Eric burns is doing and awesome job!

well i just got back from the high school mexico trip which was really really awesome. we had a night that was worship and prayer and it was so awesome. they had a big paper on the wall and markers. they invitedus to go up and write things you needed prayer for and also encouraged us to pray for the requests already written.
people took the idea and ran with it. we all poured our hearts out on that wall, the deep things we needed prayer to overcome. we can only keep a mask on so long. it was amazing to feel the community in that room, worshipping together, crying together, praying over eachother.
eric burns is doing an amazing job and creating a true community, a true church, in our high school group. we are being prayed for by each other and being held accountable. Its the kind of church in Paul's epistles, a real loving community, totally accepting. On that wall, there were some tough things poeple shared, but no one cut them out of the group after they shared their requests, we now know what they are struggling with and we know that they want help with it, so as a true community we help them.
another thing that eric does that i think is awesome is he challenges us, he really challenges me. He always is giving me tidbits of advice they he thinks may help my worship leading skills. He is encouraging me to pursue it as far as God wants me to instead of settling for a normal life. also, on this trip the last day we were waiting and waiting for the man on our site to come back from visiting his mother in the hospital because our DD needed to share the gospel with him still. His wife was at the site though. Eric came to me and siad in this culture things like this have to be discussed man to man or woman to woman. He asked if I would be willing to share with the woman, her name is Nanci. I didnt have any of the DD's training, i have never shared the gospel before either, but i said yes because I knew Eric knew i could do it, and that was all i needed. Nanci decided she wanted to be saved. I kept thinking it was nothing that i said for usre, because i was stumbling over my words and clair bradshaw had to help me know what to say alot. But God was working in her that day. Im so glad Eric out me on the spot to be God's voice that day.
I just wanted to let everyone know how perfect he is for our youth group and what he is teaching us and creating within us. I am so excited for more!
~Cici

Lost Dogs and Half a Mustard Seed

Psalm 28:1-2

"To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me,I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,when I cry to you for help,when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary."

We serve a faithful God who is involved and interested in every detail of our lives. He is even concerned about our dogs. My dog "Cheech" ran away Saturday afternoon. Oh, the heartache!! I love this dog! As I was looking to God to try and find words to pray, I came across Psalm 28. I asked God to hear my pleas for mercy--I desperately wanted my dog back.


As we searched all day Sunday, our hope in finding her was slim. I kept going back to Psalm 28: "Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help..." In Luke 17, Jesus tells the disciples that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. Here was a serious challenge to how I viewed prayer, how I trusted God, how great I thought my faith was. Did I believe that God would answer a prayer for a lost dog to return? Did I need to accept the fact that this was a lost cause, and needed to set my heart to move on? Where was my faith and patience? Psalm 28 kept popping back into my head, and with it came hope and trust in a God who is faithful to answer.


I came home Monday afternoon, depressed because I still hadn't heard any news about Cheech. As I walked up to the house, my wife Sam greets me with Cheech in her arms!! What was lost has now been found!! It was surreal! Here was a miracle, an answer to prayer, evidence of God's grace and kindness in action in my life. I was rendered speechless at the work of God in my life.

"Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

Psalm 28:6-7

Blessed be the Lord! for he has heard my pleas for mercy! I am in greater awe of a mighty God who deals with us so gently, who teaches us, encourages us, helps us, protects us and saves us. In the 48 hours of searching, I learned a lot about the power of prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to shape those prayers and our hearts. If I can offer any encouragement to you in this, it is that God is interested in the specifics of our lives; he loves to hear the details when we pray. And nothing is too "outside of the box" for Him to work with, to shape our hearts, our prayers, and our faith into his perfect will.

"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name..."

Youth Nights Continue!

Greetings all!

I am so proud of the youth that participate each month in our youth nights. This is a night where the worship is turned over to our youth band and each month, they do such a great job! Be sure to look at the pictures of these nights and you can see the exciting atmosphere that is present when these students lead worship. If you haven't been to a youth night yet, join us each first Saturday of the month and see how talented our youth at LBC are. If you are in High School or JR High, we always go out after the service and do something fun.

Youth: Here is your challenge. We want some ideas as to what you want to do after each youth night service. We want to keep the cost down, and we want it to be a time of genuine community. Let us know what you would like...

Humbled and Challenged (Again) by Jesus

"So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."

--Jesus (Luke 14:33)

"...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

--Philippians 2:6-8

"Jesus does not ask us to do that which he has not done himself."--Some wise, spiritual dude

At the end of Luke 14, Jesus reminds his listeners of the cost of discipleship. It most likely was an opportunity to "weed out" those on the Jesus bandwagon who didn't really consider all Jesus was asking of them. In our small group last night, we we're chewing on this verse and dissected it twofold: one, we are renouncing our own agendas for a love for God, supreme pleasure and fulfillment in Him (you Christian Hedonists out there are eating this up); two, as Jesus speaks this, he lives it, giving up all he has (equality with the Father, face-to-face presence with the Father in Heaven, becoming a man) and willingly paying the penalty for our sins, satisfying the wrath of God by his work on the cross.

It is a difficult statement to consider renouncing all for Jesus. Am I willing to die for Jesus' sake? Not only a physical death, but death to my own agenda, dreams, desires, pride, sins, to then passionately and wholeheartedly love God, pursue his Kingdom and set others above myself, loving Jesus above all else. Verse 33 reminds me that Christ did that for the Father's glory and our gracious benefit. A while back I asked what it looked like to follow Jesus where he leads, and it is here in the truth that "Jesus never asks us to do that which he has not done himself." If I follow his example, loving God, glorifying God, denying myself, identifying with Jesus and am allowing the Holy Spirit to fuel this work in my life, then I believe that is following Jesus.

Praise God! We serve a God who rolls up his proverbial sleeves and gets in the dirt with us and shows us how to live. And for that, I am eternally thankful.

"American Idolatry", the Super Bowl, and Prayer

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
Psalm 24:3-6

This Sunday, the NY Giants are challenging the undefeated NE Patriots in a little football match. Quite possibly, this game could be the most watched Super Bowl in history. The record is from the 96 Super Bowl where the Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburg Steelers. 94 million people watched that day, and Fox Sports are hoping to increase that number. Amazing. How many people are tuning in to Jesus on Sunday? Sorry, sorry…that was sad on a number of levels. I digress…

This Sunday also happens to be the 1st of the month, and Pastor Roger has encouraged and invited the church to join together at LBC for an evening of prayer. Decisions, decisions, right? I know a number of us at LBC love football, and love Jesus and understand the importance of prayer (not necessarily in that order). But, have we considered the opportunity here?

Personally, I may or may not attend this meeting; I am not trying to call anyone out or let loose my inner Pharisee. In fact, if I am not mistaken, we are able to pray everywhere, anytime, in all situations. But, there is something sweet in gathering as a body to pray corporately. The last meeting in January drew out over 100 people! Praise God for that. People had been praying for the meeting to be well attended, and it was abundantly clear that the Lord honored those requests.
So, be encouraged. Reflect on the above Scripture. And hopefully we’ll all be praying together Sunday.

Follow the Leader...

“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
John 12:25-26

Recently, I have been thinking about what it means to “follow Jesus.” It seems like it is an easy “pad” answer to living the Christian life, but sometimes it is hard to recognize Christ in me (Galatians 2:20), if I am being honest. It seems that in America, being a “good Christian” is reduced to going to church, being a good person, and avoiding certain “worldly” endeavors such as ________, _________, or __________ (fill in the blanks as you like). Easy as that may seem, it turns relationship back into rules (any closet Pharisees out there?), and changes the Gospel from the radical, transforming, redeeming Gospel of the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, into a gospel of morality, which is not at all the reason Jesus came to die.

If we are to follow Jesus, I think it means doing that which Jesus did--pray; love others; develop a relationship with God; honor God in your vocation and relationships; even setting aside my own preferences and desires to make time for others. Also, listening to the direction and convictions of the Holy Spirit; and being about the Word. I think the morality that is promoted within our circle is a good thing, but doesn't focusing only on being a “good person” (and no one is good, no not one) and “sin management” distort the crux of the Gospel message--that we are sinners in need of a Savior, hence we can't save ourselves (which the Pharisees tried to do via the Law) and thus, the cross of Christ and His resurrection has satisfied the requirements of the wrath of God we deserve. Too often, we associate "Christian" with the good person bit, when that is but a small fraction. Would you agree that it includes a life centered around Christ and his work, and being about that w/o compromise? Yet, when we do compromise (and we probably will, this side of eternity) returning to Jesus, by the grace and mercy of God, repenting and confessing and moving forward, which is our sanctification and growth.

So, fellow saints, what is your take on this? And, as LBC, how do we take this “following Jesus” into our daily lives and impact the community for Jesus?

Welcome Greg Baker!

Hey everyone! I just want to personally welcome Greg Baker to Laurelglen Bible Church as the new worship pastor. In the few weeks I have had to work with him, he has been a tremendous support to those of us working with SNL. I am glad you are here Greg and look forward to the great work we are going to do on Saturdays at SNL! I also look forward to that Sweet Comfort tribute band somewhere in the future.

If anyone has any words of encouragement for Greg, sign in be sure to leave them. Once again Greg, glad you are here!

The Sad Songs We (Don't) Sing

“God is interested in truth... and that’s why God is more interested in rock n’ roll rather than Gospel (music). Because Gospel (music) a lot of the times are not being truthful…because they’re not describing about their lives…a lot of the time.”
—Bono of U2

This post is dangerous…I recently heard a podcast from the Whitehorse Inn (http://www.whitehorseinn.org/) that was talking about “Happy Clappy Worship” and it’s infiltration to today’s evangelical churches. Bono’s statement got me thinking about what it is we sing each week at our services. Often times, our songs are celebratory in nature; other times pinpointing aspects of God’s character; other times surrender or even the magnitude of the Cross. Which are all good things, and necessary in a worship service. But, sometimes it feels like the spectrum of emotions is left unchecked.
What comes to mind is one of grief, lament, sadness, distance. If we look at the Psalms, we see the full range of emotions expressed by the Psalmists. God created us to be emotional beings; Jesus himself was emotional. I recently had a close friend lose her mother to a tragic car accident. In the following months, it has been our season of grieving with her, supporting her and praying with her. If I was to take her (or anyone) into church, would there be room for her to lament during the corporate praise time? Probably not. Many of our songs would not express this grief. And that might be something to think about as we plan our music. I like how Bono says that God is interested in Truth. Of course, he is Truth, so it’s no surprise. There are times when praise is a huge sacrifice; when all we feel like is grieving, being alone and saying/singing nothing’ I can’t imagine coming in and trying to sing “You Are So Good to Me” or “Let God Arise” or any particularly upbeat tune when I’m trying to process death, anxiety, loss of a job, grief, exasperation, etc.
So a challenge, I guess, for those of us who are involved in “Worship Ministry” would be to write songs from our lives, the core of our being; not necessarily a contrived statement about God, but rather songs that describe our relationships, our fears, our weaknesses. Then, following up with the fact that God is our salvation, our Rock, our strength in the midst of those emotions to remind us of the Truth. Many Psalms follow that “formula”, if you will, rather than the CCM formula of something that makes us feel good to worship or “the best worship.” No earthly song can be that.
If you will let me, here’s some honesty: I am not a fan of much “contemporary Christian” music. Not enough innovation, edge, or authenticity. I feel the same about most pop music, anyway, so I am not really picking on the church here. (I am just a frustrated guitarist, so who cares what I think, anyway). But, as an artist who is a Christian, I feel obligated to give God my best, and give him my worst (we are sinners saved by grace, after all). Give back to Him the gifts he has given to me, and be faithful to use them as uniquely as possible. I think we can bring in some of that edge, that authenticity by expressing to God our heart’s cry and letting him shape us into who he wants us to be. That, to me, seems like it would be attractive and compelling, rather than something to be ignored.
What do you think?

Youth Band A Big Hit!

Each and every first Saturday of the month, we turn over the service to the youth band. It is a great opportunity to train the youth to participate in and lead our worship service at SNL. We want to know how the youth band has ministered to you and what you think about Youth Night. How did the youth band do last youth night? What does it mean to you to be in the youth band? What are your thoughts?

What would a prayer time look like?

Pastor Ed challenged us last night that we could be doing a better job praying. What do you think a good prayer time would look like at SNL? How can we integrate a prayer time during the service?

2, 4, 6, 8, What do you appreciate!

A few weeks back when we were studying the "W" in WORDS, pastor Roger challenged us to think about our worship service and to offer up what we appreciate about SNL. What appeals to you about what we do at SNL? What draws you in? What keeps you here? What speaks to your heart language?

He also challenged us to offer suggestions as to what we can do to improve upon our services. This is a chance in which we can try new ideas and hear your feedback. What would you like to see new at SNL? Think outside of the box. What can we do to make SNL a better place for all of our attenders and visitors? We want SNL to be a relevant place and a safe place that meets the needs of all in attendance. Now it is your turn...

Welcome Back To The Blog!

Hey Everyone,

We are relaunching the blog which will give everyone who wants to the opportunity to comment or give opinion about SNL. We want to hear from you. This blog has been very successful in the past and it is our desire to build it up even better this go around. Here is what to do. Those of you who read this, invite others to read the articles and participate by leaving comments. There will be all kinds of articles that will reflect many elements of SNL including Biblical issues and Christian growth issues. I challenge each one of you to invite your friends to participate in this blog. This generates excitement on Saturday nights and it is an opportunity to show others what a great time we have at SNL. We have a great God, we have a great service and it is time introduce this community to the life that is offered at Saturday Night Life. Welcome Aboard!