A “suped up” Donkey???

Posted on June 17, 2009 by mikewindley

This past Sunday, Pastor Matt pointed out that at the “Last Supper”, Jesus knew that he was only hours from death.  He knew he was going to die.  Yet what did he choose to do?  He chose to serve.donkey-cart

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  John 13:2-5

To paraphrase Pastor Matt, he didn’t throw a party or do something reckless like “find a ‘suped up’ donkey and see how fast he could get it to go.”  He chose to set an example for his disciples and others by living a consistent life self-sacrifice and service to others.

What a powerful life lesson.  Hopefully, none of us have just a few hours to live, but many, many years.  But we still have a choice.  How are we going to live?  For ourselves?  For others?   For God?  As a servant?

If you haven’t yet learned the life lesson that “It’s not about you”, I hope you’ll learn it today.  As Jesus is credited with saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  Give your life away today.  Give it to God.  Don’t take it back.  You’ll never regret living for Him.

Also, don’t forget to check out Pastor Matt’s new blog!

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What are you devoted to?

Posted on June 4, 2009 by mikewindley

My Connection Group, which meets on Wednesday evenings, just finished doing a study on the book of Colossians.  In chapter 4, the author, Paul, challenges us to “Devote yourselves to prayer.”  It got me thinking about my own prayer life.  How “devoted” am I?  Which made me think, “What things in life do I know that I am devoted to?”  chickenpigOnce I made that list, I could then compare how I pray to these and assess my level of devotion.  So, what am I devoted to?  The quick list is easy to form: my wife, my kids, my job.  And then there are the other obvious things that we all do with devotion – hygiene, eating, sleeping.  And from there are the other individualized things we devote ourselves to.  For me it would be things like softball games, watching “The Biggest Loser” when it’s in season, etc.  Essentially, our devotion is measured by our loyalty.  The things we do consistently are the things we are devoted to.

So where does that leave me (us) and prayer?  If most of us are honest, we would rate our “prayer life” very low on a scale of 1 – 10.  There isn’t much consistency.  In fact, prayer is a foreign concept we understand little of and see very little benefit from.  When we think of prayer we usually think of memorized prayers or phrases we’ve been trained to say, and we see little value in using thing.

So where does that leave us?  It would seem that devotion to prayer would be highly unlikely.  Does this have to be the case?  I don’t think so.  Prayer is much less complex than we tend to make it out to be, and is not so much about memorized formulas as it is about learning to simply talk with a God who is more than ready to listen and respond.

This Sunday at The Bridge, Pastor Tim is going to lead us into the Living Room of our hearts where we learn the simplicity of prayer.  I hope you will come with an open heart to what God wants to reveal to you about how you can learn to make prayer as natural as breathing and an added area of devotion in your life.

Posted in Church in General, Making Sense of Faith, Prayer, Scripture, Sermons | 1 Comment

New Sermon Series – My Heart, Christ’s Home

Posted on May 21, 2009 by mikewindley

Have you ever had “house guests?”  You know – the in-laws come to stay for a week, or that weird friend who needs a place to crash for a few days?  For that time period, your life is not the same.  Someone myheartchristshome1has invaded your space, your home.  Generally, we have to make some adjustments to accommodate our guest(s).

The same is true for those of us who choose to become followers of Jesus.  The Bible says, “Then Christ will make his home in your heart…”   (Ephesians 3:17, NLT)  The faith life begins as Jesus enters the “home of our hearts.”  At first, it can be a really easy decision to make the short-term, necessary adjustments for Jesus to feel at home in our lives.  But as time goes on, we sometimes become uncomfortable with our new houseguest.   Does he really expect us to open our entire lives to Him?  What does it mean for Him to be truly at home in our hearts?  How can we find alignment between his desires and our own?

In this new message series, we will take a look at what it can be like for Jesus to become our permanent houseguest.  What are the adjustments that we can make?  How we make these adjustments?  Will He really ask me to make THAT adjustment?!?  These are questions we will answer as Jesus settles into the home of our hearts and we introduce him to the different rooms of our lives: the study, the living room, the dining room, the bedroom, the workshop, the rec room and the hall closet.

Should be fun!

Posted in Church in General, Fun, Making Sense of Faith, Sermons | 3 Comments

Success!

Posted on May 14, 2009 by mikewindley

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?  (I believe that’s a line from the “A-Team”).  googleCongrats to Pastor Matt who has successfully gotten the Bridge’s website “above the fold” on Google when someone searches to find a church in the Morrisville area!  Previously, before Pastor Matt attended some seminars by Frank Reed at the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce, our website rarely, if ever, showed up in the top ten PAGES of a google search of churches in Morrisville, NC.  It was frustrating not having our website appear for people to find who might be searching for a church in our area.  And it’s not that we are in competition with other churches in our area, or even think we are the “best” church.  We believe that it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people with the good news that God loves people and wants them to know Him.  But, anyway…what is the point of having a website if people can’t find it?  We pay to have the site, and think it’s a decent site (primarily maintained by our worship leader Cary), so why not work to make it easy for people to find it?

So, good job Matt.  Now let’s work to get our church to show up on the Google map!!!

*Unfortunately, our site won’t always come up at the top just yet, but will move down the page or to the next page depending on any number of factors.  If you want to help us stay at the top, visit our website and also link to our website from your website or blog!

Posted in Church in General, Fun, Odd | 1 Comment

Dinner and a Show!

Posted on May 13, 2009 by mikewindley

A few years ago, when “youth pastor” was one of the many hats I got to wear,  our youth minstry put on a dinner theatre called “Dinner at Luigi’s.”  I got pegged for the part of “Luigi.”  I was a cranky Italian cook who ran a restaurant.  It was the easiest of all the characters.  I pretty much had one line.  Throughout the show,  I would occasionally step out of the kitchen (from offstage) and yellPage0001 “Whatsa matter for you, eh!” at the other characters.  It was a bit of comic relief.

Anyway…my former youth ministry is back in the theatre business again.  They are performing another show to help the teens raise money for their mission trip to Alaska.  Their mission in Alaska will be both repairing homes of the poor or elderly, and coordinating backyard Bible clubs for a number of communities.  If you’d like to help these kids get to Alaska, buy some tickets to their newest show, “Jerusalem P.D.”   It is a take off on the old TV show “Dragnet”, complete with “Joe Thursday.”  Tickets are $15 each.  Dinner includes steak, potato, bread, salad, dessert, etc.  Chances are the acting won’t be ready for the Durham Performing Arts Center, but should be a fair night of entertainment with some good food. 

There will be two showings – Friday, May 22nd, and Saturday, May 23rd, both at 6:30pm.  Let me know if you’d like to go.  Tickets are required as seating will be limited.  Make checks payable to “Ephesus Baptist Church” and put “Youth Mission Trip” in the memo line.

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HGTV Dream Home Giveaway Sweepstakes

Posted on May 8, 2009 by mikewindley
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Posted in Fun | 1 Comment

Desperately Impractical

Posted on May 6, 2009 by mikewindley

This past Sunday in our “Desperate House Lives” sermon series, I made the point that always being practical can be a romance killer in our marriages.  Sometimes, you’ve just got to be impractical!  I want to applaud two desperately impractical couples in our church – Cary and Amanda Penrose and Dan and Katie Griffin.

Cary and Amanda are the worship leaders at our church.  penroseBoth are in seminary, Amanda works fulltime, and Cary works at The Bridge and at another part-time job.  Wow.  That is busy.  They don’t have any children yet, which gave them the opportunity to do something very impractical – something all of us probably wish we would have the impracticality to do:  they drove to California and back over a period of ten days!  Of course, they made several touristy stops along the way, but what a valuable model of impracticality.  I mean, who drives to California?  For fun?  That’s crazy!  But what an opportunity to travel, see the USA, and spend some valuable time bonding with your spouse!  “Way to Go” Cary and Amanda!

Dan and Katie Griffin are taking impracticality to a whole new level!  page0001Dan and Katie are both currently jobless, but due to their apparent adeptness towards financial freedom (check out Dan’s side job – www.savvydollar.org) , they are taking a 5 month vacation that begins in New Zealand!  Are you serious?  Yes!  Dan and Katie are newly weds, without kids, and have the guts to take advantage of an opportunity of impractical proportions that they may never get again!  And why not?!?  Our number one relationship and responsibility after God is our spouse.  Doing impractical things that show we love each other, build the relationship, and make memories is a great way to keep romance alive in our relationships and our marriages healthy.

I know that not all of can be as impractical as the Penrose’s and Griffin’s, but all of us can learn from their example.  Here are some ideas for being impractical as a couple:

  • Take a vacation.  You really do need it.
  • Go to that expensive restaurant on a birthday or anniversary.  Celebrate!
  • Let the grass grow an extra week and take a day trip somewhere one Saturday.
  • Plan a coffee date with your spouse.  Pay for a babysitter or work an exchange with another couple where you watch their kids in return for their watching yours.
  • Practice the 10 second kiss!
  • Do something – something different.

Your marriage is too valuable.  Keep the romance alive.  Become a student of your spouse.  Be a servant in your home.  God wants to move your marriage from “Desperate House Lives” to “Dream Marriage.”  It can happen.  But is takes work.  And impracticality.

Posted in Church in General, Family, Fun, Odd, Sermons | 1 Comment

Happy Anniversary to My Lovely Bride!

Posted on April 28, 2009 by mikewindley

Happy Anniversary Honey! I had a great time last night reminiscing about how we met and how our relationship has developed and grown. My prayer has been and always will be that we will continue to grow closer to one another as we grow closer to Christ. I love you.

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Eat BBQ, Do Good.

Posted on April 22, 2009 by mikewindley

Okay, so I borrowed today’s blog title from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.  Their tag line is “Drink Coffee, Do Good.”  I hope you’ll do that, but I hope you’ll also eat some BBQ and do some good for some friends of mine.  ebc-bbqThe Ephesus Baptist Church Youth Department is raising money for their mission trip to Alaska.  If you love Eastern North Carolina BBQ like I do, you don’t want to miss this opportunity.  Be sure to drop by Ephesus Baptist on Friday, May 1, from 11am to 7pm to pick up some BBQ.  As a eastern NC BBQ connoisseur(click here for must see video), I have a hard time finding BBQ around here that I deem adequate.  So, I will not miss getting some of the real McCoy from the EBC youth on May 1.  You can call in orders, pick it up, have it delivered, deliver it to your friends and/or coworkers – whatever.  The food is great and you’ll be helping a great cause.

And while I’m on the subject of area BBQ, here’s my top places to go for good (notice my emphatic emphasis of good with bold, italics and underlining!) eastern NC style BBQ:

  • Barbeque Lodge.  On Capital Blvd. in Raleigh, the Barbeque Lodge is my first choice for the Raleigh area (right now) for BBQ.  And don’t just get the BBQ – order family style.  It’s the way to go.  And, as a bonus, they have corn sticks (which I know means nothing to many of you!)
  • Ron’s Barn in Coats.  It’s a whale of a drive out to Ron’s Barn, but some great country cooking and BBQ.
  • Backyard Bistro.  The Bistro is a brand new restaurant that just opened on Trinity Road in Raleigh, next to the RBC Center.  A friend of mine is the owner and supplier of BBQ there (he also is cooking the BBQ for the EBC fundraiser!).
  • Old Time BBQ.   Old Time is on Hillsborough St. in Raleigh.  Not my absolute favorite, but it’ll do.
  • Smokey’s BBQ Shack.  Honorable mention – Smokey’s on Highway 54 in Morrisville.  Smokey’s is not, I repeat, is not, eastern NC style BBQ, but it is one of the rare BBQ that isn’t eastern NC style that I like.  Great food.  Check it out.

That’s eat.  If you’re hungry, give me a call!

Posted in Church in General, Food, Fun, Helping Others, Missions, Videos | Leave a comment

Great deal on a book I’ve been recommending!

Posted on April 19, 2009 by mikewindley

commentary1I am constantly recommending to people the Bible commentary called “The Bible Knowledge Commentary.”  Well, it’s on sale at www.christianbook.com.  Click here to go directly to the special.  You may have to sign up in order to get the best price, but it is going for $32.99 right now (normally $90).  Great deal.  Don’t miss.

Posted in Books, Making Sense of Faith, Scripture | 1 Comment