It’s after 6 PM as I begin this blog entry, and I just got home after 11-hours of service, praise, worship, fellowship, bi-county driving, and Hollywood movie fun. Here’s the skinny McPhinny:
1. I arrived at the movie theatre at my normal time this morning – 7:20 AM – but that wasn’t early enough to beat Anne J. and Paul H. to the punch. I helped to setup, as we transformed a place of Hollywood movie fun into a place of worship on this glorious Sunday morning. As the Life Pointe Church family began to arrive for the 9 AM service I hit the road Jack.
2. I got on Florida’s Turnpike at 8:50 AM, and I drove 48.3 miles north up to the heart of Weston Florida. I arrived at InDependence Church a mere 45 minutes later. Their Sunday morning service starts at 10:29 AM; however, their family pretty much straggles in during the first 30 minutes of the service. (It’s not just a Life Pointe tradition – it’s a South Florida tradition.) Their first 30 minutes consists of a long rockin’ Praise & Worship set followed by about a 10-minute intermission. This was my 2ND service at InDependence Church (my first was Presidents’ Day Sunday), and I’m happy to announce that Life Pointe’s Brannon & Taylor have made InDependence their church close to home. They live up in Weston now, and this was their first service there. They still plan to visit Life Pointe occasionally, as Brannon still works at the air base.
3. We had a special guest speaker at InDependence this week – a guy that trains police departments around the world on truth detection. After he spoke briefly on his profession Pastor Nathan took the stage to wrap-up ‘The Moment Of Truth’ message series (loosely based on the FOX-TV show). This week’s topic – ‘Have You Ever Asked Someone To Lie For You ?’ Lying is hard to do. Telling the truth is easy. You don’t have to think real hard to tell the truth, but when you lie it requires extra brain cells and blood pressure. We always look toward the permissive. What can we get away with ? If we can get away with it then what else can we get away with ? It’s a spiraling effect. As believers, followers, and obeyers of Jesus Christ we must be different than what the rest of the world is saying and doing. We must know right from wrong. We must have integrity, truthfulness, and honesty forever. ‘The Moment Of Truth’ is always and forever before God.
Genesis 12:1-20 was this week’s primary Scriptures – ‘The Call Of Abram’ and ‘Abram And Sarai In Egypt’.
4. I had a fantastic time at InDependence Church this morning. It was well worth the trip. As a 2007 church plant of Life Pointe Church it’s kind of like a reconnaissance mission for me to visit the new and developing church and see how much it has progressed since my last visit. It’s always cool to hear Pastor Nathan speak. Pretty soon I’ll be able to hear him speak on a regular basis – via their church web site – as they place their podcasts online. I’ll also be back LIVE and in-person later this Summer for a follow-up visit. Keep doing your thing up there in Weston. Transform that beautiful manicured city into a place where God is livin’ large and fully in-charge. Expand His Kingdom ! Kick the devil out of the city !
5. On my return trip southbound I made a pit-stop at the Muvico Paradise 24 in Davie (right along I-75). I’ve always wanted to see a movie at that theatre ever since it opened for business back in the Spring of 1999, and today – over 9 years later – I finally did it. I saw “What Happens In Vegas“. It was fantastic. I laughed hysterically all throughout it, and it wasn’t nearly as dirty as the previous movie that I (unfortunately) saw (in Orlando).
6. Once I got back home into Homestead I hung out with Travis, Kelly, and Tammy at the Life Pointe offices for a couple of hours. Trav introduced me to “Guitar Hero“, and each time I played it with him I got better at it. I even beat him in one game (barely), but it was a game in which he played it ‘hard’ and I played it ‘easy’. Now my fingers and arms hurt ! After today’s 11-hour adventure I feel like a worn-out 41-year-old rock star. I’m exhausted like that.
Have a great Sunday night everyone ! THANKS for hanging out with me earlier today LIVE and in-person – and / or right here right now on the blog.
