“Position is Everything”

If you have ever played sports, I am confident you have heard your coach say, “Put yourself in position to make the play.” If you have participated in marching band or theater, you have heard your director say, “Position your self here or position yourself there, just don’t get out of position, it can throw everyone else off.” Later in life as we climb the corporate ladder we strive to position ourselves for promotions, advancements, and achieving our goals. As parents, we want to position ourselves to be the most positive influence in the lives of our children. Positioning is everything.

Joshua knew the importance of  positioning. Immediately after Joshua takes over leadership of the Israelites after the death of Moses, he is faced with huge obstacles. The people have been wondering around for forty years, the leader who freed them is dead, they are cranky and loosing hope, and they have been waiting impatiently for God to fulfill His promise and get them to the place where they can settle down and transition from being wondering newly free slaves to a great nation. Joshua made a subtle moving that had a huge impact on the people. He told the people when the art of the covenant passed by they were to follow it. The people believed the ark was where God was so they kept it at the back of the people so they could protect it, guard it, and kept it safe from whatever was ahead of them. Joshua positioned the ark in the front, so the people went from protecting God to following God. When they followed God, they were successful in reaching their final destination, their dreams were fulfilled, and the found their home. It was all in the positioning.
How many of us are like that in our own life’s journey. We feel strongly that we have to in some way protect God, keep our faith in God guarded, or poses a need to constantly defend our faith. We position God at the back of our decisions, actions, and words. We hold on tightly to our possession of God. We want to fight for God in such areas as prayer in school, posting the Ten commandments, or bring God into our political arenas. Maybe we are intentions are good but we are just in the wrong position. I believe that the God who created the universe, all of humanity, and who defeated death can handle the Supreme Court, the West Baptist Church, or any school board without my help. When things in life happen to us, we are sometimes quick to say, “God was behind me” instead of “God is leading me.” It might not seem a big deal but it is where we position God in our lives that we begin to see drastic changes in our results. Faith is placing God at the front, following His directions for our life. Faith is putting God before us trusting and following Him, instead of us discerning where we want to take God. Leading God and following God are two very different distinct positions. As we journey through the ups and downs of life, as we discern through the decision we make for the future, as we move forward, are we allowing God to lead us or we trying to protect what we have. In our personal life and in the life of our faith family position really is everything.
Peace, Love & Happiness
Tommy

Is Tim Tebow really Jesus wearing #15

People all day have been asking me if I believe that #15 Tim Tebow for the Denver Broncos is really Jesus returning to play football. I don’t really know but I have done some unofficial, non- theological, non sanctioned research. Here are some compelling non objective facts.


• Officially, Tebow passed for 316 yards against the Steelers, completing 10 of 21 pass attempts -- meaning he passed for 31.6 yards per completion- John Elway was a legendary Bronco QB. Take Elway’s first name and Tebow average John 3:16 anyone-
• Tebow has been trashed by the media- Jesus was trashed by the Pharisees.
• Tebow is very poplar in the eyes of some who like and adore him but despised by those who didn’t. Jesus drew huge crowds who wanted to be near him but entrapped by those who didn’t like him.
• Tebow prays a lot - even while on the grassy field- Jesus prayed a lot in a garden full of green grass.
• After a miracle play, Tebow gave God all the glory. Jesus said after each miracle, "Your faith has made you well” giving God the glory.
• People doubt Tebow’s ability to be a “true” quarterback. People doubted Jesus was the “true” Messiah.
• Tebow surrounds himself with 12 other men to assist him- 10 other players + 1 head Coach + 1 Offensive Coordinator = 12) Jesus had 12 apostles to assist him.
• Tebow has five letters, Jesus has five letters.
• Tebow plays in Mile High stadium, Jesus’ sermon on the mountain top.
• Tebow bounces off defenders, Jesus bounced the money changers out of the temple.
• Tebow rose to the occasion at the most crucial time after a three game skid. Jesus rose from the grave after three days at a crucial time for all humanity.

Of course, I truly don’t believe that Tebow really is the Messiah wearing #15 for the Broncos but in the end aren’t we all God’s children, shouldn’t we all not be ashamed to express our faith, and when criticized for our performance shouldn’t we too stand firm in our convictions and faith. Besides if Jesus came back as a QB, wouldn’t he resurrect a horrible team with a more meaningfull mascot, (like the Rams as mentioned in the Old Testament)  and he would definitely be a better drop back passer with a cannon arm.

HOW TO HAVE YOUR best YEAR EVER!!

"Happy New Year everybody, I love a New Year."

It means we have made it through another year and there is no controversy, you don’t offend anyone by saying Happy New Year, and you keep the politically corrent police off your back, and everyone wants a good year. This is the season of our life when we close the door on one year and open it up for another. As many of you know, 2011 represented for me a year of death, I lost friends that were close and dear to me, and we lost individuals that meant a lot to our faith family as well. I have told Kellie over the last few months, “If we could just make it to another year without anyone else dying. We need a new year.” Some of you reading this may be feeling the same way. You also may be longing for a new year, ready for a new start, and need to close the door on last year and begin again. So call it resolution, call it goals, call it dreams, call it fresh start, call it whatever word you want to put on it, but every one of us has inside of us a hope that says 2012 will be better than last year. I will make a bold statement. I believe that the coming year will be the best year ever for our faith community and I believe that next twelve months will be the very best year of our lives. I believe that. I believe that next year has the ability, the potential, and the power to be the greatest year in our whole existence. I believe that this year can be the best year ever for every aspect of our lives. (ok that was more than just one bold statement)

So how do we position ourselves to have the best New Year ever?
Paul writes in Philippians 3:12-14. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made my own, but this one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul says forget what was behind you, and press on to what is ahead. To have the best year ever Paul has it right. First of all we have to forget what was behind us. The interesting thing about Paul was he not only a person who had a lot of pain, persecution, and struggles in his life but he had many successes. Even in the midst of it all the highs and lows, Paul writes we must forget what is behind us. I think that as you and I turn over one year into the next, I think one of the greatest things we can do in our life is to forget what’s behind. For some of us it is regret. We look back on last year and we regret decisions we made, decisions that were made and forced upon us, or things we should or shouldn’t have done. For some of us, we look back and see mistakes. For some of us when we look back on last year we see pain, an illness that attacked us or our family member, we see a relationship that exploded or imploded, and when we look back on last year that is what we see pain and hurt and grief. For some of us when we look back we see mountain tops, we see experiences where we see tremendous success, tremendous accolades accomplishments, we see moments where we were at our best. In the midst of all that the Apostle Paul says forget it.

How do we do that? How do you and I followers of Jesus to press onto what God has in store for us in the next year. Here are five steps to position your self to have the best year ever.

1) Write the vision down. Whatever those dream are, whatever that vision is, there is something powerful about writing that vision down. We are 80% more likely to accomplish something if we write it down. Habakkuk 2:2-3 Then the Lord answered me and said; “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” Habakkuk says write the vision down. For some of you the most courageous thing you will do is write the vision down. You got to write it down. For some of you just hearing me say that freaks you out. Listen as long as a dream, a vision, or goal lives in our mind it is less real. The minute we put it on paper, out of idea and out into our world it becomes more real. There is power in writing a vision, a dream or a goal down. Whatever you want out of your life, write it down. Whatever you want to accomplish write it down. Write the vision down today.

2) Don’t let anyone cut in on you. If we are going to accomplish everything our goals, if we want to see our vision come to completion, if we want to live out our dreams, then we cannot let anyone cut in on us.
The Apostle Paul writes of another church in Galati. Paul writes in Galatians 5:7 You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? We have to be careful to not allow others to cut in on us. Whatever that vision is, that dream is, and that goal is, that God has placed in your heart, don’t let anyone cut in on you. We all know dream killers. There are people who you share your dream with and they are poking holes in it as soon as the words come out of your mouth. You have to guard against them. They are going to cut off your dreams. And if we are going to become everything God wants us to become we cannot allow naysayers to cut us off.

3) We must be confident that Jesus will be faithful to complete it. Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul is saying that if this is a God vision, if this is a God goal, a God dream then it is Christ who brings it into our life. We have to stand confident. Any good thing that happens in our life, brings with it some insecurities and fears. Confidence will be extremely rare when moving forward.

4) Know it’s going to be a fight. Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith.
Look if we are going to have the best year ever, accomplish everything God has for us, it is going to be a fight. Anything good or from God in our life will always bring resistance. We can expect resistance. We are not living in a spiritual neutral world. We live in a world that desires to see us fail. We got a battle and the problem is for most of us, when we are faced with a battle, we just shut down. I have found that most of the time, when I have fear, I know its God wanting me to do it. Why is it that we only think that the easy stuff is what God wants us to do? Can we win this battle on our own? Absolutely not but we can with God’s strength. But with God all things are possible. We can do this.

5) Trust God. If we are going to have the best year ever, we must be willing to trust God. Trust God with the plan and the path. Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. I can’t think of  one plan for my life that came out the exact way I planned. God wants us to plan but at the end of the day we must submit our plan to His path. That is when we move forward. Never has God taken me on the exact journey that I had planned for my life. Not once. God allows deviations to teach me stuff, what if God wants to do a work in us, greater than what He wants to do a work through us. Everyone paths n life are different, we can’t compare our journey with anyone else’s. When compare our path in life to someone else, one we are probably not getting the whole story from them, and two it builds up unhealthy jealousy, and resentment. Resentment causes us not to learn anything from our own trials and struggles. Resentment causes us not to learn. What I have learned in my life is the moment I stopped resenting my path in life, I started to learn in the midst of it, and I began to trust God. The moment we embrace our journey and learn from our journey, we will see that our journey can be a platform for healing others.

I think that this year has the potential to be the best year of every one of our lives. Without a doubt but we have to forget what is behind and press on to what is ahead. This leaves us with two questions. Questions #1 what do you need to forget? Question #2 What do you need to do to press on?
So what has God put in your heart, your goal, your dream, your vision, what has God placed in your heart for you to have the best year ever.?

Happy New Year,
Peace Love & Light,
Tommy

“What is Christmas? Really”

Merry Christmas for the Henegars


While preparing for Christmas going through stuff, I paused out of my task as my ADD kicked in. As I totally got off task, I began to look through a box of old pictures taken during Christmas time. As I flipped through each one, it occurred to me that each Christmas season is occasion for marking. Each Christmas season for all of us is a point in our lives for marking time. We remember Christmas’ past as a child. Our memories are flood with recollections of our first Christmas as a married couple, our first Christmas as parent, buying our first Christmas tree, and each house and location we spent our memorable Christmases. Marking time can be a joyful, awesome, warm feeling of celebrating of traditions but it can also be a time for sorrow. We mark time by remembering those loved ones that have passed away in between this Christmas and last year. We can feel sadness and remembering the first Christmas spent without that person who has died, left, or is no longer in our life. Then there is the feelings that arise as we compare the details, events, and changes that have occurred between this Christmas and last. We compare and contrast our life, our relationships, and our careers. Maybe because Christmas is conveniently located next to New Years that it provides a time for making mental notes and marking our life for the year to come.

Christmas is also a time of remembering Christ’s story. We go back to the original story of Christmas. A baby born in a small village named Bethlehem, by a young engaged couple, who was traveling to be counted by the government. Like most all young engaged couple they had no money for their journey, either they couldn’t afford a hotel, were not responsible enough and didn’t make advance reservations, or because Mary was pregnant traveled slower than the rest they arrived late. Whatever the reason, Mary & Joseph had no where to stay but a barn. It was here in this barn, on the road traveling, in a very unassuming way; Mary gave birth to a baby. Quietly in the middle of now where, no one around, Jesus was born and time for all humanity was marked. It was here the Messiah, the King of Kings, the Savior; the One whom everyone had waited for thousand of years to arrive was born. The One, everyone has been waiting for, dreaming of, and had been anticipating to come save them had finally arrived. For all who believe, it was this first Christmas that time was marked as Christ stepped out of heaven and marked the single greatest event of all humankind. Christmas is not holiday and the reason we celebrate. The reason we celebrate Christmas is because Jesus Christ’s, God’s son, stepped out of heaven into earth’s scene to bring us hope and the ability to dream. That is only reason why we gather for worship, light candles, sing familiar songs, and invite others to join us. That is why Christmas we mark time. That is why we say, “Merry Christmas!”
May God bless you and yours this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas,
Tommy, Kellie, Abby, and Will Henegar



Perceptions: What’s Missing In Life

Ted and his wife Helen could not have any children. If they had they would have been great parents, they were a couple full of excitement, adventure, and dreams. Their life would have been full of love and joy. Ted started as a cartoonist but soon began to write. As a writer and he would even dedicate his books to three factious children he and Helen made up.

Ted wrote a story about a fictional, bitter, cave-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes too small” which lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep high mountain just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is his faithful dog, Max. From his lonely perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. Annoyed and unable to understand the Whos' love and joy, he makes plans to descend on the town and deprive them of their Christmas presents, Who-ham and decorations and thus "prevent Christmas from coming."
If he can take away their gifts, he can take away their love and joy, and Christmas will never come to Whoville? However, he learns in the end that despite his success in taking away all the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same. He then realizes that Christmas is more than just gifts and presents, its love and joy. Touched by this, his heart grows three sizes larger; he returns all the presents and trimmings and is warmly welcomed into the community of the Whos.
Ted, known to all as Dr. Seuss, after becoming the first children’s book author to win a Pulitzer Prize, revealed near the end of his life that the Grinch was really him, as the love and joy of parenthood escaped him. To all parents and grandparent go and reread “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss again or watch the cartoon movie version with your children or grandchildren by your side. Now knowing about Dr. Seuss’s lifelong search for love and joy, I promise you will have a different perspective. Maybe we have to view the world for a moment through the eyes of someone searching for love and joy to appreciate the gifts in our own life.
Love & Joy,
Tommy

God’s Christmas Wish…

I remember the most exciting day of the Christmas season was the day the Sear’s catalog arrived at our house. I would anxiously turn past the clothes, appliances and cooking wear. As I came to a sudden stop on the toys, my joy began. I spent hours looking, dreaming; circling everything I wanted for Christmas. A drum set, Evel Knievel bike, Atari it had it all. That is why it was titled The Wish Book. While I never got everything I circled or turned down the page, I did wish and dream. And as blessed as I was, you could bet every Christmas I received at least one gift from the Sear’s catalog. I just could never figure out how Santa always knew exactly what I wished for and it coincidental was sold at Sear’s.
Now that I’m older, I now spend time trying to figure out what others want for Christmas. This is hard to do. Christmas is a time of giving. It’s a season of gifts, companionship, and times spent with family and love ones. Christmas is about traditions, decorations, and food. Christmas opens us up to those who are less fortunate as we give to those in need. There is an instinctive part about our humanity that ignites our generosity during this season like no other time during the year.

If Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, I wonder what Christ wishes for Christmas? What does the Creator of our universe and our existence wish for? Have you ever stopped to wonder what is on God’s Christmas list? I know we have the gold, frankincense and myrrh stuff but that has already been done. What is a gift to someone that already has everything? You can't really re gift something you don't want to God. How do you wrap up something meaningful to the one who saved you, loves you unconditionally, desires an intimate personal relationship with you, and desires the best for your life? How do you return the love? What does God want for you this Christmas? Join us during our Advent Sermon Series: God’s Christmas Wish: What God Wants for Christmas? As we look at what we can give to God that will enrich our life and relationships. As we search together, you might just find that it is everything you dreamed for that can't be found at Sears.

See ya in church but until then take care of yourself, dream, and wish.
Peace, Love, Hope, and Joy
Tommy

“ I Am THANKFUL…”

As we approach this Thanksgiving and in reflection after our Thanks Living sermon series, I have discovered so many things to be thankful for. Like many of you, I am in awe sometimes of all the blessings God has placed in my life. Yes, my life has its challenges, difficulties, and painful moments, but I marvel at the joy I have when I view the totality of my life. So I would like to take this opportunity to share a few, praying that it may help you find that same joy in your life. I am grateful God called me to serve an awesome congregation that works diligently to connect others to the love of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for everyone who accepts me as I am and shares in my passion to exhibit Christ’s love to those around us. I am so thankful for an understanding wife and children when ministry calls me away. I am grateful to watch my children grow in their faith and develop a burning desire to show Christ love by helping others. I am thankful for a wife who loves me, even when I stink and is my best friend. I am thankful God has placed so many cool friends and family members in my life.  I am thankful for the compassionate way those in all communities who  respond every time someone is hurting, sick, or in need. I am grateful for ever person who helps others over come addictions, protects children, and helps others heal from the pains in life. I thank God for everyone who chooses to worship with us and the abundance of children who have descended upon us lately. I am grateful for a patient and kind congregation who has endured as after ten years of ministry I have began to learn a new preaching style. I thank God for I get to be apart of Centralia Group Workcamp. I praise God for diligent dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly to teach the faith to the next generation. I thank God for those who go the extra mile to visit, call, and stay connected with our home bound members. I am thankful for the Soldiers. I am thankful for the outrageous generosity of the people in our faith family. With giving of their money, time, and resources, in an era of decline we have managed unprecedented growth. For that I am thankful. I am thankful for all the people who work so hard behind the scenes to do the ministry. I am thankful God placed great examples in my life of Christian service and taught me what true faith really is.I am appreciative for all the individuals that I get to lead worship with each week. I am grateful something greater than myself is active in growing in my life. I am grateful for my health. I am thankful that I still have a lot of room for growth in my life. I am grateful I still have a lot to learn about being a good husband, father, and minister. I am thankful I don’t have it all figured out and that God is still active in my life. I am grateful for the forgiveness of others when I mess up. Last but not least, I am eternally grateful and find joy in the fact that I am loved, accepted, and validated by my Savior Jesus Christ and by so many wonderful people. I feel blessed and thankful that each day I get to do what I am called to do.  I also thank God for you, that our paths in life have crossed, as you are a blessing to me.
With all our love from our family to yours.
Happy Thanks LIVING….
Tommy