Hey Journey, we will be having service tonight despite the weather.  We will have a time of worship of prayer and of communion.  We’d love to see you out there!  If you can get there safely without putting yourself in danger, great!  I’ll be there regardless!

Mark

Here are some pics of The Journey Church’s new home!

We will begin services at Hoyt’s Cinema 14 on West Nursery Road at 10:00am on Sunday, February 7th!

The Theater’s address is:    1591 West Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090

Just this past week, The Journey Church started what is called,  “The Overflow Project”.  This is simply a way for us to bless other people and to show the kindness and love of God to the people of Crofton and the surrounding areas.  The premise…whenever you are in line at a drive-thru (Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds, Starbucks), just pay for the person’s tab in the car behind you and ask the cashier to give them the Overflow card.  That’s it…no strings attached, no expectations, just a free meal!  God has blessed us and we want to bless you.  If you received an Overflow Card in a Drive-Thru (or anywhere else), you can use this blog to say thanks if you so desire, just comment on this post!

Men, remember the message from Saturday?  We all know where we are weak.   If you say you don’t you’re lying to me and to yourself.  We know if we have pride issues, anger issues, etc.  If we know where we are weak, why do we not do a better job at building safeguards and defenses in our lives to protect us in those weak areas? None of us is Superman!   As a man myself, I will be honest…I don’t know a man alive that doesn’t struggle with lust.  If you are that guy then awesome!, please pray for the rest of us!  Men of Journey, let’s not let this area of our lives bring us to defeat.  Go with basic cable and get rid of Skinemax and HBO, because it’s too tempting!  Avoid those stores that display porno mags!  Make sure your internet access is filtered, with a password that only a trusted friend knows.  It shouldn’t be embarassing, it’s the way we are wired.  Remember, Jesus said, it is better to cut off your hand and go through life with one hand than to be headed to hell with our whole body.  How important are those things to you?  Cut them out of your life.  Here is a great resource if you are a fellow struggler with lust.

www.xxxchurch.com

I was flipping through the tv channels the other day and just like every other time I’ve been flipping through the channels, “Forrest Gump” was on.  I’ve seen this movie a thousand times (not as many times as Robby has) but if it’s on, it’s one of those movies that if it’s on, I’ll watch it.  It just so happened that the scene that was playing when I tuned in was the one where Lieutenant Dan, who is now in a wheelchair asks Forrest this question.  “Forrest, have you found Jesus?”  Forrest’s answer stirred something up in me.  He said, “I didn’t know I was suppossed to be looking for him.”    That statement just hit me like a ton of bricks.  So many people need Jesus.  They need His grace, His mercy and the forgiveness and wholeness that He offers, but they don’t know it.  Maybe, they’re not suppossed to be looking for Him.  I mean, if you know Jesus, did you find Him because you were looking for Him?  I didn’t.  Maybe He’s looking for them.  Maybe He wants to use us to bring himself to others.  But, my fear is, as the church we sit back and have our services and are just waiting and expecting for people to come to us looking for Jesus.  We give some of our money to missionaries that go for us, but we aren’t going.  Not even across the street…not even next door.  I think we have this warped view of lost people.  One where they are curled up in a fetal position in the corner, sucking their thumb, crying about how bad their life is, and how empty they are.  That may be the case sometimes, but I know lots of lost people that love life.  They have happy families, great jobs, great relationships, and they simply don’t feel they have a need for anything outside of themselves.  But, we need to bring Jesus to them, through our lives, through our friendships, through our prayers, through our actions that are so kind and selfless that they can’t help but want what we have.  Jesus came to give them life to the fullest.  How about you?  Are you developing relationships with your unsaved friends and neighbors in order to point them to Him?  Or do you even have any unsaved friends?  Just remember…they don’t even know they are suppossed to be looking for Him.

Mark

“Know that showing up is half the Battle!”   I have seen this quote on the walls of many a gym or weight room and it never fails to inspire me.  For me, showing up is the hardest part of the equation.  Whether it’s getting out of bed early, giving up time with my family, or time to rest…that’s what’s hard.  I don’t show up at the gym and then sit around…no, once I’m there I work out hard.  I know that 99% of you reading this can relate (the other 1 % are gym rats!)  I have been thinking about this quote and it has occurred to me that it’s true spiritually as well.  Showing up is truly half the battle.  Are there days that you just don’t feel like putting forth the effort spiritually?  Are there days that you don’t feel like it’s worth the effort to obey God and to apply the Word to your life?  Ever want to take a vacation from your faith?  Tempted sometimes to take a permanent one?  I know I do.  But, showing up is half the battle.  Refusing to quit, no matter how many times you’ve failed, committed that same sin, fallen into that same pattern of addictive behavior….that’s half the battle.  I want to be like Jesus, but sometimes I’m sooooo far away.  Just the realization that I’ll never fully get there in this life, so for now the journey is the destination.  But, I’ve got to let go of the shame and condemnation that I pile on myself, that I pile on others, and that others pile on me for not being perfect.  God may be leading me toward the peak, but maybe getting there is less important than getting up every morning and being willing to continue taking steps, to gut it out, even when I feel like turning back.  So, to those of you feeling discouraged, feeling like a failure, feeling like you’ll never be able to do this thing called following Christ…just get out of bed and make the choice to show up again today. After all, it is half the battle.

Mark

Tonight (May 12th) is our first softball game. Click here to get an updated (and much easier to read) schedule. Please note that the games will be held at 2 different fields (Severn Run & Severn Covenant Church). Tonight’s game is at 6 pm at Severn Covenant Church (20 Gambrills Rd., Severn, MD 21144). Please come out and support our team! This isn’t something just for those who are playing…it’s an opportunity to enjoy time together. Take advantage of it!

We will NOT be having our regular worship service on Saturday, May 23rd. Many of our families will be camping at Rocky Gap State Park. We invite you to join us for a day if you aren’t camping. Sunday seems to be the best day for that, but feel free to come anytime.

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If you’d like to visit and need more info as to where everyone will be, please email Robby.