The Resurrection changes everything.  Before the resurrection Jesus was simply a prophet/teacher/miracle worker/potential crazy man.  After the resurrection he becomes who he said he was, “God in the flesh.”  The resurrection proves that Jesus is who he said he was, our penalty of sin has been satisfied, and that death has been defeated.  Has the resurrection changed you.  This sermon looks at 1 Corinthians 15 and the implications that come from the resurrection.

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The Motion Picture industry had been one of the single most influential art medium in the history of art.  Where art used to be a reflection of reality, culture now reflects the art of motion pictures.  In other words, we are influenced and changed by motion pictures.  In Ephesians 5:21-6:9 we see the importance of our lifestyle in the home and in the work place.

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Photography brought reality to the masses.  Up to this point, art was simply an interpretation of reality.  But photography brought actual images to the masses.  It had the power of stirring emotions, and also changed the minds of individuals about the horrors of war especially the Civil War.  Matthew Brady’s photographs revealed the horrors of the war to the public.  In this message, Ephesians 5:1-20 is studied.  We are created in his image.  Our lives can be like that of film.  Light burns into the film and creates a negative.  A chemical reaction occurs which transforms the film.  When we confess Christ as Lord, we become a new creation.  The negative however is not the finished product.  Light is used to shine through the negative and the image is captured on picture paper and developed for the world to see.  The light of Christ shines through our lives as that of a negative for the world to see the greatness of God.

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I dropped Connor off at our CDC, The Creation Station, on his birthday.  Teachers had smiles on their faces, Connor was welcomed at the door, and there was life and energy.  The level of excellence in preschool and after-school care has been raised in our community because of the Creation station.  I was talking with someone in our community that has helped to fund educational research in early intervention and they have marked our CDC as the model for the community.  I do not say this with pride or to pat ourselves on the back, but to say that you do make a difference and are responsible for raising the level of excellence in our community. 

The church should not simply be reactionary to the problems of the community.  The church shouldn’t just be the one coming behind a collapsing community and pick up the pieces. The church needs to be blazing the trail for the world to follow.  If our community is going to progress, we as the church must raise our level of excellence.

So where do we start?  First, we must not be satisfied with where we are.  One of the reasons communities die is because they want to coast and not be progressive.  If you coast, you slow to a stop. 

Second, leaders must rise up and take ownership of their community especially young leaders.   Why young leaders?  Because they haven’t figured out yet that it can’t be done.  We cannot sit back as the church and let others lead.  When someone is needed to lead something, our first reaction cannot be “I don’t have time.”  The church needs to run for city and county council, run for school board, serve on committees, and coach recreation ball. 

Third, our failure rate has to increase.  What?!  If we are not failing very much, it may mean that we are trying new things.  I think back to when we helped our city do something they had never done before:  a family day on July 4^th complete with family games, fireworks, and musical program.  Nearly 1000 people attended.  It started with an idea. 

Finally, we must begin to make more “What if” statements.  What if we tried this?  What if we did this?  What if we organized this?

Have we forgotten how to dream?  Have we settled for where we are?  Are you willing to do something about it?

If our community is going to progress towards excellence, it must first start with God’s people seeking Him.  I hope to see you at our community wide prayer gathering on Monday, March 22 at 6 pm at the circle.

Serving our city into a better tomorrow.

What if the body was one big eye?  That would be pretty funny right.  Kind of like Monster’s Inc. little guy.   In this message Lee Clamp preaches from Ephesians 4:1-16 and discusses the importance of promoting unity, embracing diversity, and throwing out the pacifier.  During the message a painting was painted from scratch by 6 artists from our church ranging from 7 years old to 80 years old.  It was a landscape with a cross in the distance.  Pretty impressive for 40 minutes.

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The French Impressionists changed the landscape of art by attempting to touch the emotions and the mode of the landscape and individuals.  It was characterized by free brushstrokes and was normally painted in the setting that was trying to be captured.  In other words they moved from the studio to the streets.  The church if it is going to reflect the artist properly must move from inside the walls of the studio and into the streets with the gospel.  This message is from Ephesians 3:1-21.

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We finished up our leadership collaboration with Leadership Network in Dallas this past week and it has been quite a journey.  We went to Fort Worth, TX to the stockyards on Tuesday.  It looks like old time Texas with old saloons, cowboys on horses, and a long horn cattle drive where 6 cowboys lead about 20 long horn cattle down the street for people to take pictures of.  Something struck me as I stood about 5 feet from a 1000 lb longhorn walking down the street.  If one of these guys were to take off, the cowboys would be able to lasso him and hold him check…maybe.  But if all of them said, “We’re done walking this same circle track day in and day out.  There’s got to be something else out there that is better than this;” there would be a stampede and the only thing we could have done is watch the dust.

Being the missional church is simply the people of God partnering with God in his redemptive mission in the world.  This includes not only saving souls but bringing the kingdom of heaven to this earth, which is far better than what we are experiencing now.  We are serving our city into a better tomorrow.  That’s what it is all about.  If a few people want to see it happen, there are probably a few cowboys that will see to it that things are done as they always have been done.  If we stampede, there will be better community when the dust settles.  Lives will be transformed which will mean that businesses will operate more effectively, schools will be the top of the state, crime will plummet, and God will be glorified.

Continue to serve your city into a better tomorrow.

In this sermon, Lee Clamp reveals God’s plan in salvation.  We have crossed over from death to life as believer’s in Jesus.  The text for the message is Ephesians 2:1-10.

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In this new series, Lee Clamp works through the book of Ephesians in order that the great Artist might be revealed and known through his masterpiece, believers.  The text studied in this sermon is Ephesians 1:1-14.

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This past weekend my family rented a cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN to take the boys to see snow.  Kind of ironic that the one weekend we are gone, Barnwell receives the largest snow in 6 years.  At any rate, we found the cabin fine after a 8 hour journey and detour.  The quote of that night was on a country rode off I40 when I pulled into an unpopulated gas station and the attendent in her Tennessee drawl said to me, “You gotch you a GPS?”  “Yes” Then she said, “Turn it off.  It won’t help you here.” The next day we went to the Dixie Stampede.  A lot of fun and Caden and Connor just laughed and laughed.  It started snowing a couple of hours before the show.  Not being from the mountains it didn’t even register that I may not be able to get back to my cabin.  We started back to the cabin at 8:30 pm.  As we approached the first road off the main road we saw car after car stopped.  I then turned right and approached the first steep road.  It was covered with snow.  There were two cars in front of me.  Both slowed to a stop.  A dually truck came flying around and started to slide and a large tree saved it from going off the side of the mountain.

It was at this point that I realized I was stuck.  I couldn’t back down the mountain.  It was too slick.  I couldn’t go up the mountain, I would slide.  I couldn’t sleep in the car…We were one mile at the bottom of the mountain from our cabin.  I wrapped the boys up and we started to walk.  I had a car full of groceries and only a few groceries at the cabin, but it was too much to carry.  I grabbed my gps and off we went.

As we walked it was a bit taxing as the steep grade was tough especially in the cold air.  The roads were not well lit and only a few individuals were walking. I was trying to act like everything was fine as not to alarm the boys, but Caden wasn’t buying it.  We prayed to Jesus and said, “Please get us to the cabin safely tonight.”  Why do we pray prayers and then assume that God isn’t going to answer them… After about a quarter of a mile I reached in my pocket to look at my gps.  We had traveled in the wrong direction.  I stopped the family and turned around.  The bad part is that it was a stretch that was down hill so we started back up the hill.  As we were walking back up the hill, I looked at the gps and noticed that we were to turn right…just when the gps went dead.

So here I am walking down a dark road, responsible for my family, no directions, a mountain to climb.  I didn’t panic but it was at this time that I said to myself, I’m turning around and going back.  Back to familiar territory.  Closer to my car.  Closer to civilization.  And as I turned around to tell Leisa, head lights of a vehicle were approaching.  The closer it got I could tell it was a gator ATV with an enclosed cabin.  It was as if God whispered in my ear, “Calm down.  The Gator is the answer you have been looking for.”  The driver of the gator  told Leisa and the boys to get in the cabin and I climbed in the back and off we went.  I knew that the hill going up to the house was going to be a steep one even in an ATV so I wasn’t completely convinced yet that God was answering my prayer.  She asked where we were going and I said, 2535 Raccoon Hollow Way, Sevierville, TN.  She asked where that was and I said, the only thing I can tell you is turn right.  As we approached what was familiar territory there were two drives to the left, both steep.  I wanted to make sure that we went up the right one because I did not want to come back down on that snow and ice.  I prayed, “Please Jesus make this gps come on.”  and it did.  I got a glimpse of where to go but it wasn’t conclusive, so she started up the farthest road.  As we went up the steep road I wasn’t convinced we were going the right direction.  Then I began to read the house numbers and they were larger than mine and climbing.  I realized we were going the wrong way, and I freaked.  I tapped on the glass and said, “I don’t know where we are mam.  I think we are in the wrong area mam.  I’m not sure which way to tell you to go mam. It may be best just to take me back down to where my car is.”  That’s when she said, “Just calm down.  I’m going to get you to your cabin.”  As we crested the hill the road continued down the mountain and sure enough the numbers started to decline meaning we were just a few 100 feet from my cabin.  Then there it was, “A glimpse of Heaven.”  (That’s the actual name of our cabin!)  I then got out and breathed a sigh of relief and choked up a bit realizing how awesome God was.  I asked her name.  She said Nell.  I told her she would one day be an illustration in front of 500 people.  She said, “You’re a preacher.”  I told her, “Yes”  She said, ‘Pray for my husband.  He just passed away in November.”  We gathered with her and prayed and also prayed for her safety as she was continuing to help others.  I gave her $20 for gas.  And down the hill she went.  I’d say that I was worried about her, but I’m starting to believe in prayer.

I’m sure there is a spiritual lesson in there somewhere.  You can probably figure it out.  For me though it was pretty simple.