Sunday Night Reflections (Really Monday Morning 2 AM)

1. My topic today was a Year of New Beginnings. I believe that God going to do some amazing things in 2009 in St. Augustine.
2. This weekend I began to Twitter. (This sounds like it may have hurt.) You can follow-my name is pastorjoeb.
3. New Series to begin Jan. 18, 2009 called Change... Is it really possible? With all the talk about change coming with the new President we are going to explore where and how real and lasting change happens.
4. Please pray for us we need to raise $5000 by Jan 2, 2009.

New Logo for New Beginnings Fellowship

Check Out Shaun King's Blog

You need to check this guy out. His name is Shaun King and he is the Lead Pastor at The Courageous Church in Atlanta. His blog is shauninthecity.com. The church is launching on Jan. 11, 2009.

For Christmas they raised funds to buy 500 kids uniforms and a toy. They are really touching the lives in their part of Atlanta.

Advent Conspiracy

Depending on your church tradition you may not know about the Season of Advent. Let me share with you a couple of things about Advent. Many churches celebrate what is known as the season of Advent. It begins four Sundays before Christmas Day. The purpose of this time is to remember that the Kingdom of God is coming. It first came at the advent of Jesus Christ being born and ushering in the Kingdom of God upon the earth. It is also a time to look forward to the coming of the Kingdom in its fullness at Jesus' return. During these four weeks, families are encouraged to have a time of reflection and examine their hearts in preparation of the coming of the King.

Advent may be something new to you. But I believe that the purpose of this time is something every Christ-follower can benefit from. So there are four things I would like to encourage us to do over the next few weeks.

1. Worship Fully - So many of us make a difference between that which is scared and that which is secular. In the Kingdom everything is sacred. It does not matter whether we are praying or playing, fishing for bass or fishing for men, eating, spending time with friends, working, or involved in some form official worship - it is all worship. Everything we do is worship to God.

2. Spend Less - We can get so caught up in the commercialization that we go into debt to keep up with others or just to have the "right" thing. Given the situation we are in as a country, try spending a little less this year. It's not about the gifts that we buy and give, its about the attuide of our hearts.

3. Give More - This is not just about money. We need to give of ourselves during this Christmas Season. Jesus came and He gave. If we are to be Christ-followers, then we too must give. What about the kid in the neighborhood that does not have a father? What about the elderly lady that is all alone? What about the single mom who is having a hard time just to make ends meet? What about the college student that is so far away from home? What would happen if we just began to touch the lives around us?

4. Love All - The greatest gift that we could give this year is love. Real love. A love that gives and ask for nothing in return. Jesus said they will know us by our love. Does our love tell others that we are Christ-followers or just another religious person with no heart?

During this Season, let's reclaim what it's all about and become true Christ-followers.