This is getting fun!

Over the last several weeks we have seen many people open the Bible for the first time. It has been so encouraging to hear stories of people who have lived to this point and have never owned a Bible. People are telling stories about how this book is changing them. It is great!

This Sunday is going to be really cool. We will be baptizing at the Michael Dunn Center. This is the first time that we have done this on Sunday AM and the first time that anyone has ever been baptized at MDC. The greatest thing is that the first person who will be baptized is a service recipient from MDC who truly understands and has wanted to be baptized for a good while. A total of 5 people will be baptized on this Sunday and we are thrilled. Come and join us - Everyone is invited.

Baptism @ Kingston City Pool

Around 40 people gathered Sunday as we celebrated 7 people go through bapism at the Kingston City Pool. This was a great time to hear the stories of these 6 ladies and 1 young man. Each of them coming to the point of their life where they have asked God for that incredible rescue through Jesus. To tell there stories, they came and were baptized in the City Pool. According to the Parks and Rec department, this was the first baptism known in the history of Kingston to be held in the city pool. This made it even more cool!

You talking about my Mamma?

How do you feel about Mother's Day? Some people love this day and others wish the day was never on the calendar. I am not sure where you are on this but I am so glad that God values Women and desires to empower them with His grace.
We looked at four women of the Bible: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. After telling the stories of these ladies, I asked the crowd to make a judgement about each one but with one warning. Watch what you say because you may be talking about someones "Mama". The stories of these women are incredible and I encourage you to grab a Bible and read about them. But after you read their stories turn over to Matthew 1 and you will find something amazing about these ladies. Each are in the genealogy of Christ! Wow - God had a plan and He still has a plan to empower women to serve Him. This is great Hope! There are truly no perfect people in God's family. He has a plan for you. Let Him empower you with His grace. I hope that you will never be the same again. See you Sunday.

Forgive yourself

I truly enjoy hearing the stories of people at Roane Church. We have prayed for years to be a part of a church that is seeing transformation in people's lives. What can be overwhelming, is the magnitude of hurt and despair that people have carried for numerous years by themselves. It is great to hear and see how God is now using these people. We should come alongside one another and love as God has loved us. I am seeing people do that and am look forward in seeing people set free from stuff that they have held onto for years.

Sunday we looked at Peter in John 21. After Jesus met him where he was, Peter was challenged to Focus on his love for God, Focus on serving others, and trust God with everything in his life. I have come to understand that most people do love God but for whatever reason they are not in Church. Honestly I can understand this and this is the heart of Roane Church. I am excited to see people take past hurts, mistakes, poor decisions and turn them around in their walk with God. It is so encouraging to see people use their hurts as a way to share God's love with others.

For all of you out there who are trying to do this in this week, know that I am praying for you. I look forward in seeing each of you this Sunday. Bring your mom with you and we will have a good time.

Watching People Drive In to RC

Yesterday was great. It has been wonderful over the last several weeks to see so many new people coming to RC. We are doing our best to be faithful followers of Christ and to do and be about things that matter in our community. This has been the most fun that I have ever had in any church.We continued to look into forgiveness. This has been such a powerful series due to the fact that so many people have been hurt and deal with the bitterness that follows. We are encouraging people not to "drink the poison" of bitterness. Bitter people can not see their bitterness but only their hurt. Everyone else though can see the bitter person that this person has become. There is only one possible answer to keep from becoming bitter and that is to forgive.Forgiveness means that I fully release the offender from Any debt. It means fully cleaning Any record. It is a promise never to bring up the offense against The Person again (to God, to others, or to the offender)Does that mean that the person does not have to pay for what they have done? No! But it does mean that you are not the one to collect or put the person in your personal jail. We must turn over our hurts to God and let Him deal with it.Trusting in God is crucial and Entrusting hurts are vital in not becoming bitter.This is such a big topic and we will continue this Sunday to talk about Forgiven. I hope to see you there.

Forgiven

Forgiven – is the new series at Roane Church. Last week we looked into how God has forgiven us and set us free and now we continue this by approaching forgiveness that comes through our hurts and how we can forgive others. This is a tough subject to teach where many people will definitely think “if they only knew”. People have real hurts and pain but there is no reason for that hurt to make them into a bitter person. We are wading into this issue and asking people to simply consider where they are. Here are some questions to ask:

• I often replay in my mind the incident(s) that hurt me.
• When I think of a particular person or situation, I still feel angry.
• I try hard not to think about the person, event, or circumstance that caused me so much pain.
• I have a subtle, secret desire to see this person pay for what he or she did to me.
• Deep in my heart, I wouldn’t mind if something bad happened to the person(s) who hurt me.
• I often find myself telling others how this person has hurt me.
• A lot of my conversations revolve around this situation.
• Whenever his or her name comes up, I am more likely to say something negative than something positive about him or her.

I struggle in this area and have kept these questions for several years to bring out and put in front of God as a check in my life. I would encourage everyone in light of Easter to realize all that God has forgiven.

Matthew 18 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'

Spend time today looking at all the ways that He has forgiven you. Come to Roane Church and approach with us this idea of “forgiven” and all that it means. See you Sunday

Easter @ Roane Church

I love Easter! There is an excitement in the air and everyone is ready to come to church.

Romans 8:1 says 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

I feel that we all need to hear this verse and on this Sunday we came to understand that this is the reason that Jesus died and is now raised from the grave. We are free!!! Free from the past, Free to live our lives, and Free to live in love. This passage begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation. This is great!

If no one has told you today that they love you then I want to tell you that God loves you. This is the purpose of Easter!