YouVersion Live gives you a way to interact with church services and other live events using your mobile device. You can follow along with message outlines and take notes, read related Bible verses and click through to the expanded passage, vote on a poll and see the results live, ask questions anonymously, give, request prayer, and take it all home with you on your phone. It works with any web-enabled phone, as well as any computer with an internet connection.

With the widespread use of cell phones that can access the internet, I can easily see this as a viable tool for communication and interactivity.  I generated an event for our worship service this Sunday:

I can’t wait to find ways to use this incredible tool in our ministry!!

The roof needs to be replaced.  We are still too small to tackle a project of this size on our own, but I’m confident that we can work together to make this happen.  Here are the things we need:

• Prayer.  Ask God to work in this situation to draw this family toward Christ.  Pray that God’s people will be moved to compassion for the hurting and take action.
• Money for building materials.  You can donate directly to the church’s Compassion Fund for this project here.
• Roofing materials for a mobile home
• Volunteers with carpentry and/or roofing skills that can help us repair the roof

Here’s an opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission right here in Montevallo.  Please let me know if you’re in the area and can help.  Pass this on to someone else you know who might be able to help.  Let’s make this happen as soon as possible so this woman can get her home dry and comfortable for herself and her family.  Contact me at pastor@mountainvalleychurch.net or (205) 304-5445.

This woman has been a faithful member of our church and other churches during her life and has served God in many ways over the years.

I hope you’ll prayerfully consider how you might contribue to her cause. Even the smallest donation will be helpful. Thanks!

Dave Carder, a California pastor and psychologist who has studied adultery prevention and recovery for more than 30 years, spoke last week at a Smart Marriage conference in Orlando, FL. In his latest book, Close Calls: What Adulterers Want You to Know About Protecting Your Marriage, he details a new adultery risk created by social networking, such as Classmates.com and Facebook. “There’s a new phenomenon—the idea that you can locate and recapture old romances, old flames, old boyfriends and girlfriends from adolescence…in (this) case, the infatuation is already stored in your brain. So if you get back in touch with a person like that—a person you dated, that you kissed, maybe a first-love experience—some 10, 15 years later … Well, the saying in my field is, ‘Thirty days of regular contact with an old girlfriend/old boyfriend and you create an infatuation explosion. And in 30 more days, you will find a way to be with each other.’ So it’s 60 days from the start, because infatuation is a mood-altering experience. It’s a huge drug of choice and will sweep you off your feet.” Carder warns that, especially in times of unusual or sustained stress, a “surprise adultery” can occur where the affair is really an attempt to heal, distract or support yourself from the stressful situations. He encourages couples to watch for the danger signs and “risk factors—certain seasons of life, certain ages, certain life experiences, certain marital stages, personal histories you bring to the marriage—that can set you up for an affair. That doesn’t mean you are going to do it, but like in the disease model, there are risk factors.”

The Washington Times 7/8/09

Social networking sites are a wonderful way to connect with friends and even share the Gospel.  However, we shouldn’t be naive.  Satan can use these connections to tempt us to be unfaithful to our spouse.  We have easy access to relationships that can be unhealthy to our marriage.

April and I made a commitment when joining Facebook that we would never “friend” someone with whom we had been in a relationship before.  It’s been awkward having to explain to high school classmates why I won’t accept their friend requests, but I believe that my marriage is just to important to risk the temptation of rekindling any kind of feelings that were in the past.  What do you think?  Please leave your comments!

“Secret Sin and Spiritual Power” from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

It was nice to have Dr. Hugh Richardson (our Director of Missions for the Shelby Baptist Association) and his wife and son visit us this morning.  Dr. and Mrs. Richardson are such wonderful supporters of church planting and I’m grateful for all of their help.

We had an interesting guest this morning who was using the library’s free wifi to surf the internet.  We invited him inside to make himself at home and shared the Gospel with him.  I’ve noticed a growing number of people sitting outside the library with laptops.  I dream of a “third place” like a coffee shop or internet cafe’ where people can come and find a community of Christ followers to mingle with….  Join with me in praying that God will open an opportunity for our church to be a more permanent part of the community.  Several buildings have become vacant in the city, but all are asking outrageous prices to buy.

Praying that you’ll have a great week!

Photo by jem

P.S. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. What is off limits for a pastor to discuss. Can I be too transparent? Thanks!!

Photo by roland

Here’s a list of the projects that were accomplished last week:

• Prayer walking throughout the community
• Landscaping at the Montevallo Housing Authority
• Landscaping at Montevallo Elementary School
• Christian Sports Clinic at park near Montevallo Middle School
• Landscaping at Montevallo Senior Citizen’s Center
• Activities with seniors at Senior Citizen’s Center
• Activities with children at Boys and Girls Club
• Landscaping at Parnell Memorial Library
• Window cleaning for merchants along Main Street
• Window cleaning at City Hall
• Food delivery
• Door to door witnessing and prayer
• Garbage pickup at park near Montevallo Middle School
• Prayer with city officials

It was an incredible time that God used to rekindle the desire I have to reach this community for Christ!  I was blessed to work with wonderful missionaries who gave up part of their summer to come and work with a small church with a big vision for building the kingdom of God.

I’m so proud of our church members who worked hard alongside the mission teams.  They coordinated each project and made sure that supplies and refreshments were available.  Most members took vacation and worked on multiple projects throughout the week.

We made many meaningful contacts last week and I ask that you pray that we can continue to build relationships with these people in the future.  We were reminded of the many hurting people in our world who are lost without Jesus.