Does God Really Need a Home?

September 17, 2014

You’re trying to build a “home” for God by buying a church building? Are you serious? Does God really need a physical building to have a home? Isn’t the entire universe His home? Why does He need a building? And how does that building have anything to do with the Kingdom of God?

Those are some of the questions you might be asking as you hear about the BUILD YOUR KINGDOM campaign which kicked off last weekend at STSA.

And those are all fair questions. Does God really NEED a building? Does He even want one? Doesn’t God care about spiritual buildings more than physical ones? Who cares if there’s a building or not?

THE CALL TO BUILD - Build Your Kingdom Part 1

September 16, 2014

"Consider now, for the Lord has chosen YOU to build a house for the sanctuary;be strong, and do it.” 1 Chronicles 28:10

The Build Your Kingdom series officially kicked off yesterday with a message titled "THE CALL TO BUILD." We looked at why having a visible building is so important to a invisible God (hint: it isn't for His sake as much as it is for our sake).

- God built a home for He and Adam (the garden of Eden).

- God commanded Moses to build a home for Him among the Israelites in the wilderness (the tabernacle).

- God put it on David's heart to build him a permanent home in Jerusalem (the temple).

- And when that temple got destroyed, God moved in heart of the king and in the spirits of His people to rebuild that home and restore His sanctuary (see the book of Ezra).

And now God is putting it on our hearts at STSA to build Him a home as well - not for the purpose of building a building, but rather for the purpose of BUILDING HIS KINGDOM.

Check out part 1 of the series above and let's get ready to build!

Reminder: BYK KICKOFF IS TONIGHT!

September 12, 2014

BYK = Build Your Kingdom and the Kickoff event is TONIGHT at 8 pm (doors open at 7:30).

The theme of the night is "God Building His Kingdom through STSA." We'll have LIVE TESTIMONIES from people whose lives have been transformed at STSA and hear how God is working in our church. We'll also have the music team rockin, we'll be giving away prizes (like 4 tickets to a Christian concert coming to DC) and of course yours truly will give a brief message (as I always do) kicking off the 4 week BYK campaign.

So get excited and come on out tonight! If you’re local, come join us in person; the event is free and all are welcome. If you’re not local, then be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and simulcast the event live as it happens.

Either way, don't miss out on the fun tonight and find out how God wants to use YOU to build His Kingdom wherever you might be.

BUILD YOUR KINGDOM HERE!

Be Part of the #OneBrick Movement

September 9, 2014

You’ve seen the tweets and you’ve read the Facebook posts. You read yesterday about the BUILD YOUR KINGDOM campaign launching on Friday night and by now you’re probably asking the same question I’ve gotten from many over the past few days…WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

What is Build Your Kingdom? What is #OneBrick? What are you guys trying to do here?

Build Your Kingdom KICKOFF EVENT

September 8, 2014

What are you doing on Friday night? Whatever it is, I guarantee that it won’t be as uplifting, inspirational, and downright FUN as what I’m doing. That’s because I’ll be attending the “Build Your Kingdom” Kickoff Event and I’m inviting you to join us as well.

The kickoff event is where we’ll be launching a 4 week campaign to BUILD GOD’S KINGDOM all around the world. We’ll talk about some of the ways that God is building His Kingdom here in the DC area and we’ll show you how you can get involved and become a kingdom builder as well.

And if you’re not local, we’ll be simulcasting the event live online and hopefully inspire you to build God’s Kingdom wherever you might be.

Celebrating One of My Heroes

May 14, 2014

Hero: ‘a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities’

I grew up loving action movies – but not the comic book, superhero kind of movies that are popular now. I grew up watching real heroes, guys without any superhuman powers but who fought with superhuman courage and bravery. Guys like Bruce Willis in Die Hard – who saved the world from terrorists without a weapon or even a pair of shoes. Or like Rambo who could take out an entire city alone and never had to call for backup. Or my personal favorite – this is really going to test your knowledge of the 80s – The Greatest American Hero (listen to the theme song and see if it rings a bell).

Today I want to celebrate one of my real-life heroes – not a fictional character but a real person who really did save the world from evil and without whom only God knows where we’d all be today. And in addition to all that, he’s got a really cool hero name too!

Meeting with Pope Tawadros in Egypt

March 6, 2014

Haven't been able to post all week and the reason why is because I’ve been in Egypt since Monday. Yep, that’s right. American priest visits land of Egypt. I’ve had quite the experience and thanks be to God, all has gone well.

And the highlight of my trip by far was getting to meet with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II.

I was truly humbled and honored by His Holiness' love and care for both me and our church. Below is a short 1 minute video clip that His Holiness recorded as a personal message to the entire STSA family.

May the Lord keep His Holiness Pope Tawadros for us and confirm him on his throne for many years to come.

God's Promise for 2014

January 2, 2014

Happy New Year! I hope that 2014 has been good to you thus far and that you’re still going strong on those new year’s resolutions (only 364 more days to go!).

We started a New Year’s tradition at STSA last year and it has quickly become one of my favorites. What started as “it might be a cool thing to try this year” has quickly turned into “it just wouldn’t be New Year’s without it.”

What is “it”? RECEIVING OUR NEW YEAR’S PROMISES!

Welcome to THE WELL

December 4, 2013

I’ll say a phrase and you say the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready? Here’s the phrase.....…THE WELL. What do you think of? What comes to your mind? Anything exciting or earth-shattering? My guess is that the answer is probably no, but there is one lady I know who is filled with emotion whenever she hears that phrase. To her, THE WELL is much more than a big hole in the ground filled with water. To her, THE WELL is the place that her life was changed forever.

Who is that lady? She is the lady written about in the New Testament, John 4, commonly known as the Samaritan Woman. To her, THE WELL is an ordinary place that took on extraordinary meaning and significance through her encounter there with a Man called Jesus.

She showed up at THE WELL one way, but she left a completely different way – completely transformed on the inside and the outside. Her life took on new meaning ever since that day at THE WELL and that’s why to her, THE WELL is the most important place on earth. It’s the place where she met Jesus and her life was changed forever.

Because of that, when we wanted to come up with a name for our post-Liturgy Sunday meeting at STSA - the weekly event that we use as a chance to invite our friends to come to church and hopefully meet Jesus there - we decided to name it THE WELL.

The World's Original Problem

September 18, 2013

Trivia question - what was the first “problem” that ever existed in the world? The first dilemma that man had to solve?

a) Rush hour traffic
b) Long lines at the DMV
c) In-laws
d) Loneliness and lack of relationship

If you guessed D, you are correct!

Look no further than the second chapter in the Bible and you’ll see that before there were wars and disasters and violence and diseases – all the things that came as a result of sin – there was another problem...LONELINESS.

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

Keep in mind that at the time, everything was good in the world. No problems. No pain. No sickness. No unemployment. No fighting. No construction on the Beltway during rush hour. Everything was just "good".

HOPE Association @ The Well

September 9, 2013

"For You are He who loosens the bound and uplifts the fallen; the hope of those who are hopeless and the help of those who are helpless; the comfort of the fainthearted and the harbor of those in the storm." Excerpt from Liturgy of St. Basil

If you missed The Well yesterday, you missed out! HOPE Association gave a special presentation and showed us all the different projects and initiatives that they're kicking off this Fall. Not only that, they also reminded us of the great impact that we - the Body of Christ - can have on this world through simple acts of love and kindness and sacrifice. It really touched my heart and there was a barely a dry eye in the room by the end.

Check out the video and see for yourself.

Now That's My Idea of a Great Weekend!

June 26, 2013

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Last week I wrote about how excited I was for this past weekend. It was the weekend of our public launch at STSA – the weekend where we felt God wanted to take the good things we have going inside the church and make them known to the community outside. And just as the first century church “went public” on the Day of Pentecost, we felt like God wanted us to do the same this past weekend as we celebrated Pentecost as well.

So how’d it go?

FANTASTIC! Magnificent! Best weekend to date! YAHOO!!!!!!

Let the Tidal Wave Begin – STSA Going Public!

June 19, 2013

This is one of those weeks for me. One of those weeks where I don’t know what to blog about or what to say. It’s one of those weeks that I absolutely live for and dread at the same time. It’s a week where I really feel – with all my heart, soul, mind and strength – like God is going to do something big… something huge… something massive… something historically grand… something that is exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even imagine! And He’s going to do that right here – right in front of my eyes!

What in the world am I talking about? Let me explain.

As you probably know, I have been blessed to be serving at St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church (STSA) - aka THE GREATEST CHURCH EVER!. I love my church so much and from day one, I have felt that God has a special calling and a special mission for this church (go back and see the very first blog post I ever posted and you’ll see what I am talking about).

A New Vision for the New Year

December 31, 2012

What's your final to do item before the clock strikes midnight on 2012? Getting a NEW VISION FOR A NEW YEAR. Resolutions are great, but vision is what lasts. Happy New Year everyone!

Greatness is Not Just an Individual Thing

July 20, 2012

I tricked you yesterday didn’t I? Admit it. I tricked you because I asked you what it means to be great and I intentionally led you down the wrong path for answers. I’ll bet that most people thought in terms of prayer, Bible reading or other such spiritual disciplines. Most of us equate our spiritual success with the amount of spiritual practices that we do.

BUT GOD DOESN’T LOOK AT IT THAT WAY. If God looked at it that way, then the Pharisees would have top dogs in His eyes. They did all the spiritual practices and disciplines; and they did it religiously (pun intended). But while those things are all very good, it takes more than that to be GREAT.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become GREAT among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

How Can You Say You Love Me If...

July 9, 2012

Imagine that you are walking down the street one day and you see a small child wander out into the street. The child clearly is too young to be in the street and someone needs to get this child back to the sidewalk and safety. As you walk towards the child, you realize that it isn’t just any child; it’s actually the child of one of your close friends – someone whom you have known for years.

As soon as you make that realization, you realize something else too…THERE’S A CAR COMING! The car is coming down the road fast and it doesn’t see the child. You are standing on the side of the road – there’s still time to do something if you choose to, but you need to hurry. You could run out and grab the child. You could yell at the child to get back to safety. You could try to get the driver’s attention and tell him to stop. YOU MUST DO SOMETHING!!!!

But instead, you sit idly by. You choose not to take any action. You turn your head so you don’t have to see what’s coming but you know what happens next. The driver tries to slam on the brakes at the last second, but by then it’s too late. The child suffers fatal injuries and doesn’t make it through the night.

You were there. You could have done something. You could have at least tried. But you chose not to. You stood by idly and took no action when you had the chance to save your best friend’s child.

Are You a Consumer or a Contributor?

July 3, 2012

"What’s the will of God for my life?" That’s the #1 question that we all want to know. Where does God want me to go? When does He want me to go? And what does He want me to do when I get there? WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM ME?

Well, I believe that the answer to this question isn’t supposed to be as hard as we often make it. Sometimes the answer is right in front of us and we just don’t see it. Of course, no one can fully know the mind and will of God – see Romans 11:33 – but we aren’t supposed to be completely in the dark either. This isn’t “hide & seek” – God wants to reveal His plan for your life even more than you want to discover it.

So what’s the trick then? How do I discover it?

The Power of Sacrifice

June 28, 2012

“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33

Great power. Great grace. I love those two phrases. I want that in my life and I bet you wouldn’t mind them in yours either. The question for today is this: where did that 'great power' and 'great grace' come from?You’ll be surprised by the answer. That verse is found in between some other verses that seem out of place. The verse before it says:

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32)

And the verse after it says:

“Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.” (Acts 4:34-35)

Huh? Those verses are about giving. You’d expect a verse about 'great power' and 'great grace' would come from a passage about prayer or love or fasting or humility or something along those lines. But the Bible here connects it with generosity and giving instead. But not just any kind of giving – real giving, sacrificial giving, giving in a way that doesn’t make sense to give. Maybe the early church knew something that we don’t.

What is Integrity?

June 12, 2012

Integrity. What does it mean? How would you define it? More importantly, do you have it? Would those around you say that you are full of it?

Integrity is not an easy word to define. It’s one of those words that people define in different ways. But I define integrity as this: HONESTY. Integrity is living a life of honesty – a life where I am who I say I am, and my deeds are visibly in line with my words.

Integrity comes from the same root word as “integer” – meaning one, or not divided. A life of integrity is a life where you are one person, not many people. You’re the same person on Sunday mornings as you are on Monday mornings. You’re the same person in front of the spotlight as you are when no one’s looking. Integrity. One. Honesty.

As much as we demand honesty from others, there’s one person that we are willing to put up with some dishonesty from. There’s one person that deals with us dishonestly on a regular basis and we accept it and don’t say a word. Who? OURSELVES!

Your Input Determines Your Output

May 29, 2012

Last summer, I took my family through a rite of passage for all families living in America. It wasn’t something I particularly looked forward to; but it was something that I knew had to be done at some point. And if you have kids too, my guess is that at some point you’ll have to bite the bullet and go through this one day as well...WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD!

Now, if you’ve never been there, you need to know that going to Disney World isn’t like any other vacation in the world (and you’ll know right away from the price of everything!). Disney World is appropriately named because it isn’t a resort or a destination or a vacation spot…it's a whole other world!

There is so much to do (but you have to pay for doing it) and so much to see (and you have to pay for seeing it too). There’s just so much going on that it can be very overwhelming if you’re not prepared (and did I mention the cost yet?). So during the weeks leading up to this “vacation”, I did what any Type-A, well-organized and well-prepared man would do…I CAME UP WITH A PLAN!