Convoy Of Hope Coming to Washington, DC

For those of you who want to get involved in an awesome ministry opportunity. This will be a great multi-church outreach as we serve the Washington, DC community and simply be blessing to those in need.

You are cordially invited to attend a
VISION CASTING LUNCHEON

for the 2008

Washington, DC
CONVOY OF HOPE

The luncheon will be held

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008

at 12:00 P.M.

Ebenezers Coffeehouse

201 F St. NE Washington, DC 20002

Lunch will be served promptly at noon.

Sponsored by Convoy of Hope

Washington area businesses, churches and community organizations are being invited to partner together to sponsor a city-wide compassion outreach on September 6, 2008 in Washington. The goal of this meeting is to bring together local leaders to collaborate on how we can partner together in this unique effort to reach out to the poor and desperate in our own community.

Convoy of Hope is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes, trains, and resources organizations and churches to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of the poor. Since 1994, Convoy of Hope has partnered with local communities to conduct over 400 outreaches in the United States alone.

www.convoyofhope.org

PLEASE RSVP BY Feb 12th

202.544.0414 ext 114 or chris.jarrell@theaterchurch.com

Daily Caffeination 01/31/08

What Love Looks Like

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18

Have you ever felt like a spiritual failure? If so, then you're in good company. Even the apostle Peter felt that way after he denied the Lord.

When Jesus told the disciples they would abandon Him in His hour of need, Peter insisted that he never would. But Jesus said that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed that day. And he did.

Now, Peter finds himself in an awkward moment. Jesus was crucified and had risen on the third day. He suddenly appears to them at the Sea of Galilee. Before they knew it, Jesus was cooking breakfast for everyone with the fish He had just helped them catch. Maybe as they ate, Peter was remembering when, not all that long ago, he denied the Lord by the glow of another fire.

Eventually, the Lord breaks the silence. He asks Peter a series of questions, each with the same phrase: "Do you love Me?"

Peter had learned his lesson. Instead of boasting of his love for the Lord, he simply answers, "Yes Lord; You know that I love you" (John 21:15--17). In the original language, the word Peter used for "love" was phileo. It could be translated, "have an affection for."

At least Peter was being honest. We can talk all day about how much we love God, but never act on it. Peter eventually proved his love for the Lord. A leader in the early church and the writer of two New Testament epistles, he reportedly was crucified upside-down as a martyr for his faith.

How about you? Is your love for the Lord expressed more by your words than your actions?

Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries

Daily Caffeination 01/30/08

Empty Net Syndrome

"Simon Peter said, 'I'm going fishing.'

" 'We'll come, too,' they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night." -John 21:3

It was déjà vu time for the disciples. They had been fishing all night on the Sea of Galilee and hadn't caught anything. The Lord had risen. He already had appeared to some of the disciples. There were no clear marching orders, so they thought they would go back to what they knew how to d fish.

Now it was early in the morning, probably still dark. They saw a figure standing on the shore. He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?"

Throughout the Bible, God often asked probing questions when He wanted a confession. In the same way, Jesus was asking His disciples, "Did you catch anything? Have you been successful? Have things gone the way you had hoped they would go? Are you satisfied?"

Why did Jesus want them to admit their failure? So He could bring them to the place where they needed to be.

When they cast the net on the right side of the boat, as Jesus told them to, their net became so heavy with fish that they couldn't pull it in. The Lord was teaching the disciples an important lesson: Failure often can be the doorway to real success.

We need to come to that point in our lives as well. We need to come and say, "Lord, I am not satisfied with the way my life is going. I am tired of doing it my way. I want to do it your way." If you will come to God like that, He will extend His forgiveness to you. Then He will take your life and transform it in ways you couldn't imagine.

Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries

Daily Caffeination 01/29/08

The Time to Run

"Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened."-Luke 24:13--14

I find, as a Christian, that I need to be reminded of things that I sometimes forget. Have you noticed that you don't always know as much as you think you know? I have found that I often forget what I ought to remember, and I remember what I ought to forget.

In Luke 24, we find the story of two men who had forgotten some things they should have remembered. At one time, they had been passionate followers of Christ, but now their dreams had been destroyed as they watched Him die on a Roman cross. Even as He hung there, they were hoping for a last-minute miracle. But no miracle came. They felt discouraged and let down. So they decided to leave town.

Jesus said that He would be crucified, and after three days, would rise again. He spoke of it often. But they had forgotten. Now they wanted to put as much distance between them and the cross as possible.

We need to remember that every step away from the cross is a step in the wrong direction. When we are hurting or have failed spiritually, that is not the time to run away from the cross. That is the time to run to it.

Maybe something has happened in your life and you feel as though God has let you down. Maybe some tragedy has occurred. But God has not failed you. He has not forgotten you. Now is the time to run back to the cross. Now is the time to remember His Word and the promises it holds for you.

Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries

Daily Caffeination 01/28/08

A Pivotal Belief

"But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again." -1 Corinthians 15:20

I read about a person who wrote the following to a local newspaper advice columnist: Dear Uticus, Our preacher said on Easter that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that His disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered. The columnist replied, Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat of nine tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross, hang him in the sun for six hours, run a spear through his heart, embalm him, put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours, and see what happens. Sincerely, Uticus.

What sets the Christian faith apart from all other beliefs and religious systems in this world? It might come down to this: If you go to the tombs of any of the prophets on which world religions have been founded, you will find them occupied. But if you go to the tomb of Jesus Christ, you will find it empty, because He is alive. We serve a living Savior.

This is why the resurrection of Jesus is such an important message and also why it has been opposed so much throughout history. The devil knows that the Resurrection spells his defeat. He also knows that if you believe this great truth that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead, it can change your life.

Not only can it change your life, but putting your faith in Him also means that you will have a new, resurrected body someday. As believers, we have this great hope that we too will live again.

Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries

Some Pictures from Our Trip To Puerto Rico

We got back late Wednesday night from our spectacular trip to Puerto Rico, we spent time in San Juan (Isla Verde), Humacao (Palmas Del Mar), and Culerbra (Flamenco Beach). We spent this time with our best friends/family Mike and Sonja Colon and their two girls. We had such an amazing time in 70-90 degree weather before we had to return home to this frigid air of 30-40 degrees.

During our time we hung out with Mike's family who house has an extraordinary view, we went horseback riding along the beach, had a chance be on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, went snorkeling and saw a coral reef, went to the El Yunque rain forest and played in a water fall, went kayaking in the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo, played in the ocean on some spectacular beaches and ate some incredible food, mostly courtesy to Mike's dad.

Here are picture from our amazing trip...