Welcome, Esther Ruth!

Please welcome little miss

Esther Ruth Askew

to the Askew family!

Born: September 15, 2009

Time: 7:47pm

Weight: 10 lbs, 1 oz

Length: 21 1/2 inches

Congratulations to the proud parents, 

David and Natalie Askew

and to the proud grandparents,

David and Andra Warren!

get back up, son...

When our youngest son, Seth, was a little boy we made a great discovery. He was very fast. I mean, extremely fast, and he could run forever, it seemed. He would line up in the track events for his elementary school and beat all the other kids by at least 10 yards in every race. I mean fast. I always wanted to encourage him, so I would say a prayer with him at the starting line and then run to the finish line to wait for him. When he would cross the tape he would continue sideways to the fence around the track and come up and hug me and I would say, “Great race! You are awesome!” He would smile and go back and get his blue ribbon, and then we would go out for Dairy Queen. I loved watching him run.

We went to one particular race in the third grade and there were kids there from other schools ready to beat one boy -- Seth. This race was for 2 miles and he took off and went over the hill ahead of everyone. We had done the prerace prayer and then went to the finish line to wait for Seth. As the kids came up over the other hill we noticed something strange…no Seth. The first ten runners came in and Seth was not with them. Just when we thought something was majorly wrong, here he came. He was running and passing kids like they were standing still and came in18th place. We ran to him and told him, “Great race!” and noticed he was crying. In the middle of the race, out of the sight of the judges and the parents, there was a place where the kids would double back and pass each other. At that point, two boys tripped Seth, sending him down the hillside, and as others ran by, Seth fell back to last. Injured and hurting he got back up and started running as hard as he could and went from 85^th to 18^th. The other boys who tripped him finished first and second -- we could only imagine what would have happened if he had not been tripped.

That was not the point. The point was, he raced. He competed for the prize and even though he had a pitfall or two, he finished as strong as he could. He didn’t give up. I learned a lot about my son, myself, and of course, my Lord that day. We may stumble and we may fall, but don’t give up! Keep on racing. Keep on running. Remember what 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says...

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others,I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Some day when we finish the race of this life we will all cross the finish line and run into the arms of our Father and He will say, “Great Race! You are Awesome!” Let’s get ready for that day by running the race He has set before us with all the passion we can. If you fall, God will say, “Get back up, son, get back up, daughter, and keep running.”
David Warren
Worship Pastor

Welcome, Addison Grace!

Please welcome little miss

Addison Grace Warren

to the Warren family!

Born: September 6, 2009

Time: 7:35 am

Weight: 6 lbs, 14 oz

Length: 19 inches

Congratulations to the proud parents,

Ty and Dana Warren

and to the proud grandparents,

David and Andra Warren!

What's a new song?

In leading worship at different places for different people I have noticed that certain worship songs are known by many and some songs are only known by a few. I will get before a group that is not used to my worship leading and I will start singing a song that is well known by our church, but the confused look and non-singing shows me those people haven’t heard that song. Of course, my heart’s desire is that all would lift up their voices to the Lord, but they do that easier if they are familiar with the song I am leading. Some songs are easy to learn and the chorus repeats and it makes the song one that everyone can sing. Some songs are very difficult to learn and they usually remain a solo piece or one that a small ensemble group can sing as special music. The main thing is that we lift up His name and focus on Him and not ourselves.

In so many ways, it’s not the song title, but the stirring of a heart drawn to God that causes a song to come alive as God’s people lift their thanks and worship to Him. The Holy Spirit makes that song an instrument of praise that God can use to exalt Him. The age of a song is only when it was written, not when and only when God can use it. Songs are timeless, much like God who stirred the hearts of men and women to write them. Psalm 98 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things, his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” The songs of the saints are songs that are expressions of our great love for God, in light of His great love for us. The new song is the constant refreshed attitude that makes every moment something to be lived to the fullest. It doesn’t matter if it’s the latest greatest, or the goldest oldest. What does matter is who you are when you are singing it.

A life that God changes is a life that is in a process of growth. That growth is full of constant fresh responses to God and His wonderful grace and mercy. That generates something in us that makes every song we sing a new song. When we worship with hearts that are changed by Him, the end result is acceptable worship that goes well beyond song age and makes every song NEW! We will still have our likes and our dislikes, but a true worshipper doesn’t dwell on those things as much as he or she dwells on the Lord who gives the song.

Sing a new song this week as we sing songs you have sung before again and again. The songs will no longer be just familiar, they will be new.

Worship Him and Him alone,

David Warren

Worship Pastor

double the joy, double the love

Years ago Wrigley Candy Co. had a slogan for DoubleMint Gum and it was as follows, “Double Your pleasure, Double Your fun with Doublemint Gum.” That gum had two different flavors of mint combined to form the unique taste they were pushing at the time. I don’t think people really thought about what the ad said after a while; they just liked the ring of it. But the truth was they had a found a brand new taste that was doubling the amount of mint that their competitors were distributing. They took the market by storm and people were drawn to DoubleMint Gum without knowing all that it took to make it new and unique. In other words, the truth of the science of the gum and all the sacrifice was forgotten and reduced to a mere slogan.

Year after year we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with wonderful slogans that stir our hearts and cause us to reflect on God, family, church and the brevity of life. Those slogans, as good as they are, can never capture just what happened in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. The Son of God was born…not a favorite Christian slogan, but a truth. It happened! God was born to a human in a humble setting, probably a hay stall or manger…not a favorite story, but a truth. It happened! Because of that our joy and our love should be doubled, or tripled, or whatevered. Like DoubleMint Gum we have a great opportunity to “double our pleasure, double our fun” but our slogan is double the joy, double the love. Take note of 1 John 1:1-4 (The Message) below.

Our love for God should be premium as we think about the upcoming Christmas celebration. Our joy should be doubled as we absorb all that God did through the birth of Jesus, the Christ. Listen to John 1:14 (The Message): “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” Instead of“there goes the neighborhood”, it should be “love your neighbor like you love yourself.”

Get the real meaning of Christmas. Not this year, not this month, not this week, not this day, NOW! Jesus is IN THE HOUSE. Let Him double your joy, which will double your love. That kind of love carries the message to the masses and changes lives, and that is what we are all about.

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

1 John 1:1-4 (MSG)

GPS: God's Perfect Spirit

Moving in the right direction is a major priority in a believer’s life. We use words like following God’s will, seeking His direction and others to emphasize just how much going the right way makes a difference for each of us. As a Christian it is imperative that we seek His Way, so that we match up with God’s direction for our life. God has an awesome way of giving us direction through the Holy Spirit. When we study God’s Word, interact with God through prayer and counsel with other believers an amazing thing happens, we start getting signals from God’s Perfect Spirit. This isn’t the only time that happens, but it seems to be an optimum time for God to reveal Himself to us in a very personal and unique way.

When Jesus promised the Holy Spirit in John 14 He shared that those who love Him will FOLLOW His ways by obeying His commands. Then He goes on to tell us that the Holy Spirit will come and be the Counselor sent in His name. That Counselor will teach all things and remind them of everything He has taught and said. Why do we need the Spirit to remind us of everything He has taught and said? Because we lose our way. We forget those things that we must remember to continue moving in the right direction.

When we lose direction it is because we are not following God’s GPS, or God’s Perfect Spirit, and the end result is confusion and fear. In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I give you, I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” He gives us the right direction and that direction is filled with His peace. The world gives us direction and that direction is imperfect and compromised. Tap into God’s direction and God will show you His way, and His way is perfect.

Thank you, Music Camp 2009!

Another GPS, God’s Plan of Salvation, was seen this past Sunday through the musical presentation of the children who attended Music Camp 2009. All were blessed as our children shared the salvation message through song and drama led by Allison Jordan and her leadership team. Approximately 850 people were in attendance, and the witness on the campus of UNCW by our children was felt by all. Please tell Allison, the workers and the children how much that effort meant to you and how much it inspired you. Music Camp 2009: a great success and a great time of spiritual growth for all involved. Thank you to all and praise God!
David Warren
Worship Pastor

pound for pound...

I got on my scale to check my weight a few weeks ago and when I got on, I thought, “Wow, I‘ve really lost the weight!” I had actually lost about 10 lbs and after jumping up and down for about a minute I noticed something funny on my scale. The starting point of the scale had mysteriously gotten bumped back so that it was 10 lbs. lighter than the true weight. Well, of course, I stopped the jumping part and got on my hands and knees and readjusted the starting point to 0. After doing that I crawled back up on the scales and read the figure. I had still lost 1 lb, but the readjustment to reality was very eye opening and the falsehood about my actual weight loss couldn’t be denied.

Sometimes I think we do that in our Christian walk. We coast along and things are going pretty normal. We don’t really step out in faith much, or dig deeper into God’s Word, or serve in a progressive ministry…we are just kind of here. We look at ourselves through our own eyes and everything looks pretty good, even better. That’s when we get the false reality that coasting is okay and just making due is acceptable, and well, you get the picture.

Then we make the mistake of checking the standard on the scales of God’s plan for us and suddenly reality hits. Instead of the finely tuned machine we think we are, we have become fat and idle and didn’t even know it. If we could only measure our Christian walk by how big we have become. In reality, God uses us more when we become smaller and He becomes bigger in our life.

So, pound for pound, how big do you perceive yourself to be? Be sure and dial in to God’s standard before you look at the scale. Then you will be able to realistically approach the throne when spending time with God in worship. He is always growing us to be more like Him, but we need to see just how little we need to become so He can grow us up in His grace and power.


The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren