In every fight movie, like “The Karate Kid” or “Rocky”, the hero has to train like crazy to get their self ready before the big fight. Part of that preparation process is cutting away the fat that slows them down and removing the distractions that take away their focus. Acts chapter 5 shows us that same preparation scene in the life of the early church. Satan throws some internal conflict at the church in an attempt to hinder the church in its upcoming prize fight with the Sanhedrin. Can the church get in shape in time?! Discover the exciting conclusion; our study through Acts chapter 5 has just gone live!

www.CalvarySpartanburg.com/teachings.html

It’s that time again, time for the “Y” study (if you are scratching your head over the name see the previous post). We’ll be continuing our study in James (1:9 if you want to read ahead) and eating, good for your soul/bad for your heart, Beacon drive-in breakfast.

Last time guys started trickling in a little before 8 am so we could get started right away. We had a great turn out, including a few guys from Costco where I also work, and by the time we started up we were using two tables.

If you’ve never been to the Beacon or just want to have a good biblical conversation with other men this Saturday is your time to do both. See you at 8am.

My friend, and fellow church planter, Kevin Miller is the pastor of Awaken church in Clarksville, TN. You’ve probably seen the destruction the flooding in and around Nashville caused last week. One of the casualties in this flood was the church building Awaken church uses. It was covered in about 8ft of water for a few days, and they are not sure how long it will be before the’re able to move back in, if ever.

One of the many ways you can help is by buying one these cool shirts. Kevin, who is a prolific graphic designer, made these so people who want to give to the rebuilding project could have a tangible and heart felt thank you.

If you are in the center of the venn diagram that is defined by having; $20, 2 minutes of free time, and the desire to help a new church continue spread the gospel in Clarksville TN. Then click the image above.

Thanks.

This a verson of a newsletter my wife and I send out every few months. It summarizes the last 6 months so well, I thought I’d share it here.

———————————

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for your continued prayers and support. And I wanted to share with you what’s been going on at Calvary Spartanburg, just in case you haven’t been keeping up to date.

We’ve reached a mile-marker…6 months! We held our first service on November 8 of 2009. We held our first service with lots of help, and a few new faces, some of whom have become the church core.

I’ve been thinking about the journey God has taken us on…first to Montreal, and now here in Spartanburg, and I am amazed and blessed by His care.

Last year at this time, I was preparing to attend the Deep South Pastor’s Conference in Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was the first tangible step I was able to take on the journey to plant a church in South Carolina. I didn’t know where we were going to live, where I was going to work, when we were going to begin the church, or where it would be.

God has clearly led us each step of the way, and best of all, each provision was clearly from Him.

When we first moved to SC, we were staying with my mom. The Minister of Music from her church was over for Sunday lunch. I was chatting with him, and mentioned that we didn’t know where we were going to live yet. Ten minutes later we were looking at a house that he had intended to sell, and after a few days of prayer, we rented that house, for the exact amount we could afford. The house is perfect for our family and ministry—perfect in size and location.

In July, after we moved to SC, I applied for a lot of jobs. We then spent a month in ABQ, and when we returned, I received no call backs. But we did receive some sizable donations towards beginning the church. And a member of the board of the local YMCA connected us in such a way that we were able to rent space for Sunday mornings. Since a job wasn’t forthcoming, but means to begin the church was, I spent 100% of his time getting the church started.

In October I began a strategic coffee outreach at one of the local universities. And in November we held a Family Fun Day in a local park. And held our first church service.

The very next day we felt like it was time for me to apply for jobs again. The very first application I turned in, for temporary Christmas help, at Target was accepted. So I began work. I was also able to develop my web building business on the side (www.nbrightidea.com).

Home, job, church…all these questions have been answered. Several families and a few college students are regularly attending Calvary Spartanburg now. The church is still very small, but slowly growing.

Despite our support and my job, finances were tight. About a month ago, we ate at Costco after church. Our membership card wasn’t working, so I went with a manager to get things straightened out. As the manager and I talked, he offered me a job! And for several weeks now I’ve been working at Costco…and my pay is much better than it was at Target! Again, God’s provision is so perfect and His timing so right!

Thank you for your prayers and support. You are really making a difference in lives here in South Carolina! So many people have never heard the Word taught expositionally… and it is through His Word that He is known.

There are some days that  I wish I could preach like this.

Here is the Transcript also-

The Bible says
He’s the King of the Jews
He’s the King of Israel
He’s the King of Righteousness
He’s the King of the Ages
He’s the King of Heaven
He’s the King of Glory
He’s the King of Kings
and He is the Lord of Lords

Now that’s my King!
David says
The Heavens declare the glory of God
And the firmament showeth His handiwork
No means of measure can define His limitless love
No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing

He’s enduringly strong
He’s entirely sincere
He’s eternally steadfast
He’s immortally graceful
He’s imperially powerful
He’s impartially merciful

That’s my King!
He’s God’s Son
He’s the sinners’ Saviour
He’s the centrepiece of civilisation
He stands alone in Himself
He’s august
He’s unique
He’s unparalleled
He’s unprecedented
He’s supreme
He’s pre-eminent
He’s the loftiest idea in literature
He’s the highest personality in philosophy
He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism
He’s the fundamental doctrine in true theology
He’s the cardinal necessity of spiritual religion

That’s my King!
He’s the miracle of the age
He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him
He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously
He supplies strength for the weak
He’s available for the tempted and the tried
He sympathises and He saves
He guards and He guides
He heals the sick
He cleansed the lepers
He forgives sinners
He discharges debtors
He delivers the captives
He defends the feeble
He blesses the young
He serves the unfortunate
He regards the aged
He rewards the diligent
And He beautifies the meek

Do you know Him?
My King is the key of knowledge
He’s the wellspring of wisdom
He’s the doorway of deliverance
He’s the pathway of peace
He’s the roadway of righteousness
He’s the highway of holiness
He’s the gateway of glory
He’s the master of the mighty
He’s the captain of the conquerors
He’s the head of the heroes
He’s the leader of the legislators
He’s the overseer of the overcomers
He’s the governor of governors
He’s the prince of princes
He’s the King of Kings
And He’s the Lord of Lords

That’s my King
That’s my King!
My King
His office is manifold
His promise is sure
His life is matchless
His goodness is limitless
His mercy is everlasting
His love never changes
His word is enough
His grace is sufficient
His reign is righteous
His yoke is easy
and His burden is light
I wish I could describe Him to you
He’s indescribable
He’s indescribable
He’s incomprehensible
He’s invincible
He’s irresistible
I’m trying to tell you
The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him
Let alone a man explain Him
You can’t get Him out of your mind
You can’t get Him off of your hands
You can’t outlive Him
And you can’t live without Him
The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him
but they found out they couldn’t stop Him
Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him
The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree
And Herod couldn’t kill Him
Death couldn’t handle Him
And the grave couldn’t hold Him

That’s my King!
He always has been
And He always will be
I’m talking about
He had no predecessor
and He’ll have no successor
There was nobody before Him
and there’ll be nobody after Him
You can’t impeach Him
and He’s not going to resign

That’s my King!
Praise the Lord
That’s my King
Thine is the Kingdom
And the power
And the glory
The glory is all His
Thine is the Kingdom
And the power
And the glory
For ever
And ever
And ever
And when you get through with all of the forevers
Then
Amen

Kevin Miller is the pastor of Awaken Church in Clarksville Tennessee. He is a great Bible teacher, fellow church planter and good friend.  Head over to Kevin’s Blog today. He’s posted an interview he did with me as a part of a series about church planters.  Even if you are not a church planter I still think you’ll find this blog series interesting.

Check it out!

Kevin’s Blog: http://awakenthechurch.blogspot.com/

Awaken Church: http://www.awakenchurch.org

Almost twenty years ago I went on a mission trip to Jamaica.  I know what you’re thinking…Jamaica…mission trip…yeah right.  But really, it was a mission trip; snorkeling was only slightly involved. On that trip was a guy from my Sunday school class, Wes.  Today he’s a pastor down in Columbia, SC and his dad runs a Spartanburg tradition: the Beacon.

The Beacon is a staple of Spartanburg culture and history.  Its greasy chili-cheese burgers, onion rings and icy cold sweet tea have been filling Southerners up (and out) for over 60 years.  It opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1946 and has kept going six days a week (closed on Sundays), 52 weeks per year, serving 1,000,000 customers yearly.

Not only is the Beacon good eats, but it’s a meeting place for the community. Posted along the walls are weekly high school football scores, ads for local businesses and schedules for monthly or bi-monthly Bible studies held right there in one of the dining rooms.

A few weeks ago I reconnected with Wes’s Dad while also reconnecting with a Chili Cheese A-Plenty (think giant hamburger covered in Texas chili and hidden beneath a pile of onion rings). I shared with him about the church and he said he wanted to help. He said he would let Calvary Spartanburg advertise at the Beacon, for free. He put me in touch with the man who hand paints every sign that goes up in the restaurant. Last week I saw it for the first time.

The New Sign at the Famous Beacon

If you live in the area or ever have the opportunity to visit the Beacon, swing by and take a look. It’s just opposite the main cash register.

God keeps blessing me with opportunities through old relationships like this. I guess there is something to be said for ministering where you grew up.

Our park outreach yesterday was a big success! Everyone who came was very surprised that everything was free; a few folks thought it was a birthday party. One person who was new to the area even told us that they would be coming to the first service today. We gave out all but 4 of the gift bags, most of the hotdogs and all of the balloons! In all we had about 200 people stop by.

Let me just say thank you to all of you who helped out and to those who were praying for Family Fun Day.  Thanks also to all of you who are helping out and praying for our first service today.

A perfect day for the event.

We had 5 games for kids to play; everyone got a prize bag when they finished.

The expertly manned info table.

“Go past the fire eater and you’ll see the prize table on the left…”

I love this sign; we can use it at events or at church and it collapses into a small container.

Hey, I know that kid!

Today we went to the YMCA and did a practice set-up. Basically we went a week early to set things up so we could look for problems and snags so we don’t have to deal with them next week as people are coming in. It’s something we had done in Montreal and I thought that it was a good idea to use here. Glad we did!

About 80% of what we had planned worked out fine the first time around,but the other 20% took some creative problem solving. For starters there were two big trash cans full of water in the middle of the area we had wanted to set up chairs. The building is pretty old so the roof leaks right there after a big rain. We also had to trouble shoot the placement of the projector. Everywhere that would be out of the way of the congregation was either too close or too far away from the screen. Finally, I had to play with the recording settings on the laptop until the audio didn’t sound like I was talking through equipment from a Wendy’s drive-thru. Most of the bugs we were able to fix before we left, and the few things that remain I can easily fix this week.

Please pray for this final week as we get ready for not only the first service of Calvary Spartanburg but also Family Fun Day.

Trying out the sound system

Checking the layout

Our First Congregation

Welcome to the new home of my blog, Re:deemed. Many of you have always used jasonmills.org to read the blog but that address used to just take you over you calvaryspartaburg.wordpress.com. This is no longer the case.

Re:deemed will now only be available here at JasonMills.org. This brings with it some changes:

1) If you’ve bookmarked the blog make sure you updated it, so it takes you here, JasonMills.org

2) By the end of October the old address will no longer update and will be deleted.

3) You can now subscribe to email updates. Below every post you will now have an opportunity sign up, if you haven’t already. (it looks like this)

This will let you be the first to receive new posts, and conveniently read them in your inbox.

4) Now, I can more easily change the look of the blog and add features like rss, email subscription, sermon players, and a ton of other goodies. I’ll be tweaking the blog  quite a bit in the coming weeks, so be sure to stop by and check it out.

And one more time just for good measure-