End of the Week Mind-Dump

It's the end of the week and as always there is lots of activity going on at Western Hills. So as we look forward to Sunday, here is my "end-of-the-week-random-mind-dump." Enjoy!

1 - On Sunday We will wrap-up our series on 1 Peter, "Live Different." I hope and pray you have been blessed by the ancient, but extremely relevant words of a man walked with Jesus. I have told many that I was planning on being in 1 Peter for only 4 weeks, but the more I studied the more I had to preach.

2 - This Sunday we will end how Peter ends with a look at our elders. We have an amazing group of men who serve as our elders. Please be in prayer for them as they serve God and serve this church. If you do not know all of our elders they are - Rex Baugh, Neil Haney, Lurry Leavelle, Larry Matthews, Ron Scott, Steve Stern, Jim Thigpen.

3 - Next Sunday (April 8) is our Easter Service. I am excited about Easter not because it is the only day we celebrate the Resurrection (we do that EVERY Sunday) but because it is the day that the rest of the world gets in on it. So we are praying hard for all of the people who will be on our campus that day. We have an opportunity to connect each of them to Jesus.

4 - Who will you invite on that Sunday? Who are you building a friendship with that you can now bring them to church with you? I want to encourage you to step out on faith and extend the invitation to someone. You just might be surprised what God will do with your step of faith.

5 - Our Youth Minister search process is moving forward. The Search Team is interviewing candidates. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY for this effort. It is critical that the right man be invited to lead our teens and families. Please pray.

Well that is all for today. See you on Sunday.
Love Ya Much
Scott

Does an Empty Tomb really matter?

This seemingly simple question is the pivotal question to Christian faith. It is a question that can not be avoided. A recent indication to the importance of this question is the recent documentary by film-maker James Cameron, The Lost Tomb of Jesus. The film (which aired March 4, 2007 on the Discovery Channel) makes the claim that the tomb of Jesus has been found. The documentary is quick to point out that this discovery need not challenge any of the Christian doctrines. The suggestion is made that the resurrection of Jesus was a spiritual one if not physical. So again the question has been asked, "Does it really matter whether or not the tomb is empty?"

I believe that EVERYTHING hinges on that question. If the tomb is not empty, and Jesus did not return from the dead then everything else he claimed was either nonsense or a lie. Throughout history many have suggested that Jesus was a kind man and a good teacher, but not divine. The problem with this idea is that you believe the man that tells you how you should live, how much you should love, and how to prioritize your life, but your not going to listen to him when he says I will return from the dead! If Jesus did not rise from the dead then we should dismiss everything else he said, but if he did return from the dead then we can not ignore anything he said.

On Easter Sunday we will wrestle with this issue. We will discover what it means to us if the tomb of Jesus was empty. Make plans to join us as we begin the new message series, "God's Empty Promise.

God Bless

Scott

To read a good article that refutes the claims of the documentary click here.

Who will you invite?

Every Sunday we have an opportunity to do something miraculous. We have an opportunity to invite people who we know and care about to join us and participate in our worship. Why would we do this? Because we are driven to lead as many as possible into a growing relationship with Jesus. Every week God is bringing people onto our campus and into our service to hear how much God loves them. How is he doing this? He is using you to do it. I am meeting lots of people who tell me that they are here because one of you invited them. You are somebody they work with, carpool with, live next door to, or go to school with and because you asked they decided they would come. So as we look toward Easter with high expectations about what God will do...whose face do you see joining us and hearing about the good news of Jesus?

God Bless

Scott

PS - One tool you can use to invite someone is the e-vite on the website. Click here to learn more.

Get Ready for Easter

Easter Sunday is coming April 8 and we need to get ready! Both research and experience shows that more people will give "church a chance" on Easter than any other Sunday of the year. This fact has big implications for us as a church that is on mission to "connect the unconnected." We will have an opportunity to impact someone who may not have stepped inside of a church building for a year. What will we do with our opportunity?

One thing I know will happen is that you will invite people who are in your circle of influence (friends, co-workers, family, etc) to our worship service. I am confident of this because it is already happening. Every week I am meeting more and more people who tell me they are here because one of you invited them. We call this our BUILD and BRING strategy. Simply stated it means you intentionally build an authentic relationship with someone and then bring them to church.

To capitalize on this dynamic I am trying something new. I will be launching a new series on Easter Sunday (instead of concluding one). The series is titled GOD'S EMPTY PROMISE. We will explore the everyday and eternal impact of the empty tomb on our lives. I hope to make this series practical and relevant, with a hope that who you invite just may come back to hear more.

I will be praying for you as you get ready for Easter.
God Bless
Scott

Summer Youth Intern

Western Hills has a long history of training up Godly men and women to serve the church. To continue that tradition, we are bringing in one of our own to help us out this summer: Cole Smith. We are very excited about Cole coming on board and all the leadership he brings.

Click Here to read an exclusive interview with Cole.

Youth Minister Search Team

As I announced Sunday morning, the elders have commissioned a team of people to lead out in our search for a new Youth Minister.

The team is made up of the following people:

• A.C. Blunt
• Sharla Bundy
• Les Maloney
• Jack Mankin
• Erica Meyer
• Randy Pittenger
• Sharon Phillips
• Melissa Prather
• Scott Seela
  

We ask the entire church to lift up this team in prayer. Please pray for them to have wisdom & discernment. Please pray for the next youth minister that God has prepared for Western Hills. And please continue to pray for Matt & Megan as they select a law school and prepare to move.

Western Hills has seen the faithfulness and power of God as we humble ourselves and pray. I am confident that we will see God "do amazing things among us" as we add a new person to the Western Hills staff.

Keep praying!

-Scott Seela