JeffCranstondotcom

Heaven

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. 
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
- Revelation 21:4, NKJV

In a few weeks I'll be preaching two messages on Heaven.  I want to make sure that I am addressing questions people are asking.  So how about it?  What question or questions would you like to see addressed?  What have you always wondered about?  What have you wanted to know?

Drop me a question or two under the "Comments" section here on my blog and I'll do my best to answer your questions accurately and biblically.

Thanks!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I read a number of blogs every day.  Many are written by pastors, some by Christian leaders, and others have to do with sports, business and news.  Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C. is one of my favorite bloggers.  Every time I read him I learn something; his thoughts add value to my life. On his post today he shared the following and it challenged me.  Maybe it will challenge you as well.  Let's walk our gratitude out this year!  Steven writes,

"Last year I challenged our people to express gratitude to someone who had made a worthy investment in their lives. In honor of Thanksgiving week, I’m issuing the challenge again this year. 1.    Pick someone in your life (the first person who comes to mind is probably the correct choice) who has blessed you-whether they know it or not. 2.    Send a letter, email, or post a blog telling them thanks. 3.    Be specific in what you thank them for.  Specificity is more meaningful than profundity.  You don’t have to write outstanding prose.  But if you chronicle in detail some ways they’ve blessed your life, they’ll savor every word. 4.    If possible, do it before the sun goes down tonight. Gratitude is one of my core values.  It goes hand in hand with generosity. Your words of gratitude may turn someone’s entire week-month-year around. You’d be surprised. There’s got to be more to Thanksgiving than putting on 3 ½ pounds. Go be grateful today."

Monday Morning Reflections

Good morning!

- Yesterday was a great day on both campuses … celebrating the Lord’s Supper in Bluffton was special and the worship at the HHI campus hit it out of the park!
- We are sending almost 600 Operation Christmas Child boxes out from both campuses.  Way to go, LowCountry.  You rock!
- Imagine the delight and joy hundreds of children will receive this Christmas because of you … and, to top it off, they will hear a gospel presentation in their language at a level they can understand.
- I’m grateful God has given us One Way to be reconciled to Him - only through His Son, Jesus.
- Making the announcement regarding LCC’s current financial picture was very difficult for me.  We made the announcement on both campuses.
- If you missed the announcement, it’s not a pretty one; we’re facing a pretty bleak picture right now.  We have not been immune from the economic downturn, unfortunately.
- One thing I’ll never understand: why people refuse to obey God and tithe.
- Darkness always makes a great backdrop for God’s glory to be displayed!
- My friend, Carl Martin, at CrossPoint Church in Bluffton is a great guy … and not only because he played on Clemson’s national championship team.  He’s planting a strong church where it’s needed – right here in the LowCountry. 
- I want to do all I can to help him.  I want us to do all we can to help them.  Let’s begin with our support this Sunday night … They are offering a great gift to our community.  This coming Sunday, November 30^th at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Place in front of Sea Turtle Cinemas, the 150-voice choir from First Baptist Church – North Spartanburg with full orchestra will present a multi-media presentation of both traditional and contemporary Christmas music.  This is going to be awesome and is a perfect event to invite friends and family.
- Guess what I received for my birthday?  Guitar Hero!  I am rocking out and have made it to the “hard” level but only playing bass guitar so far. My lead guitar work needs some serious help.  Em and Tiff kick my butt on most songs.
- This probably puts me on par with most fifth graders!
- Lauren comes home tomorrow!  I’ll see what kind of guitar chops she has.
- My Ravens won big yesterday over the Eagles and the Pack plays tonight…can’t wait.
- It’s now or never time with the Tigers.  The biggest game of our year will be this Saturday against our hated rivals, the G********.  Oh, yeah, we’ll be there.  If we lose, it was our bowl game.  If we win, we get to go to one of the lowest bowls out there.  Been a rough year to be a Tiger fan…is this how USC fans feel every year?!
- Prediction: we will beat UNC in basketball this year! (That should elicit a few responses!)
- Working on the rest of the Foundations series this week…not looking forward to preaching on Hell, knowing already that the spiritual warfare will be cranked up that week.  I am looking forward to preaching about Heaven!
- I sometimes say some really stupid things while preaching.  I did it again yesterday.  Preaching three times in a row … you get punchy!  Todd had a moment as well yesterday.
- Our Hilton Head campus begins twom a.m. services on December 7^th!  And Bluffton begins a Saturday night service and two Sunday morning services in January.  We’re still working on the start weekend.
- Start inviting your friends.  Let them know!
- Our series in January is going to be on the church as we look at how God birthed her and gave her life in the book of Acts.  We’ll also examine what I believe God is calling us to as LCC over the next couple of years.  I’m totally pumped about sharing it!

Why Have Multiple Services? Part Two

                The key word here is, "Why?"  Why offer multiple services?  Why aren't three services on Sunday morning, or why isn't one on Sunday morning, good enough?  And why offer something on Saturday night?  I thought only Catholic churches had a corner on that market.  Here's why: 

                First, we can reach people we are not normally reaching now in our Sunday morning services.  Did you realize that in America, approximately eighty million people work on Sundays?  They too need an opportunity to worship and hear the teaching of God's Word.  People who are just plain uncomfortable in a Sunday morning service may be more apt to attend a Saturday night service.  People can be incorporated into the life and ministry of our fellowship; in fact, adding this service allows us to increase our ministry potential in the same facility. 

                Second, we can increase our seating and parking space without building something else.

                Third, adding this service increases our ability to impact our community, draw people to Christ, and provide them with small group opportunities to grow in their faith.

                Lastly, we can provide more options.  Let’s face it, people desire choices in their cars, cereals, MP3players and TV programs.  When LCC provides worship on one day of the week, excluding those who cannot attend on a Sunday, we are saying, "Fit our Sunday schedule or don't come to our church."  The more options we provide, the more people we can introduce to Jesus.  Think of the potential!  Doctors, nurses, food and beverage workers, the guest services industry, those in retail, or those working a second or third job to make ends meet, can have a church in which to worship God!  I am excited; the potential to reach people we are not presently reaching is huge!

                  Remember, the goal is to reach people who do not now attend any church.

                                                                           ******************
A few random thoughts...
- I am loving this Fall weather ... a little too chilly for me in the mornings, but I'll take it.
- It was nice of my Tigers to give me a win for my birthday last Saturday.
- We had a fantastic time of worship in church; and the Pause series really seemed to touch a nerve that needed touching in many.
- We're back to the Foundations series this week in Bluffton.  It's all about Jesus!
- Our LCC Elders meeting this afternoon.  We've got a great group of guys and we're wrestling with ministry in the context of this economy.
- Alabama is going to lose to Florida.
- Clemson will beat South Carolina.  (Not sure I totally believe that this year, but I just had to say it!)

Why Have Multiple Services? Part One

Over the next few posts, I’ll address this question …

Both of our campuses are adding a service. Our Hilton Head campus is moving to two services on December 7; our Bluffton campus will be removing one of three Sunday a.m. services, in favor of two on Sunday and one identical service on Saturday night.

A uncomfortably full worship auditorium … difficulty finding parking … crowded children’s spaces. These are both a blessing and a hardship. It's a blessing because it is an indicator that God is sending people to our church and they are staying. It's a hardship when a first-time attender peeks in and says inwardly, "There's no room for me here." Yet even when the auditorium becomes full (even at 80% full, experts tell us, people stay away), there are a couple of available options.

First, we can ignore the crowded conditions and thus make a major statement: "You are not welcome here." We could drive people away.

Second, we could ignore the problem and consciously level off our growth, in effect saying to God, "Lord, that's enough. Us four and more."

Third, we could purchase land and build our own worship facility or grab some space and lease it (okay, so we did those already!).

Finally, we could add another service – even on another day.

Options one and two are not found anywhere in the Bible. They cut against the grain of the Great Commission and will get you sucker-punched around here if you say either out loud. Option three has been tackled – for now. Option four - adding another service - is the option we have always embraced at LCC.

But again: Why have multiple services? Answer: To reach people who do not now attend any church.

I’ll unpack that with my next post…

Welcome to My Blog!

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