiritual death, our emotional death, our addictions, abuse, pain, discomfort, grief, whatever we are struggling with our God sends that same spirit that led both Lazarus and Christ to rise from their tombs to us, to rise out of our earthly physical and emotional tombs as well! In John 11:26 Jesus leaves Martha with a question, Jesus said to her. "Do you believe this?” (John 11:26 NIV) this is her response to the question, which came before Jesus brought back her brother, “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27 NIV) I leave you with the same question, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God that he came and conquered death so that you will not perish but have eternal life? If you said yes to this and have not yet been baptized find me lets talk, if you answered no to this and you are struggling to find where Jesus fits for you, find me, comment me, or email me ghavinn.crutcher@elkgrovechurchofchrist.org I would love to talk to you about this amazing gift of Christ!

May God lead you always, shining his blessings upon you, bringing you life, so you may live it to the full!

I AM

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


   We are all about to embark on a new year. For most of us this is usually a time of trying to figure out how to create a better us. We do things like: start a diet, read more books, exercise more, spend more time with loved ones, ETC… Most of these start with good intentions, we want to be healthier or smarter, we ultimately want to use our time wiser. However, more times than not these "resolutions" rarely make it to March. Why is that? My suggestion is that we are looking for change in all the wrong places; we are looking with in ourselves whom we already recognize are flawed and we are asking that same flawed person, "Hey why don't you get out there and fix yourself?" Things just don't work out that way, we need a great source for change, someone who knows us better than we know ourselves, someone who knows our strengths, our weaknesses, someone that IS. Here is my challenge for all of us, in the book of John Jesus comes out with some big time statements, some in which ruffled a lot of religious leaders feathers, these statements are the I AM statements, you know the same ones that the God in the old testament used. Starting this Sunday, January 4th, we are starting a series entitled, "I AM, so you can be.." starting with I AM the Bread of Life.  We hope you can join us for great worship and fellowship, we also understand that this may not be possible for everyone so we have resources for that on our web site www.elkgrovechurchofchrist.org we have most of our Sunday sermons up for you, this is our way to help you feel part of our family, or if you are on the fence on coming in to visit this will give you a glimpse of what we are about.

May God Bless You in the New Year! My hope is that you allow God to be in your life and in that amazing transformation he will help you become that change that you have always wanted to see in your self. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you PEACE!