This week's Shabot Plot : To take a Mexico themed Fiesta and Siesta. We're taking one day to stop GSD "getting stuff done" and celebrating with mexican food, south of the border music and a Siesta (nap) to the Glory of God. Press Pause and join the Rhythm of God this weekend.
Shabot Scripture reading = read a complete Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) in one sitting or in a few sittings throughout the day and listen to what Jesus is saying to you.
THIS WEEK"S SHABOT PLOT: An island themed day of rest with Jesus.
If you went to the Islands for a day what would you spend the day doing? Do that here!
IDEAS?
FOOD: Go to dinner or lunch at Hula's downtown, or Pono or Aloha Grill: no cooking, Broke?= Go to Jamba Juice and Get a tropical Smoothie - or make spam, now thats hawaiian ! Make a luau dinner at home with friends or family /// SOUND TRACK Put on some Hawaiian music or reggae music, it can be found free on Pandora / Spotify and other free music services /// BEACH? Surfing- walking- shell collecting- walk by the sea too cold? -drive the coast /// SLEEP IN /// READ - a good book in a comfy lounge chair /// SPA - got a hot tub? get in, got a bathtub, take a long hot bath, get a massage or give one, MEDIA -Movie time watch and Island movie like Blue Hawaii, 50 first dates , or???/// JESUS -Add Spiritual Action & Awareness Be thankful and aware of God's presence and blessing throughout the day Prayer time, bible reading, put on a worship CD and sing, take communion, read a good Christian book you've been meaning to read.
Live in the Corona commercial setting for a day let Jesus sit in the other beach chair!
SHABOT Doesn't just happen we intentionally choose to realign attitudes, plans, actions and calendars. YOU have to Push Pause.
4 Intentions for Shabot
-Intentional Stopping ("GSD" Getting Stuff Done)
-Intentional Worship (of God)
-Intentional Awareness (of God throughout the day)
-Intentional Refreshment ( things that recharge your batteries)
The E Shabot Challenge for this weekend.
A Tech Shabot: Turn off your phone (oh my!) and computer, facebokk, ipad, TV and Video games other tech items and give them a Sabbath.. and yourself on too! It's one step into the shallow end of the pool of ceasing. You can do it Hint: if you really really need your phone for emergencies create a special ringer for the people who might need to call in an emergency and ONLY answer that ringer sound.
Redirect the time with
- One Spiritual Action
Ex: prayer time, Bible reading, singing, communion
- One Recharger
One thing that recharges your personal batteries : beach, woods, go for a drive, reading, board games, surf, go out for a meal,bike your ride, sleep in late, time with friends you never get to spend enough time with, play an instrument,
Spread the word! Facebook what you'll be doing for your shabot the night before, right before bed to give everyone else some ideas and the reminder to PUSH PAUSE for 24 hours
This Sunday we start a brand new series in God's Word on finding rest, sabbath and joining in God's rhythm.
Here's the skinny E folks downsized and sold offstuff and you folks raised over $5000 for clean water wells in rural Ethiopia ! -glory goes to the God who gave such abundance that we could share. Such fun, keep living on less so the poor can have more!
We explored the "Kingdom Quality" of Forgiveness at Elevation this Sunday. As promised, here is a link to a message from Elevation Past (October 2008) on how to forgive and put away the past... live Kingdom Style today. If you are working through forgiving someone who has wronged you, give it a listen and then spend some time with Jesus this week!
We're liquidating for water, but what things are people giving up? Last Sunday in an interactive worship experience at Elevation people posted the various things they were selling to help provide clean water for Ethiopians. Here's what they posted.
If you're looking for ideas of what you could give to the poor, here are some items that are on their way out so water can be on its way in!
Nintendo Wii
Collectable dolls
Legos
Old jewelry, dental work, coins
Prom dresses
Friends the DVD set
Snowboard
Guitar amp
Necklace
Clothes
I Pod
Snowboard
My favorite guitar
Wakeboard bindings
Silver
Snowboard boots
Snowboard bag
Guitar amp
Another Guitar amp
TV
Gaming systems
Desk and chair
50 percent of my abundance
Softball
My abundant space
Trying to figure it out!
Winnie the Pooh tea Pot collection
Books
Jewelry
Clothes
Silver
Le Creuset Dutch oven cooking pot
Brass designer heat register
Lamps
Books
Music
Snowboard
"Still looking through our blessings"
"Lord I pray that the mink I sell will bring lots of $$$ to help fund this kingdom assignment"
Join us! contact me for info on how you can Liquidate for Water with Elevation!
Holy Smoke November 28th at 8pm - Bocci's Cellar
Gentlemen Holy Smoke #3 is coming NEXT Monday, November 28 at
8 o'clock at Bocci's Cellar in Santa Cruz.
Join me and a cast of Elevation-ites spending the evening hobnobbing and enjoying a quality cigar.
Here's an opportunity for you to invite someone who would normally NOT attend church to experience the Elevation community at its best. Pray and consider who it is you could invite that doesn't yet know Jesus and be part of incarnating into our community for the gospel.
There will be a few cigars for sale on-site but it's always best to stop and pick up something before arriving. There will be some folks partaking in moderate use of alcohol at this gathering, if you have a background with addiction or concern about Christians drinking (in true moderation) this might be a good event to pass on.
Our Kingdom Assignment: "Liquidate For Water" is on!
If you missed last Sunday at Elevation you missed the rollout to our exciting new international outreach to the people of Ethiopia. It's called Liquidate for Water.
In a nutshell work asking Elevation attenders and friends to prayerfully consider sacrificially selling something that they own on eBay or craigslist. We are part of a group of churches who are trying to raise $1 million, which will be matched by the Hilton Corporation with additional $1million dollars. The goal is to get water to half 1 million people who currently have no clean drinking water in rural Ethiopia by 2015!
On December 18 we'll have a big celebration service we'll all bring the proceeds and donate it all to our clean water for the people of Ethiopia project! World Vision will be on hand to accept the offering that evening.
This is going to be a great project, which will allow us to downsize the abundance that God has given us and without even taking cash from our pockets invest in the basic life necessity for the poorest of the poor- clean drinking water. You may find it more challenging than writing a check though... it's a great process of self-examination!
Want to see what it's all about??? see the video!
So the challenge is on, we're asking people to give up something worth $100.00 or more to practice Kingdom Living, sacrificial generosity, love for the poor by action and to grow as disciples of Jesus. Join us!
Here's my devotional reading list for this week as we consider the Kingdom Assignment - read along and pray daily!?
Monday = Luke 16:19-31
Tuesday = Luke 12:13-21
Wednesday = 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Thursday = James 5:1-20
Friday = Matthew 6:19-24
Saturday = Luke 12:32-24
Sunday = 2 Corithians 9:6-15
Remember Pray and Look Around your Abundance this week! - Liquidate for Water!
Do NOT miss Sunday at Elevation!
in 1980, I was 21 & looked like this:
& I played guitar in a band with this wild keyboard gnome, Wally Stoltz:
. Wanna hear what that music sounded like? Go to my SoundCloud & listen in to The Windows songs.
A while back we did a series on stewardship and managing what God has entrusted to our care. We called it Managing your Booty, it's available on podcast at the Elevation website.
I thought I'd recap 11 characteristics of giving that COUNTS for you here on the blog today. If you are reading on facebook you'll have to go to my blog to read the whole article.
In a time where over 25% of regular church givers in America literally stopped giving anything (measured nationally in April 2011), it's a great time to consider what it means to give and trust God in the sketchy economics of our time.
Premiers THIS Sunday at Elevation
...but why study the Kingdom of God?
Well... It was CENTRAL to teaching of Jesus... (see a few example passages below).
1. His first proclamation was, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17).
2. He claimed He was sent by His Father to "preach the kingdom of God" (Luke 4:43)
3. He taught His disciples to pray to their heavenly Father, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10).
4. He told them to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33).
5. He promised them the kingdom belonged to "the poor in spirit" and to those who are "persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Matt. 5:3, 10).
6. He assured them that although they would be "hated by all nations for My name's sake ... this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:9, 14).
7. Further, during His last forty days before His return to heaven, He spoke to His disciples about "the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
the message of "the kingdom of God" was central to the teaching of Jesus. It was foundational to everything He said, everything He did and everything He came to do.
- from the book Kingdom Living
Understanding how to live now and where we're headed later is tied to understanding what Jesus means by "the Kingdom of God". Understanding the Gospels is contingent on this key concept. Kingdom Come, the series will be jam-packed with useful application for today and some great surprises are in store too! Don't miss it.
The series in the book of Acts comes to a close all the podcasts for the entire series are in our media vault for download
I'm inviting the guys from Elevation to come join me for HOLY SMOKE part #2 this coming Monday. It's a good excuse to hang out together and a better reason yet - to invite unchurched and unconvinced guys who might feel odd coming to a church service but would have a good time hanging with the E Crew getting nicotine stained fingers. Pray for and then invite guys you know who don't know Jesus yet for a sermon-free, smoke-filled evening of DudeCommunity.
Meet me at Bocci's Cellar in Santa Cruz @ 8:00pm, This coming Monday October 10th. We'll meet out back in the bocci ball arena. Bring a tasty cigar with you if you like - there will also be a few stogies available for purchase that night at the event.
Alcoholic beverages will be consumed by some people at this event, if you have any sensitivity to Christians drinking in moderation or struggle with substance abuse let this event pass.
Here a visual update from the gleaning for the poor project on last Saturday.
A note from Ag Against Hunger:
Thanks again for sending all your volunteers to our glean. They did a fantastic job of salvaging surplus produce for the hungry. We netted about 5000 pounds of broccoli which would have otherwise gone back into the soil.
From The October 1st Message at E...
Horatio Spafford, a redemptive sailor once sang..."It is Well With My Soul" Read his story HERE
Stoked! This Saturday morning about 20 Elevation folks are headed out to harvest the local fields to provide free food for the poor. If you are on the crew remember: invite an unsaved, unchurched, or unconvinced friend to serve the poor with you - double mission sauce baby!
We're going with Ag Against Hunger, a cool organization that's worth checking out.
- last October's Elevation Gleaners for Jesus
Our next Series Kingdom Come premiers Sunday Oct. 23. It's all about the Kingdom of God. But why study the Kingdom of God?
a. Most Christians only have a vague understanding of what it is and how it applies to our lives.
b. It was CENTRAL to teaching of Jesus (see passages below).
Understanding how to live now and where we're headed later is tied to understanding what Jesus means by "the Kingdom of God". Understanding the Gospels is contingent on this key concept.
Kingdom Come, the series will be jam-packed with useful application for today and we have some great surprises are in store too!
Here are a few of Jesus' words on the subject...
1. His first proclamation was, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17).
2. He claimed He was sent by His Father to "preach the kingdom of God" (Luke 4:43)
3. He taught His disciples to pray to their heavenly Father, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10).
4. He told them to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33).
5. He promised them the kingdom belonged to "the poor in spirit" and to those who are "persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Matt. 5:3, 10).
6. He assured them that although they would be "hated by all nations for My name's sake ... this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:9, 14).
7. Further, during His last forty days before His return to heaven, He spoke to His disciples about "the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
the message of "the kingdom of God" was central to the teaching of Jesus. It was foundational to everything He said, everything He did and everything He came to do.
- from the book Kingdom Living
God uses more than mere "open and closed doors" to guide people. Here is a list of some of the ways He directed believers in the Book of Acts. You can use this for further study on how to discern what direction God may be pointing you.
from the Life Application Bible Acts Commentary
Through direct revelation (1:4-5, 11; 8:29; 10:19; 13:2; 16:6-7; 20:23)
Through Scripture (1:20)
Through the casting of lots (1:23-26)
Through unexpected, supernatural acts (2:1-41)
Through the apostles' teaching (2:42)
Through judgment (5:1-11)
Through church "growing pains" (6:1-7)
Through persecution and evil opposition (7:54-8:1; 14:5-7; 20:3)
Through angelic messengers (8:26; 10:3-8; 27:22-26)
Through miraculous relocation (8:39)
Through direct, encounters with the risen Lord (9:3-9)
Through visions (9:10; 10:3-8, 9-16; 11:6; 16:9-10; 18:9-11; 23:11)
Through human instruments/messengers (9:17-19, 27-28)
Through times of intense prayer (10:9; 13:2)
Through bringing to their minds the words of the Lord (11:16)
Through prophetic utterances (11:28; 21:4, 10-12)
Through Spirit-led discussions among church leaders (15:1-31)
Through promptings by the Spirit (15:28; 19:21; 20:22)
Through closed doors (16:6-7)
Through favorable circumstances (19:8-11)
The Most Interesting Man in the World Sez "I don't always listen to worship music but when I do I listen to THIS song!"
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SoundCloud: music I am writing and recoding
