• This week was such an uplifting topic. We talked about Death.
• Yep, that’s right. Kickin’ the bucket.
• We started a new series called To Be Continued: Life and Death are Only the Beginning.
• It’s a tough topic but one we need to talk about. No reason to fear it!
• From the oldest Psalm in the Bible we learned a lot about death. Mainly that it is the result of sin.
• But just as Moses wrote in Psalm 90, the reality of death should teach us to LIVE!
• And Paul put it best when he said “For me, to live is Christ.”
• That’s what it’s all about.
• Next week we tackle another fun topic: HELL!
• Is hell real? What do we believe about it? And is this whole series going to be so dang dark?
• NO!
• The last two weeks will be the flip to the flop. We’ll talk about Heaven and Jesus’ return to earth.
• Another cool thing, our OneLife Communities kicked off last night and from what I’ve heard so far, it’s been nothing but rave reviews.
• That’s awesome.
• Keep it up, OneLifers!
• Share those faith stories and invite a friend. You’ll be glad you did!

What an INCREDIBLE day. On more than one occasion I had to fight back tears to not absolutely come unglued. Here’s the story:

• We had one, combined service to celebrate the year that God has given us.
• It was unbelievable to see the auditorium filled with people. So much so that we had to tear down the pipe and drape a few minutes into the service to open up the entire auditorium!
• As I shared during the sermon, just a little more than a year ago I cast a vision to 14 people in that same auditorium telling them that one day God would fill it up. Little did I know that on our one year anniversary, nearly 450 people would be there.
• Here’s the cool thing about that – there is NO way that kind of thing could happen because of me or our staff. Only God can make that happen.
• We saw that first hand in the 20 baptisms that we celebrated. The video testimonies before each baptism were simply incredible. Truly stories of life change that, once again, only God can make happen.
• The reallllllly cool news is that after Sunday, we now have even MORE people to baptize and go public with their new faith in Christ! That’s what it’s all about.
• Having our entire church together to worship like that was amazing. We did a lot more music than normal but it was worth it.
• The band truly led worship and the new stage set helped create a really amazing sense of awe and excitement as we worshipped God.
• The sermon focused on the story of Joshua defeating Jericho. It took a God given vision, a huge faith, and action for him and the Israelites to accomplish that.
• It has taken the same for OneLife Church and will continue to take that moving forward.
• I was so thankful for the attendance and partnership of many of my and our mentors. Pastor Greg Greer from Providence Church, Dan Palmer from Missionary Church, and Lee Dittman from Liberty Church Planters Network were all in attendance. We also had a video from Pastors Ron Stewart, Tim Addis, and Chad Sparks.
• These guys have all been huge in helping OneLife. They – and others – have helped me through tough decisions, answered my quizzing questions, and been prayer support to get us where we are.
• Sunday night was also the kick-off for our fall student ministry. More than 40 teenagers showed up. I stopped by and was amazed at our volunteers and leadership. They’ve got a great thing going that will change the lives of many students in Knox County.
• Next Sunday is just as huge for us. We start a new series that will rock your world: “To Be Continued…” is the name. This is a series about death and the end times. WOAH!
• Next Sunday and next week also launches OneLife Communities – our groups ministry. If you haven’t expressed interest in joining a community, why not?! Go here for more info: www.onelifeknox.com/communities
• Remember, OneLife, we’ve only just begun. Share your faith stories this week and invite a friend to come discover God this Sunday.
• We’re back to two services! 10 and 11:30 a.m. See ya then.

• God has a sense of humor.
• This was a holiday weekend which should have meant low attendance, no energy, and a Sunday to “re-group” getting ready for next week.
• WRONG!
• God showed us Who is really in charge.
• We had our highest attendance since EASTER! That’s right – Easter. The holiday people are SUPPOSED to come to church. On LABOR DAY! The holiday people are supposed to be on the lake!
• Another high was first time guests. We had 34 fill out cards! WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM?!
• They came because lives are being changed by the Gospel and THAT is contagious! OneLifers – keep sharing your faith stories and keep inviting people to come worship with you!
• Speaking of worship, it was amazing. We also got to celebrate communion together, which is always one of my favorite things we do.
• I took this Sunday as a chance to clear up our beliefs about baptism during the sermon.
• The sermon had been planned for months, but in just the past couple of weeks I’ve had multiple conversations with people wondering why we do baptism the way we do it.
• So we answered that question and the question of what is the significance of baptism?
• The main significance is going public with your faith. And next week, we have 20 people going public through baptism!
• Let me answer somebody’s question now: “Why does he talk about numbers so much in this blog?”
• Because they matter! Just like I talk about the 60,000 people within 5-miles of Powell High School who are unchurched and need Jesus!
• Next Sunday is a day I’ve been looking forward to for months. OneLife turns 1-year old!
• We’ll be celebrating all that God has done over the past year in ONE combined service at 10 a.m.
• It’s going to be PACKED so you better come early to get a good seat.
• Or better, come early to volunteer and serve all of our guests who will be there to hear about us thanking Jesus.
• Or even better, get up early, go pick up a friend, and bring them with you to hear about Jesus getting the victory.
• It’s going to be incredible! See you there – at 10 am ONLY!!!