Launching Out

We are getting excited about moving into our new location at 769 N Houston Levee Rd. Cordova, Tn. We have been working around the clock and getting things ready for the church to move in. The new building is going to be such a blessing, as it will now allow us to implement so many of the dreams and ideas that God has placed in our hearts to do as a church. If you are visiting our web-site or reading this blog, I would like to personally invite you out to our first service in the new location 2/15/09 @ 10:15 a.m. I look forward to being able to meet you. If you have small children they will have a great time in Kid Connection where they will learn about God in a fun inviting atmosphere. Also,a nursery is provided for your infants.

Hoping to see you there,

Jake

Pure and Undefiled Religion

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: To visit orphans and widows in thier time of trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

I have often said that you don't have to go to seminary to understand the majority of the Bible. God is very good at relating Himself and explaining His desires for us in practical ways. The above scripture is a great example of this. This has always been one of my favorite scriptures because it helps me to put into action the kingdom of God that is inside of me in a real world setting. Some people need to only hear the Gospel, others need to see the Gospel in action.

This Sunday morning we closed the doors of the church house and actually went out into our community and became the church by going over to an elderly widows home in our community and cleaning up her yard. This has been a dream of mine for years to have a Sunday morning when we would shed our Sunday clothes and pews for a little bit of hard work to make a difference in someones life. I was so proud of our people as everyone showed up for the event and worked extremely hard. What a blessing it was when the elderly lady came out after we were finished with tears in her eyes. I thought to myself. This morning we truly had church!

Jake

Happy New Year

Just wanted to extend my best to everyone this New Year 2009. I have been getting revelation on the fact that God is for me and not against me, and His greatest desire is to see His children succeed. After all, that is what any good father would want for his children. So I encourage all that would read this, to begin to focus on the Good things that God has in store for you this 2009. I heard a great man once say that "you become what you focus on" I am determined to focus my thoughts and efforts this year on the promises of God for my life. Because, the promises of God are yes and amen. May your new year be blessed with happiness, grace, and peace.

Jake

Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours

Christmas, one of my favorite times of the year. The lights, the sounds, the colors, sitting around a fireplace on a cold winters night (Really cold in Memphis). It seems however, that to many of us Christmas takes on a whole new meaning in times like these. It gets our focus off of ourselves and causes us to be greatful and thankful for the little things in life. Like a roof over our head, food on the table, being able to pay the mortgage on time. In good times these things are often taken for granted, but I am determined that this year I am going to turn my attention on the things that really matter. My relationship with Christ, my marraige, and my children. When I think about Christmas I cannot help but think about John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. The word that stands out to me most in that very familiar passage is the word Gave. I think that this describes one of the most essential attributes of God that most of all He is a giver, even to the point that He would give His precious Son for a people (us) who were undeserving of the gift. With that said I want to challenge you this Christmas to focus not so much on getting, but on giving to those a little less fortunate than you, or maybe just lend a hand to someone who can use some help. May you and yours be richly blessed this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas,

The Claunch's

Uncivilized

Civilized. I suppose one could use this as one of the words that describes human history. Our quest to become a civilized people. Which in and of itself is not that bad, a desirable pursuit to further advance oneself in society is certainly and admirable thing.

Recently I was reflecting on the passage of Scripture in Luke 18 where Jesus rebuked the disciples after they had rebuked the little children who were wanting to hang out with Jesus. The Disciples were under the impression that Jesus had no time for the affairs of children and their childish ways. However, on the contrary Jesus took the opportunity to teach these "Men of God" a valuable lesson about his kingdom.

Let the little children come unto me and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. Luke 18:17

Pretty strong words I would say. Which brings me to this. I was reflecting on one of my favorite movies last week during Rocky week on TV the other day. Rocky 3 is probably my personal favorite of the series. In the movie Rocky is getting frustrated with his trainer Mick because he feels that Mick has been intentionally carrying him through his fights so he wouldn't loose his title. After an argument Mick looks Rocky in the eyes and says this " The same thing has happened to you that happens to every great fighter - You became civilized-

When I think of the Luke 18 verse I cant help but think of my own children, my 8 year old with not a care in the world that thinks he is invincible, or my 5 year old daughter who thinks she is a princess and one day she is going to live in Cinderellas castle. Then I can't help but think about the fact that Jesus said this is what all of us must be like in order to truly inherit the kingdom of God. Just like children - Free of worry, Free to dream, Believing that anything is possible, not afraid to try something new, not afraid to get undignified or maybe one word would best describe all of that. Uncivilized

So next time you approach God remember to get a little bit uncivilized, just be you, not the fake you that has built up over years and years of trying to be someone that your not. Because, remember God loves you for you, and He likes it best when you are just yourself.

Caught in the Middle

Recently I was reflecting on the story of the disciples of Christ as they set sail across the Sea to Bethsaida. The Bible tells us that Jesus sent them ahead of Him while He went up on the mountain to pray, It had been a long day for Christ the day prior to this event and solitude was sought but not found as He looked out and saw His disciples in the -middle- of a storm in the -middle- of the sea. When I read this passage I can't help but think of Jesus saying "they are in trouble again" (my own thought). The Bible does tell us that He obviously went out to rescue them, teach them a lesson on faith, and show them that He had control, even over the forces of nature. The part that I have always found curious is the verse that says (vs 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him and were troubled.)

There are many different lessons about our faith that we can learn from this, but the one that has always stood out to me is the fact of knowing that God is always in the middle of my storms even when I can't see Him. It says that they were in the Middle of the sea and obviously they were in the middle of the storm, the middle of any body of water is almost always the deepest part and the middle of any storm is almost always the most violent, and in life this is where most of us want to throw in the towel and just quit, much like the disciples did. They were so distracted by the storm that they almost missed their deliverer mistaking Him for a ghost.

There is something to be said about this and the fact that so many times in life we get so distracted about all of the things going on around us we forget that God is right beside us, waiting for us to recognize his presence and power in our lives, so that He can began to take control of the situation and subdue even our greatest problems.

So next time you find yourself in the middle of one of life's storms, remember that the creator of the ends of the earth, the everlasting God is right beside you waiting to move on your behalf.

Let God Drive

I am in the middle of a sermon series right now that I have entitled What Does the Lord Require of Us. Recently, I ministered that among the many things the Lord requires, mostly it is for us to have faith in Him "Without faith it is impossible to please God" Ahhhh Faith. It seems these days in these uncertain times, that the word faith takes on a new meaning.

I am reminded of one of my fishing experiences when I was about 16 years of age. As I have mentioned before I love to fish and so does my dad who of course, taught my brothers and I how to fish. On this particular fishing trip we found ourselves about 5 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River out in the Gulf of Mexico at one of our favorite offshore oil rigs where we were loading the boat with snapper (at night- we would frequently spend the night on the boat as it is a great time to fish during the summer). We suddenly began to notice some lightning that was being generated by a thunderstorm that was barreling down on our position, you certainly don't want to be caught in 800 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico in a bad thunderstorm at night. So my dad decided it best to head back for the river. That area of the gulf can be very confusing at times because of all of the lights generated form the many oil rigs and the ships coming in and out of the river, so needless to say it was a pretty scary ride back, as a matter of fact about half way there I found myself on the floor of the boat in tears begging my dad to stop. For a second there I just wanted to push dad out of the way, grab the wheel and turn around, even though dad kept on telling me that it would be O.K. that he knew where he was going. Low and behold he was right and he put us dead center of the river and brought us back to safety. I was so relieved and remember thinking of how smart my dad was.

I said all of this to say that, life is just like this at times. I have found myself so many times on the stormy seas of life wanting to take the wheel from God and try to fix things myself, because I am not sure that I totally trust Him. This is faith, trusting God when trusting Him is hard, when we can't see nor do we know where we are going. Remember the Bible says that Faith is the evidence of things hoped for and the substance of things not seen. Sometimes we can't see the evidence, but it is in these moments that we have to trust our heavenly father that indeed He knows where He is going and what He is doing.