Ramblings from a Hoodlum Pastor

Rated "H" for HOT & HOLY

I'm loving our "Love Dare" series.  My favorite type of preaching is simply going through a book of the Bible verse-by-verse because it forces you to deal with everything & not skip over or leave out the parts we're not comfortable with. 

For years, the church has been silent on the issue of sex...except, of course to teach how gross, & dirty sex is.  So, people inside the church grow up feeling like sex is a four letter word that we shouldn't talk about in public.  They'd rather let their children learn sex ed from a teacher in health who may or may not be a Christian or, better yet, the locker room where all teenage boys are experts in the area of sex.  Many leaders in the SBC have recently attacked a pastor that I have a huge amount of respect for because he dared speak to his church about the beauty of S-E-X.  These are the same leaders, by the way, who are always more concerned about fighting other Christians than loving non-Christians.  

The church has been silent for so long & Hollywood has stepping into the silence & preached their message of sex that has left many people emotionally & spiritually wounded as they've worshiped sex as a god.  The porn industry rakes in between $60 - $100 billion dollars a year, that's more than the NBA, NFL & Major League Baseball combined.  It's estimated that half of all women will live with their boyfriend before marriage.  A leading magazine did a feature article & reported that many middle school boys now have naked pictures of their girlfriends on their cell phone. 

I'm so glad the I serve a church who allows me to boldly preach God's Word.  As we've been dissecting Song of Solomon, we've discovered that sex is an amazing & incredible gift from God to be celebrated & celebrated often between a husband & wife to remember the covenant they made with God & with each other. 

This week, we're going to talk both Solomon's wedding to his beautiful bride & also their honeymoon.  This ought to be interesting because every woman dreams of her wedding day & every man dreams of his wedding night.  I promise, it's not going to be dirty.  You're not going to leave feeling like you need to take a bath, but y might leave feeling like you need to take a cold shower.  

As we look at this wedding & honeymoon, we're going to learn that marriage is not a contract, but a covenant & there is a huge difference between the two.  I'm also going to challenge husband's & wives to become servant lovers who are more concerned with meeting the needs of each other rather than selfish lovers who only care about their needs being met.  If you want to get ahead between now & Sunday, read Song of Solomon 3:6-5:1. 

This would be a great week to invite all your friends who not only need but want to hear about healthy sex, dating, attraction, relationships & marriage.  Don't miss this easy invite.  You can also help people hear God's Word on this subject by telling them to listen on-line at www.lifepointchurch.org.  Remember, this is going to be rated "H" for Hot & Holy.  So, all kids need to be in Soul Station where they will be learning to worship in an age appropriate environment.  I can't wait for Sunday          

IMMEDIATE HELP NEEDED

This is my very first video blog.  Amy bought a new digital video flip camera & I wanted to test it out on you.  I'm not sure I compressed it properly.  I'll have to get our tech guys to give me some pointers on Monday.  So, it might not be perfect, but here goes. 

Video Blog from Pat Hood on Vimeo.

Great things are happening at LifePoint Church!

Great things are happening at LifePoint.  We had our annual Romance & Roses event last Friday night & it was the best ever.  It was literally a Vegas style & quality dinner show for $40.00.  Rodney has really set the bar high for next year.  I can't wait to see what he does to top this year.

Kyle began our Go-ology study last Wednesday night with a bang.  Go-ology is simply the study of GOING.  It's the study of our mission to GO to our work, school, neighborhoods & around the globe to help people understand the sacrifice Jesus made for them on the cross.  If you missed last week, listen to it on-line & do everything possible to be there this week.

We're in the second week of Love Dare, our series going verse by verse through the Song of Solomon.  If you've missed either of the first two weeks, I encourage you to go online & watch the messages.  This series has incredible potential to encourage strong marriages, strengthen weak marriages, heal broken marriages & prepare those who are looking forward to getting married. 

Our new worship venue, "Worship in the Hub," grew by over 30% this past weekend.  If you like a more casual & high energy worship environment or know anyone who does, you might want to give "Worship in the Hub" a try.  

Finally, yesterday, for the first time ever, we topped 3000 on a non-holiday or special event weekend.  Obviously, people really do want to know what God has to say about marriage, attraction, sex & dating.  Marriage & relationship issues are something that everybody needs help with.  So, don't miss this easy invite opportunity to bring your friends to church. 

Great things are indeed happening at LifePoint Church.  Thank you, Lifer's, for all yu do to help us build God's Kingdom.  I can't wait until next week. 

GO...OLOGY

Kyle Goen, my Executive Pastor, kicks off GO...OLOGY tonight at 6:30 in the auditorium.  This is a study of missional living & I hope all of you make this a priority.  In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

These regions aren't concentric, meaning we should work on our Jerusalem until it's all reached & then move on to our Judea and so forth.  If this were the case, we'd never get out of Middle Tennessee because it will never be 100% reached.  In this passage, Jesus is telling us we need to be living lives with a passion for His glory that will make Him famous in our homes & around the globe simultaneously.  GO...OLOGY is the study of how this can happen.  So, I hope you make every effort to be a part of this vital study.  If, for some reason, you can't make it tonight, then listen on-line & be here next week.     

INTRODUCING ALYZA KATE

Yesterday was an amazing day.  We've been in process of adopting our second little girl...this time from Ethiopia...since last April.  Well, yesterday I was in the Boro with Zac & got a call to "GET HOME" quick.  I knew immediately what was up because it was an exciting "GET HOME," not a scared "GET HOME." 

Our social worker called while I was away to inform us that we were matched with a little girl.  When I got home, she sent the referral pictures & all the info.  She is 23 months old & living in a foster home in Addis Ababa right now waiting for us to come & pick her up.  Oh yeah, one more thing...SHE IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. 

It will take about 2-3 months before we can travel because of the court process in Ethiopia.  We have many pictures, but we can't post them on the Internet until she passes through court.  But, we can show them at church, so I hope you're there tomorrow.  Until then, here is a little glimpse of our Ethiopian Beauty.  I can't wait to tell her how beautiful her eyes are.

Oh, What a Night...

Oh, what a night... and I'm not talking about the hit song from the Four Seasons (for those of you old enough to remember the Four Seasons), nor do I mean "Ladies Night," for all you Kool & the Gang fans. 

Last night was our quarterly student outreach night, Rush Hour for Middle School students & Fuel for High School students and what a night it as.  We had 413 Middle School students & 511 High School students running all over our building last night & it was an incredible sight.  But this is the greatest part; 34 Middle Schoolers & 9 High Schoolers indicated they wanted to repent & turn to Jesus in faith; THAT'S 43 STUDENTS WHO CHANGED THE ETERNAL TRAJECTORY OF THEIR LIVES BY CROSSING THE LINE OF FAITH.  On top of this, we had 40 Middle Schoolers & 19 High Schoolers indicate they wanted or needed to get baptized; THAT'S 59 STUDENTS WHO WANT TO GO PUBLIC WITH THEIR COMMITMENT TO JESUS.  Do you see what I mean...OH WHAT A NIGHT! 

Thanks be to God for what HE is doing in this place. 

Romance & Roses

Guys, don't forget Romance & Roses next Friday night.  I said that specifically to guys because you need lead out in this.  I know it's $40 a couple, but that does include an incredible meal & an amazing program at the Embassy Suits in the Boro .  So, it's really a good deal when you consider you're going to spend at least $30-$40 to take your wife out for a good meal. 

Ladies, listen, I said this a couple of weeks ago & I was really serious.  Tell your husband if he takes you to R&R that he doesn't have to spend another dime on you for Valentine's day.  Flowers will fade & you can make better candy than he can buy, but the principles that you learn at R&R will never fade.  Would you rather for him to buy you flowers & go on about business as usual or buy a ticket to R&R & begin to treat you the way you want to be treated? 

Given the state of marriage in our country, I can't encourage you enough to be a part of this event.  So, forget the excuses & buy the ticket... and maybe even get a room at the Embassy Suites.