We kicked off our IGo missions emphasis month this morning. Here is the video reminder that we used for the sermon intro.

Mercy- the Soul Motivation

Yesterday we continued our series on Soul Worship from Romans 12:1 where Paul begs us by the mercies of God to worship God. I was very moved by the opening video and opening quote from Mark Batterson. So I thought I would share them with those of you who weren't with us.

Pastor MarkBatterson says, "the prerequisite to mercy is doing something wrong. So if you’ve done something wrong you qualify for mercy. And if you qualify for mercy you qualify for worship…don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.”

40th Birthday video

Kathy literally filled my weekend with food family and friends. I don't know how she surprised me with so much. I know she had a lot of help and I feel so grateful to have a wife, family, friends and a church that would do so much to show me love. Here is part of a video that they put together.

The First Argument

This past Sunday I preached on "Avoiding the Big D" and keys to avoiding divorce. I was so encouraged by a couple who have moved back in together and are going to try to salvage their marriage. If you would like to hear the message go to our website www.themidtownbridge.com

Here is a video that we used to intro the sermon. Hilarious insight on what the first fight might have been like:

"My Baby's Momma" video

Here the video intro that we used for the sermon today. Unfortunately there are too many stories that end up this way.

The Sun is Always Shining

This morning I caught a 6:15 flight back home to Atlanta so I could take my little girl to school. I am now about 30,000 feet in the air. There is a thick cloud cover beneath the airplane and the morning sunrise is shining brightly up here with us. I bet all those people below us are either getting rained on or simply experiencing a dreary cloudy day. In their experience it may seem as if the sun is not shining, but it is and hasn't stopped shining.

I think this is a great spiritual metaphor for life. There are times when it feels like God is silent or not working in our lives. But God is always at work. I have several friends going through cloudy days right now. Be encouraged and know that the Son is still shining.

"If I Only Knew"

Here is a poem that I read during today's sermon entitled "If I Only Knew." It was a great personal reminder for me.

IF I ONLY KNEW? UNKNOWN
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I’d hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute or two,
to stop and say that "I love you," instead of assuming that you KNOW.
If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,
well, I’m sure you’ll have so many more, so I can let this one slip away.
For surely there’s always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance to make everything all right.
There will always be another day to say "I love YOU."
And certainly there’s another chance to say our "Anything I can do’s."
But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you and hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike.
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
My friend, if you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you’ll surely regret the day,
that you didn’t take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or kiss.
And you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them And that you’ll always hold them dear.
Take the time to say... "I’m sorry," ... "please forgive me," ..."thank you" or ..."it’s OK." And if tomorrow never comes, you’ll have no regrets about today.
Do not forget that you mean something to other people.
Make sure you are choosing to take the time, time to tell others you love them,
"For tomorrow may never come!" writer of this section unknown.