toliveischrist.cc | The weblog of Jonathan Howes

Friday Fact or Fiction

January 13, 2012 by Jonathan

1. Last night, 28 mph winds blew our basketball goal over the fence and into our neighbor’s yard. It is toast.

2. Today, there were snow flurries in Atlanta.

3. Our Graystone men’s basketball team beat a bunch of college age kids last night. I was the oldest guy on the court, and I almost had an assist.

4. Next Wednesday at Vision Night, I will be getting on the Graystone roof.

5. I preached my sermon today to 700 empty chairs. Several of them made commitments at the prayer altar.

6. Today, all 10 digits on my hands were fingerprinted TWICE.

7. The guys from Echoing Angels will be joining KATB Sunday.

8. Here’s the passage for Sunday if you want to study ahead: Mark 1:35-39.

9. Sunday, I will be wearing a crimson shirt with a pair of houndstooth pants…size 32 of course.

10. I love Dora the Explorer!

Posted in Graystone Church, Humor, Random, Sports | 4 Comments »

Have you forsaken your first love?

January 12, 2012 by Jonathan

In my sermon prep this week I studied Revelation 2:1-7. Here are the key verses:

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵ Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” Revelation 2:4-5a

I ended up having to cut it from my message…if you only knew what gets cut each week. Anyway, this didn’t make the Sunday message, but I thought it was blog worthy. Have you forsaken your first love? Have you lost some passion and fire in your relationship with God? Are you as close to God as you have been in the past? If not, why not?

We love God because he first loved us. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is judging the 7 churches. The one in question in this passage is the church in Ephesus (I.e. Acts 18-19; book of Ephesians, Timothy served as their pastor…1-2 Timothy). They worked hard. They served God with good deeds. They hated evil. They knew the truth and identified false apostles. They endured hardships and persevered in their faith. All that was good, but they had forsaken their first love. They were doing all the right things (I.e. going through the motions), but they had lost their love and passion for God.

So, “the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand” (Jesus), tells them to repent and do the things they did at first. Maybe your passion for God is lacking. Maybe you are no longer on a spiritual honeymoon. Maybe your spiritual flame has burned low. Well, get back to your first love. Do the things that you did when you first experienced the love and grace of God.

When on your spiritual journey were you closest to God? What were you doing that led you to such a close relationship with God? Well, repent and do the things you did when you first knew God. When’s the last time you told God, “I LOVE YOU!”

Well, enough for now. Sunday, I will be talking more about developing an intimate friendship with “the one who walks among the seven lampstands.” I hope you can make it. And I hope you are ready to fall in love with God all over again.

Posted in Bible, Discipleship/Spiritual Growth, Graystone Church | Leave a Comment »

Daily Bible Reading Plan (January-April 2012)

January 12, 2012 by Jonathan

Hard copies are available at Guest Services in the Graystone Church lobby.

Posted in Bible, Discipleship/Spiritual Growth, Graystone Church | Leave a Comment »

Candlelight Memorial Service at Grayson High School

January 10, 2012 by Jonathan

Last Saturday night, two Grayson High School students were killed in an auto accident. Let’s pray for the families and friends of these two who tragically lost their lives. This terrible event has rocked our community. You can read Jennifer’s thoughts here.

Tonight at 6:30, there is a Candlelight Memorial Service at the Grayson High School flag pole. Several of our Graystone staff members will be there to support, pray and provide counseling. If any of our elders, prayer team, visitation team or members feel led, let me encourage you to go and be available to minister to those who are hurting and searching for answers. We certainly do know not “why”, but we can be available to provide love and support. Let’s trust in God through this difficult time and help others find peace in Christ.

“Cast all your anxieties on HIM because HE cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Posted in Bible, Prayer | Leave a Comment »

Friday Fact or Fiction

January 6, 2012 by Jonathan

1. I finished my sermon at 1:15AM Friday.

2. Ice Ice Baby is leading the poll as the favorite feature song of 2011.

3. Jessie is making her acting debut this Sunday at Graystone.

4. We still have the snow machines so we are putting them to good use this Sunday.

5. Kyle from KATB is now Reverend Kyle Hale. BTW, he is requesting to be called PK (Pastor Kyle).

6. I got a new pair of running shoes for Christmas. I am about to take them on their maiden voyage. I’ll probably crack a few sidewalks.

7. It’s a huge weekend in NOLA. The Saints are hosting an NFL playoff game on Saturday night, and the LSU Tigers are playing in the BCS National Championship on Monday night. I am flying down on a private jet.

8. Vision Night, January 18, will be one of the most moving and powerful services of the entire year. Please make it a priority to be there.

9. Ryan Brooks will be singing a “country” song on Sunday at Graystone (#8 and #4 may or may not be related).

10. 2012 will be the best year ever at Graystone Church!

Posted in Graystone Church, Humor | 2 Comments »

Please vote for your favorite feature song of 2011

January 5, 2012 by Jonathan

Music is a huge part of the Sunday morning worship experience at Graystone. Every week, the worship songs as well as the feature songs have meaning and help communicate the central message of the service. In 2011, “Kyle and the Band”, guest bands (Echoing Angels, Julian Drive, etc.), and guest worship leaders played dozens of feature songs both “Christian” and “secular”.

We have narrowed the list down to the Top 11 Feature Songs of 2011. We have set up a poll below for you to vote for your favorite feature song of 2011. The poll is set up for two reasons. First, we are curious as to which songs the Graystone crowd liked the most. Secondly, this will help us as we plan the services for 2012. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Posted in Graystone Church | 6 Comments »

New Message Series, Old School, begins Sunday

January 4, 2012 by Jonathan

Posted in Graystone Church, Humor, Vision | Leave a Comment »

11 Things God did at Graystone in 2011

January 4, 2012 by Jonathan

God did some amazing things at Graystone in 2011.

Here are 11:

11. We relaunched Graystone Church and renewed our commitment to DOMINATE our community with the love of Jesus Christ.

10. Over $100,000 was given in our Project Kids Space Offering which enabled us to open the Kid’s Village. This relieved the overcrowding in our children’s area and allowed us to have smaller age specific classes.

9. 40 kids committed their lives to Jesus Christ at Sports Camp. As a side note, a dude on a motorcycle jumped over Katie and I who were standing on the Graystone minibus.

8. Over 550 adults were involved in Small Groups (60% of our Sunday morning attendance).

7. We had our first ever Graystone Serves. One Sunday morning, we all skipped church and served our community in the name of Jesus Christ.

6. We started the Good News Club at Grayson Elementary, and it quickly became the largest club in Gwinnett Country. During this weekly after school program, over 70 kids are hearing the word of God and several have received salvation in Christ.

5. We are sending our first church planting team to start Valley Town Church in Wilmington, VT.

4. We experienced the 2 highest attended worship services in our church’s history: 1,900 (Easter) and 1,742 (Christmas Eve).

3. We welcomed 1,061 (That’s over one thousand!) first-time visitors on Sunday mornings. BTW, Jennifer called all of them.

2. We prayed more than we have ever prayed. Over 100 people serve on our prayer team, we have a daily church-wide corporate prayer time at 1:14PM, and the elders are spending a day each month in prayer and fasting.

1. 126 people crashed the waters of baptism. To God be ALL the glory!

Which one resonates with you?

What would you add (I had to trim down the list.)?

Posted in Graystone Church, Missions/Outreach, Prayer, Small Groups, Stewardship, Vision, Volunteers | 6 Comments »

Miraculous Offering

January 3, 2012 by Jonathan

On the blog this week, I would like us to look back on 2011 before we move full speed ahead into 2012. Tomorrow, I will be sharing the Top 11 Things God did at Graystone in 2011. Today, I want to share with you about the miraculous offering at the end of the year.

Heading into the final 2 services of the year, we were around $8,000 behind in Graystone’s General Offering and needed $47,000 given to finish the year “in the black”. Well, God did it again!

Through God’s provision and the generous giving of our Graystone family and friends, we had our 2 largest general offerings in the history of Graystone Church. $87,000 was given, and we finished 2011 $40,000 OVER our general offering need. PRAISE GOD!

Posted in Discipleship/Spiritual Growth, Graystone Church, Miracles, Stewardship | Leave a Comment »