Sunday, August 11, 2013
The Power of the Gospel
Gospel Transformation, through Gospel Regeneration, via Gospel Saturation...this is Church Planting! How is this accomplished...for, in and through Gospel Communities on Mission.
Monday, February 13, 2012
2012
Well I can't believe it's been over a year since I "blogged." Seems like 2011 went by faster than I can even imagine. Life has been good and God has been doing some amazing things in the Greene family.
First, my position at Grand Canyon University has been a huge blessing for our family. GCU has provided for us financially, spiritually and academically over the last year and I'm just so thankful for God leading to that great University. Second, we are now back in Phoenix and loving every minute of it. Through God's providence we have bought a home in North Phoenix (around the Anthem/Carefree area) that has given us the space and location we desperately needed. The kids have a new school, sports and friends that have made this transition amazingly smooth; my wife is reconnecting with her friends here in Phoenix, working on finalizing her new book (that should be out soon), and taking a very active role as a coach for both the kids' basketball and t-ball teams. Sandi seems to be revitalized since leaving Cottonwood...in fact we all have been. Finally, God has been giving me a passion and vision for church planting again. This comes as a huge shock to me, as after Crossroads I thought I was ready for retirement, but God had other plans. We are in the developmental stages for a new church plant here in the Tramonto/Anthem area of Phoenix. I've got meetings scheduled over the next few weeks with potential churches, pastor and people who may be interested in helping us make this vision/dream a reality. If any of you would like more info. about this new church plant, please email me and I will send you the proposal I've worked up.
All in all, God is good and has been blessing us, teaching us and drawing us a family back to the Gospel. I'm excited about what He has in store for us in the future and I've been so blessed to be on this journey so far. Thanks for letting me share.
First, my position at Grand Canyon University has been a huge blessing for our family. GCU has provided for us financially, spiritually and academically over the last year and I'm just so thankful for God leading to that great University. Second, we are now back in Phoenix and loving every minute of it. Through God's providence we have bought a home in North Phoenix (around the Anthem/Carefree area) that has given us the space and location we desperately needed. The kids have a new school, sports and friends that have made this transition amazingly smooth; my wife is reconnecting with her friends here in Phoenix, working on finalizing her new book (that should be out soon), and taking a very active role as a coach for both the kids' basketball and t-ball teams. Sandi seems to be revitalized since leaving Cottonwood...in fact we all have been. Finally, God has been giving me a passion and vision for church planting again. This comes as a huge shock to me, as after Crossroads I thought I was ready for retirement, but God had other plans. We are in the developmental stages for a new church plant here in the Tramonto/Anthem area of Phoenix. I've got meetings scheduled over the next few weeks with potential churches, pastor and people who may be interested in helping us make this vision/dream a reality. If any of you would like more info. about this new church plant, please email me and I will send you the proposal I've worked up.
All in all, God is good and has been blessing us, teaching us and drawing us a family back to the Gospel. I'm excited about what He has in store for us in the future and I've been so blessed to be on this journey so far. Thanks for letting me share.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Update
Tons of stuff happening since I last blogged in. First, God opened up an opportunity to teach Religion/Theology part time at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. I am currently adjunct teaching Christian World View via online studies. Second, about two weeks into teaching this class, I was offered a Full Time position at Grand Canyon, teaching the same class in the same format. Grand Canyon is exploding and the online learning environment has just been growing like crazy. So, I'll be Full Time starting this Monday, January 11th. Third, I had the opportunity to preach this past Sunday at Verde Baptist Church in Cottonwood. The message went great, so if you'd like to listen to it you can log into iTunes and search for: Tattoo Pastor | Sermon Audio. You can also listen by clicking the message board on this blog. The message is entitled, "Don't Be Disappointed." Finally, I'm getting ready to speak at a Younglife Camp this weekend. 300-400 Jr. High students are having their yearly Winter Camp, and I'm the featured speaker. I'll do four main sessions (Fri. Night, Sat. Morning & Evening, Sun. Morning) and then a Breakout Session on Saturday after lunch. Should be an awesome time, and I feel so honored just to be invited to participate in such a cool event. I've forgotten how much I enjoy preaching, so it's neat how God has brought that back into my life...regardless of how long I get opportunities. I'm thankful for what He has given me and hope and pray that I'll get more opportunities. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support over these last few months. God is good and He always has our best interest in mind...may we never forget how much He loves us!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Job Hunting
Well, I finished my Master's degree at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary last week, and graduated on Saturday. Feel's great to be finished with this leg of the journey and I'm really excited about what God has next. No idea what that is, but excited none the less. I would like to ask you be to in prayer for my next step in life and ministry. Resumes are flying out to churches that look promising, I'm filling out applications at several online universities in which I hope to teach Bible, Theology, and Christian Philosophy in an adjunct role, the hand is healing slowly, and God has been really working on my contentment. I'm reading through the book of Ruth for my devotions, and I'm seeing an amazing picture of how Jesus is the ultimate redeemer of all things. Life is really good right now, summer is on it's way, and it's all good. Please keep me in your prayers as you go about your life the next few weeks, and thanks to all who follow the teaching/preaching on iTunes. If you happen to hear of any churches looking to hire, or have any suggestions for college/universities I could apply to, please shoot me an email. God bless!
Friday, April 02, 2010
Resurrection Week
This Sunday is Easter, the time we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The 28th chapter in the book of Matthew gives us an amazing account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection confirms His identity as the only true Savior and that, His accomplishment at the cross was accepted by God the Father.
Matthew doesn’t give us the explicit way in which Jesus rose from the tomb, but what he does make clear is that Jesus had risen. As the women approach the tomb (v.1), we see an angel descending from heaven, with an appearance like lightning and clothes that were as white as snow, touching down on the ground with a great earthquake, rolling back the stone and then sitting on top of it (vv.2-3)–not so Jesus could get out of the tomb–but so the women, the guards, the disciples, and the entire world could go in and see for themselves that the tomb was indeed empty.
The angel becomes the first messenger to proclaim the news that Jesus had in-fact risen from death (vv.4-7). As I look at this account, I think about how cool it must have been for the angel to get this call. I’m sure there are many cool jobs that angels could do, but this one had to be the mother of all assignments. Imagine that God calls you and says, “You have the task of announcing the Resurrection of my Son, Jesus Christ.” How awesome would that be? Yet, for those who God regenerates and saves, He also gives this same assignment of proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes we can get wrapped up in the “supernatural accounts” found in the Scriptures of other great heroes (angels, disciples, etc.) but we need to remember that while those accounts are cool, God has given us the same call to be witnesses of the greatest event in human history…the resurrection of Jesus.
After hearing the testimony from the angel about Jesus’ resurrection, the women take off to tell and proclaim the great news to the disciples (vv.7-8). Jesus then meets them on their way to prove the testimony of His resurrection. The women are so overcome with joy that they physically fall down in worship, grabbing hold of His feet. They experienced the physical, resurrected body of Jesus. They didn’t just see Him, but they touched Him as well. Jesus accepts their worship, acknowledging that He was in-fact deity, receiving worship as God. He allows the women to put Him in the place of ultimate in their lives, something only God would allow, further signifying that He truly is the God-man, the Savior, the Messiah, the One.
Notice also that the angel doesn’t point to himself as the one they should want to see, but Jesus. It’s not the miracles of healing in our lives, the appearance of angels, the testimonies of witnesses that we should focus on, it’s Jesus. He is the one we should be chasing after, the one we should desire to see, the one we should desire to follow and serve. Every human heart has a natural hunger for something more than this world and life. Even if we don’t understand what that desire is or realize the impact it has in our life, it’s still there. Only Jesus can fill this hunger. The reason Jesus died was so that we might live, and the reason He rose again was so that we might serve a risen, victorious Savior.
This Easter, I hope that you can see the truth found in Scripture about Jesus. I want to experience what the women and disciples experienced! I want to know that Jesus has risen, that He is available, that He wants to show Himself to me. Do you want to see Him, to touch and experience Him? The great news is that the tomb is empty, the testimony has gone out, and Jesus has revealed Himself to the world. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to meet Him and become a witness to the most amazing miracle–the miracle that out miracles every other miracle in human history. Happy Resurrection Week!
Matthew doesn’t give us the explicit way in which Jesus rose from the tomb, but what he does make clear is that Jesus had risen. As the women approach the tomb (v.1), we see an angel descending from heaven, with an appearance like lightning and clothes that were as white as snow, touching down on the ground with a great earthquake, rolling back the stone and then sitting on top of it (vv.2-3)–not so Jesus could get out of the tomb–but so the women, the guards, the disciples, and the entire world could go in and see for themselves that the tomb was indeed empty.
The angel becomes the first messenger to proclaim the news that Jesus had in-fact risen from death (vv.4-7). As I look at this account, I think about how cool it must have been for the angel to get this call. I’m sure there are many cool jobs that angels could do, but this one had to be the mother of all assignments. Imagine that God calls you and says, “You have the task of announcing the Resurrection of my Son, Jesus Christ.” How awesome would that be? Yet, for those who God regenerates and saves, He also gives this same assignment of proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes we can get wrapped up in the “supernatural accounts” found in the Scriptures of other great heroes (angels, disciples, etc.) but we need to remember that while those accounts are cool, God has given us the same call to be witnesses of the greatest event in human history…the resurrection of Jesus.
After hearing the testimony from the angel about Jesus’ resurrection, the women take off to tell and proclaim the great news to the disciples (vv.7-8). Jesus then meets them on their way to prove the testimony of His resurrection. The women are so overcome with joy that they physically fall down in worship, grabbing hold of His feet. They experienced the physical, resurrected body of Jesus. They didn’t just see Him, but they touched Him as well. Jesus accepts their worship, acknowledging that He was in-fact deity, receiving worship as God. He allows the women to put Him in the place of ultimate in their lives, something only God would allow, further signifying that He truly is the God-man, the Savior, the Messiah, the One.
Notice also that the angel doesn’t point to himself as the one they should want to see, but Jesus. It’s not the miracles of healing in our lives, the appearance of angels, the testimonies of witnesses that we should focus on, it’s Jesus. He is the one we should be chasing after, the one we should desire to see, the one we should desire to follow and serve. Every human heart has a natural hunger for something more than this world and life. Even if we don’t understand what that desire is or realize the impact it has in our life, it’s still there. Only Jesus can fill this hunger. The reason Jesus died was so that we might live, and the reason He rose again was so that we might serve a risen, victorious Savior.
This Easter, I hope that you can see the truth found in Scripture about Jesus. I want to experience what the women and disciples experienced! I want to know that Jesus has risen, that He is available, that He wants to show Himself to me. Do you want to see Him, to touch and experience Him? The great news is that the tomb is empty, the testimony has gone out, and Jesus has revealed Himself to the world. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to meet Him and become a witness to the most amazing miracle–the miracle that out miracles every other miracle in human history. Happy Resurrection Week!
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Journey to Jesus
Life...from start to finish it’s the most important game any of us will ever play. But what are the rules? How do we win? Do we get any “do-overs”? The answers to these questions may surprise you! No matter where you are across the board, as Christians we need to know how to navigate the ups, downs, twists, turns, and learn how to win the Game of Life!
I believe the answer is Jesus! Jesus Christ is the only person in history who completely reveals salvation to us. He provides the way to forgiveness of sin, reconciliation to a Holy, Sovereign God, and gives us unlimited do-overs in this game of life.
The question I would like to ask you today is, “What kind of Journey have you been on?”
Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 17. Here is a little recap of Jeremiah- The people of Judah at this time had been turning to false gods and foreign alliances for protection. Instead of trusting God, they chose to turn to worldly, selfish things. They were not on a Journey to Jesus! So, Jeremiah contrasts the way of the wicked with the way of the righteous.
Jeremiah 17:5-8- Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The essential truth God wants us to take hold of if we are going to be on The Journey to Jesus is:
We cannot trust in both God and…(Luke 16:13)
If we turn to anything (a person, spouse, child, etc.), we intentionally turn away from God. We all must make a choice of who or what we will serve.
So how do we stay focused on this Journey called life? I believe the Bible explains what we must do if we want to stay on mission and finish well. We must realize:
1) It All Begins With Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20).
2) Focusing On Ourselves Will Never Reveal God’s Will
(Romans 12:1-3).
3) We Were Made By God And For God (Ephesians 4:17-24).
Until we understand this, life will never make sense.
Result- Jesus is not just the starting point of our lives; He is the source of life. To discover our purpose in this life we must turn to God’s Word (the Bible), because it is the instruction manual, given to us by God, on how to have purpose in our lives. Scripture gives us three insights into our purpose:
1) We find our identity through a relationship with Jesus
(Ephesians 1:11-12).
2) God called to us long before we ever called to Him
(Romans 8:29-30).
3) Without Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sin
(Romans 5:8-11 & Acts 4:10-12).
Closing- The person who accepts Jesus is blessed because his trust and confidence is in Christ. The person who trusts Jesus will be given the gift of faith, they will find their purpose, their lives will be full of strength, grace, and mercy, we know this because the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If you haven’t put your Full trust in Jesus Christ today, would you make Him your priority this morning? If you do- He will show you the purpose of your life, He will help you better enjoy this Journey we call life, and He will guide and direct you to the greatest, game-winning finish you could ever possibly imagine.
I believe the answer is Jesus! Jesus Christ is the only person in history who completely reveals salvation to us. He provides the way to forgiveness of sin, reconciliation to a Holy, Sovereign God, and gives us unlimited do-overs in this game of life.
The question I would like to ask you today is, “What kind of Journey have you been on?”
Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 17. Here is a little recap of Jeremiah- The people of Judah at this time had been turning to false gods and foreign alliances for protection. Instead of trusting God, they chose to turn to worldly, selfish things. They were not on a Journey to Jesus! So, Jeremiah contrasts the way of the wicked with the way of the righteous.
Jeremiah 17:5-8- Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The essential truth God wants us to take hold of if we are going to be on The Journey to Jesus is:
We cannot trust in both God and…(Luke 16:13)
If we turn to anything (a person, spouse, child, etc.), we intentionally turn away from God. We all must make a choice of who or what we will serve.
So how do we stay focused on this Journey called life? I believe the Bible explains what we must do if we want to stay on mission and finish well. We must realize:
1) It All Begins With Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20).
2) Focusing On Ourselves Will Never Reveal God’s Will
(Romans 12:1-3).
3) We Were Made By God And For God (Ephesians 4:17-24).
Until we understand this, life will never make sense.
Result- Jesus is not just the starting point of our lives; He is the source of life. To discover our purpose in this life we must turn to God’s Word (the Bible), because it is the instruction manual, given to us by God, on how to have purpose in our lives. Scripture gives us three insights into our purpose:
1) We find our identity through a relationship with Jesus
(Ephesians 1:11-12).
2) God called to us long before we ever called to Him
(Romans 8:29-30).
3) Without Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sin
(Romans 5:8-11 & Acts 4:10-12).
Closing- The person who accepts Jesus is blessed because his trust and confidence is in Christ. The person who trusts Jesus will be given the gift of faith, they will find their purpose, their lives will be full of strength, grace, and mercy, we know this because the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If you haven’t put your Full trust in Jesus Christ today, would you make Him your priority this morning? If you do- He will show you the purpose of your life, He will help you better enjoy this Journey we call life, and He will guide and direct you to the greatest, game-winning finish you could ever possibly imagine.
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