Pastor James’ Blog

This morning some of us ventured to Bodcaw, Arkansas to pick up some tables and an antique pulpit from Bodcaw #1 Baptist Church.  This church was the first church I ever pastored and we spend five great years there.  Cindy’s dad also pastored that church when she was a baby.  The pulpit that they have given us had been stored away for many years.  It was made by some of the members of the church many, many years ago.  The pulpit was used in the “old” building for many years and it’s been many years since it was used – so it’s probably 75 or so years old. The old pulpit has heard many sermons, endured and enjoyed many revival meetings and seen many glorious times in that old church. If it could talk it would tell of when “so and so” got saved, or “so and so” surrendered to the ministry, or “so and so” joined the church. It would tell of funerals, weddings and many historic moments in the life of that church.  When I was first asked if I wanted it I immediately said YES!  This pulpit is a precious keepsake from the first church I ever pastored.   We are going to have it “re-done” and “refinished” and use it from time to in our church services.  It’s a piece of history and i’m excited to get it.   I can’t wait to see it being used at Life House!  Thanks Bodcaw #1 for sharing your precious gifts with us!  Pastor James

My post yesterday must have stirred somebody to pray!  Just today God has already begun answering some prayer items for us!!  This morning I went to the post office and there were two checks in the mail. One from a partner church and one from a lady who attends a church of a different denomination. The total of the two checks was almost $3000.00.  WOW! GOD IS SO AMAZING!!!!  Now we only like $9,995.oo to go to be able to buy the van that we recently saw. You say “NO WAY” – I say – WAYYYYYY with GOD!!!! With God all things are possible! PRAY!!!

Our church family totally enjoyed being able to give out Thanksgiving boxes to 60 needy people this year and doing that only made us want to do it more!  We were praying and hoping for a way to have another opportunity to give out some food to the needy in our area for the Christmas season and it looks God is making that possible.  A preacher that attends Weight Watchers saw me this morning ( I dropped by the Center to do our staff Weigh In) and when he started to leave he asked me about our new ministry and said, “COULD YOU USE SOME CHICKEN”?  DUH – I’m a Baptist aren’t I? LOL   Well, come to find out he had some “connections” to a pastor and church that had been given a huge (12,000 pounds) of frozen chicken from a major chicken producer. They had already received 10,000 pounds of chicken and with the help of several churches gave it out to the needy.  The man gave our names to the pastor and the pastor contacted me this morning asking if we would be willing to take some chicken “off of his hands” and I said YES!  There were only two requirements: 1. That it be given to people that need it or will use it.  2. That Jesus be given the credit for it. We can give it through our ministry but in the name of Jesus. Anyone see anything wrong with that? I DON’T!!!!  So it looks like we will be the recipients of some chicken in the near future.  Glad it’s not cooked already or I might think I had died and gone to heaven!!! (Just joking for those of you with no sense of humor!! LOL) .   Praise the Lord for His provision. Praise Him for another chance to reach the community. Praise Him for it all!  

Lastly – we praise Him for the service tonight. We had a great crowd of children, youth and adults at Life Group tonight. Thanks to those who are stepping up to work and minister. Thank the Lord that we are seeing the children who once acted like they had never been in church or a structured environment begin to act like they have been in church now!  Many of the children, youth and adults bless my heart to hear them say, “my church”, “my pastor”, “our church” and such. There is a sense that they have now accepted the ministry and it’s in their heart. We thank God for those who have been reached and pray that MANY MANY more can be reached in 2009.  God has been so good to us!  To Him be glory!  My heart is full and excited about all that God is doing at Life House in our lives. It’s a blessing to serve Him.  Please continue to pray for us and contact us when you get a chance. Also, if you want – post a comment or two. It’s always a blessing to “HEAR” from those who are reading the web site and blog. We know that more and more people are reading from the web stats that our webmaster is getting. THANKS and post a comment if you will. Take care and  MERRY CHRISTmas to you!    Pastor James

It’s hard to believe that Life House Church and Ministries is almost 8 months old and that we are going to be marching into a new year of ministry in a few short weeks.  Right now I am spending time, praying, planning and looking toward 2009.  We have seen many victories and blessings and there are more ahead. We are so thankful for all that God has done in and through our sponsor church, partner churches and membership at Life House. So many people have prayed, worked and given sacrificially to get this new ministry off the ground.  We believe that God wants to use Life House Church in 2009 to continue the work HE has begun in College Hill. Pray for us. Pray that I will have wisdom, sensitivity to the leadership of the Lord and that God would show me the direction to lead this new church plant. Pray for God to save souls, add to our church family by baptism and letter and for our members to grow in the Word and in stability. 

Pray for the Life House Church family as we seek to get out into the community in 2009 and let Jesus shine among the people. There are so many hurting, sick and dying people in our area who need the Lord. There are families who are struggling and many who are falling apart – who need to know that Jesus is the answer. Pray that we can impact College Hill and the surrounding area like never before for the Lord!  If you or your church feels led – contact us and make plans to join us for one of our community outreach events or even a “mission trip” to help us reach souls this year.  We would be glad to have you do mission work with us. 

Also, pray for God to continue to meet our needs finacially. We are a baby church and it will take 2/3 years (maybe longer but our goal is 3 at most) to be able to be a self support and stable congregation.  We begin buying our present building in January 2009 and we are excited about that!  The building has been appraised at a much greater value than we will be buying it for.  Our thanks to the owner,  who doesn’t want to MAKE money off of the building, but rather just recoup the amount he paid for it many years ago. He has a heart for College Hill and wanted someone with a heart for the Lord and for souls to buy the building – THAT’S US! We are praying that we can “pay it off” in record time so that the monthly amount will not hinder us growing and doing ministry in the area.  We are buying it for $140,000.oo – it is appraised at about 7 times that much.  Pray that God would help us pay it off ASAP!   Maybe you want to help us by giving a end of the year, tax deductible gift – if so contact us!  You would be helping a new church gain financial freedom to do more ministry in 2009 than we could ever dream!  Pray about it.  All gifts toward the building (big or small) will get us that much closer to being able to pay it off!

We also are in need of a good used/new church van to be able to pick up children and adults in our local neighborhoods to get them to church. We are a “walking” neighborhood so when it’s cold or gets dark early our local people have a hard time getting to Life House. We know of a good used van for $12,000.oo and we are praying that if God wants us to have it that HE will provide the funds like He did recently when we bought the empty lot next door. HE CAN and HE WILL if it’s HIS WILL. Pray!!!

NOTE: I’m sure that some will say – “WHY NOT HAVE FUNDRAISERS TO PAY OFF THE BUILDING?”  We began Life House Church with the idea that we would never hold “fundraisers” to buy or purchase anything.  We want to be a debt free church and the only debt we hope to incur is when buying property  or building. Even at that we do not want to resort to fundraisers, because  our community already has the idea that “all that churches and preachers want is your money”.  We don’t want them to ever see or hear that from Life House. We don’t even “take up” offerings in our services – we have an offering box available so that our members can place their tithes and offerings  in it and guests can give as they feel led. 

2009 is going to be a great year for Life House! Pray for us! Come see us! Invite me to come speak to your church or group (at no cost) and come see us when you can!  It’s a blessing to serve the Lord in College Hill and to be one of your North American Mission Board Missionaries!   …’till later… Pastor James

This year Life House Church will have a Christmas Eve “BAKE AND TAKE” cookie drop in our local area for the people who are working at area businesses on Christmas eve.  Hardly anyone I know enjoys having to be at work on Christmas eve – but they do it to serve others.  This year we will sign up to BAKE cookies and bring them and then a group will go out on Christmas eve evening and TAKE them to the area gas station attendants, nursing home nurses and workers, grocery store workers and ect. We will give a generous helping of cookies, a card thanking them for serving others on Christmas Eve and an invitation to Jesus and Life House Church. SIMPLE.  Wanna help?  We have several of our members at Life House who read the blog daily and we have several from area churches who do also. If anyone reading the blog would like to “bake” some cookies for this event – please call and let me know, come by and sign up at the welcome table at Life House or let me know by posting a comment on here.  The cookies don’t have to be home made. They can be  just a favorite recipe or even those you cut and bake.  I’m excited about how this might encourage and impact the lives of others in our area with a simple act of kindness.  WANNA HELP? LET ME KNOW!  Pastor James

Christmas time is always filled with decorations, food, family, fellowship and all of the trimmings but for many people it’s the giving and getting of gifts that really is the big “hit” of the day.  So we gather together, eat, celebrate Jesus birth and give EACH OTHER gifts?  Hmm…somethings missing here.  We aren’t there to celebrate your birthday or my birthday — are we?  Then why do we give gifts to each other?  I know – the standard answer is because the wise men brought gifts we do the same…or…to show the love of Jesus for mankind…or any of those other “theological” explanations.  Before you label me as a “SCROOGE” – I’m not. I’m not against gift giving if that’s what you want to do…but in all of your gift giving WHAT GIFT are you giving Jesus?  What are you giving HIM for HIS birthday?  There are all kinds of things one might give. You could buy a child a gift and give it in Jesus name – anonymously on your part giving credit to Jesus. You could pay the water, electric, gas bill for one month for a struggling neighbor – (the utilities companies will let you do this if you have their name and address and the person will  never know who did it.).  There are thousands of ways you can impact your world and give in the name of Jesus and it doesn’t have to cost alot.  I challenge you to pray and ask the Lord to lay something ”out of the box” on your heart to do for HIM this Christmas. Who knows what it will be but you can’t go wrong giving in Jesus name!  I CHALLENGE YOU!  Pastor James

Most of would say YES but yesterday we got to see how the Lord could restore what the devil had stolen!  When we first moved to our home in College Hill I had a bicycle that I enjoyed from time to time parked under the carport. After a month or so of living in the neighborhood, one night it was stolen. We were saddened but not destroyed about it.  We prayed several times that the Lord would convict whoever stole it and help them to see that stealing is wrong and hopefully work on their hearts to bring them to Him if they weren’t saved.  WELL………….almost a year later…….   I got out of school yesterday after subbing at Fairview School and noticed on my phone that Cindy had called and left me a voice mail. It said something to the effect that I need to call her because she had something funny to tell me. When I called her she asked me about my bicycle. She said that when she was gone in the early afternoon that a bicycle was on our carport when she got home.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I got home – it was MY bicycle!!!  Whoever had stolen it almost a year before had returned it!  Now we will never know who it was, or what made them return it, but we are praying that God is doing a work in their hearts.  Pray with us!  We are excited that for some reason the person felt the need to take back what they had stolen.  God never ceases to amaze me! 

Just thought I would share that with you…   Pastor James

No it doesn’t mean “rest and relaxation”!  It means Review and Renew meeting.  All Life House MEMBERS are invited to join Pastor James & Mrs. Cindy for a meal and a time of REVIEWing all that God has done in the past 7 and half months, look over 2009 budget, discuss upcoming events and outreach ideas for 2009 and also RENEWING  our commitment as Christians and as Members of Life House Church.  Being a member of a local church isn’t just a privilege – it is also a responsibility. When you are a member of a local body of believers there are things expected of you. We will have a great time of fellowship, review and renew and our church family is invited.  IF you are someone who has gone through the membership course and have become a member of Life House we invite you to come join us Saturday evening, December 13, 2008 at 6 p.m. for a great meal and a time of R & R.  We request that only adults and older youth attend this meeting because it will entail discussion and seeking input and direction for the new year. We can’t wait to see all that God is going to do at Life House in the new year! Pray for us!  Pastor James

    It’s shining and anyone passing by on East Street can clearly see that “LIFE HOUSE CHURCH” is on the corner! What am I talking about? Well….for a few months our new sign faces (Life House Ministries) has been in place but the marquee part of the sign was still the old faded yellow one that had been in the sign forever before our new ministry came into existence.  After several months God gave us the marquee faces and the letters so that we could “SHINE” on East Street.  Last night was the first night to have it lit up, bright and white and clearly shining for all to see!  You can’t help but read the BOLD BLACK letters that announce that LIFE HOUSE CHURCH is there and what time we have services. This is a great addition to our ministry. Thanks to all who worked yesterday on the scaffolding to get it up and looking so good!  God is going to use it for His glory!  Have a great day and let your light shine too – not just your sign!   Pastor James

This morning during my devotion time – a phrase that i’ve read hundreds of times seemed to jump right off the page. Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,…”  It doesn’t just say “look at Jesus” or “look to Jesus” but rather FIX OUR EYES on Jesus!!!  Sometimes we get our eyes focused on the wrong things. Sometimes I lose my focus – when I am called to keep my eyes FIXED on JESUS!!  When I am “FIXED” on Jesus things in my world look much different than when I am fixed on ME. When I am FIXED on JESUS nothing that comes my way will totally disrupt my life.  When the winds and waves of life come my way I can trust that Jesus is still in control. Notice that the verse encourages us to DO SOMETHING: LET US – FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS. That tells me that it’s a choice. Every day I need to make the choice to FIX MY EYES on Jesus – not people, not the government, not the economy – ON JESUS!!  When I am FIXED on JESUS – nothing can shake my faith, cause me to quit or keep me down! AMEN!!!  GLORY!!!!!   Whew – I am ’bout to preach myself into a shouting fit! LOL – Anyways – thought I would share that little blessing I found this morning with all of you who read the blog.  KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS TODAY!  Pastor James

but 2008 is almost over and 2009 is almost here!  Where has the year gone?   It’s hard to believe that Life House has been in existence for almost 8 months as a mission!!  What a “almost-year” we’ve had!  God has been so good to us!!  In that short time we’ve seen a building that was in horrible shape – shape up, God provide time and again for the financial, physical and spiritual needs of the new work and at least seven saved during that time.  We’ve grown from 14 to about the mid 70′s on a weekly basis. We’ve seen God provide for the money to pay for carpet, renovation material and  items,musical  instruments, monthly utilities, office supplies, building materials, double sign face and sign marquee, items needed for food outreach ministries, and even the land next door (paid in full!).  We’ve seen a girls ministry, ladies ministry, jail ministry, senior adult ministry, after school open gym ministry, children’s ministry and much more begin during this short time.  GOD IS SO GOOD - WE JUST CAN’T PRAISE HIM ENOUGH!! 

WHAT’S AHEAD IN 2009???? —— well – not gonna share it just yet – but God has some great plans in store for us as a church. In the next couple of weeks we will be unveiling the vision for 2009 and it’s ministry opportunities. Begin now praying that God would open doors and close doors as He wishes to direct us.  It’s exciting being a part of what God is doing at Life House.  Pray for us and expect to hear great things  – because GOD is GREAT!!  HE is AMAZING! HE alone deserves the praise for it all!!  Can you tell I’m excited? We SHOULD BE!  Pastor James