mattmehaffey

I have a TV?

Over the past few months I haven't watched much TV. Certainly, the writers' strike is partially to blame and starting a church has left me with little free time.

That being said, I am really looking forward to the season premiere of Lost tonight. Yeah, it jumped the shark a bit early last season but it quickly regained my interest. If you aren't watching Lost, go to your Netflix queue and get busy!

Am I Happy?

I just saw a reference in the Christian Standard to a Time Magazine report showing members of the clergy are among the "happiest" employees. 62.7% of those asked said they were satisfied.

I wasn't asked but here's my answer: I love what I do. I can't even imagine doing anything else with my life.

The Best News of All!

Last night I blogged about all the first-time guests The Pursuit Christian Church had on our first Celebration Service yesterday. Well, Bob and I just went through the Connection Cards from yesterday and we were startled with what we found.

I hope you are ready for some really great news!

14 people indicated on their Connection Card they want to become followers of Christ!
18 people said they want to become members of The Pursuit!

Now comes the fun part. Bob and I are going to be following up with these individuals today. Please pray God guides us in our conversations. I knew God was working yesterday but I had no idea what He was up to. I hope you will celebrate with us as you read this!

We have Lift Off!

Today has left me speechless and absolutely drained. I can barely muster the energy to type this blog. I've been riding a massive wave of emotion all day long. Can't tell you how much our team appreciated (and needed) all the prayers and encouraging texts, emails and phone calls from people across the globe. Thank you.

The Pursuit Christian Church successfully launched today with 139 people in attendance. Half of them were launch team members of The Pursuit and people from supporting churches in Florida and Indiana but the other half were first time guests!

The thing I am going to bed celebrating and the first thing I will think of when I wake up tomorrow morning is how I saw God calling people back to Him right in front of our eyes.

I promise there will be a lot more said in the days to come (probably some great pictures too) but please know we serve a faithful God who is madly in love with His people and who will never stop searching for those who are far from Him.

I love my job!

Searching for Relationships

I have heard several people say how difficult it is to make friends in South Florida. I am so thankful for the people God has pulled together through The Pursuit Christian Church in such a short time. The coolest thing is He is adding new people every single week who come and see a community of people who truly care for one another. To this point, everyone who has come to check out The Pursuit has chosen to be a part of it! While it's likely this will not always be the case, I attribute this to the fact everyone of us wants to be connected with others. After all, God did not design us to go through life alone.

It's absolutely amazing how densely populated South Florida is and yet so many are still missing out on one of the most important elements in life.

You are invited to come and see for yourself! This Sunday is our first official Celebration Service. This is an event you will not want to miss! Below is a map to the Floridian Ballroom at Pines Blvd and 178 in the heart of Pembroke Pines. The service begins at 10:30 a.m. I'd get there early if you can!

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Look who is in Town!

Last night, Bob, Linda, Janie and I met Howard and Martha Brammer for dinner in the Weston Town Center.

Howard was the Senior Minister at Traders Point Christian Church while all four of us served there. Martha is a fantastic artist and an equally good blogger. Now they can add "world travelers" to the list. They were telling of us all the places they have been and where they are going.

I am honored they are going to be here for the launch of The Pursuit Christian Church on Sunday. Howard's leadership has been a catalyst in my life. Just the other day, I found myself in a difficult situation and because I had witnessed Howard in the same type of situation I was confident I made a wiser choice.

My Life as an Ogre

This past weekend, The Pursuit Christian Church had the honor of sponsoring Pembroke Pines' "Pines Day" festival.

Our booth was a lot of fun. Especially, when everyone's favorite ogre stopped by. Over 1,000 kids had a great time getting their picture taken with Shrek. We also invited everyone to come to our Outdoor Movie Night this Saturday night where we are showing Shrek 3. If you are in the Pembroke Pines/Miramar area, we hope you will stop by for this free event! You can go to www.thepursuit.cc for more info including times and directions!

Cincinnati Crunkin' University

My friend from college, Jake Follis, just sent me this video on youtube. It will probably not be funny to anyone else but Cincinnati Christian University students and alumni (and there's a good bet it won't be funny to a bunch of them either). Me? I can't stop laughing. Kudos to the guys who created the song and video.

What's Your Song?

One of the coolest things I have ever seen is Mariano Rivera, the closer for the New York Yankees, come out of the bullpen to wrap up the game with the Metallica song, "Enter Sandman" blaring through Yankee Stadium.

New Yankee pitcher, Phil Hughes, on his blog is considering walking out to another Metallica song.

This got me thinking what my song would be. I'm thinking LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" but I am not sold on that one.

If you got a suggestion, post your comment. Maybe I'll get our sound guy to play it as I walk up to preach on Sunday (OK that's a ridiculous thought, it probably happens somewhere, but still ridiculous).

Lamb of God (5 of 5)

The last possibility I have on my list regarding what John the Baptist was referring to when he identified Jesus as "Lamb of God" comes from Exodus 12.

At this time, the Israelites were subjected to slavery by Egypt and their Pharaoh. God sent his prophet, Moses, time and time again to ask Pharaoh to free them. Every time Moses asked, Pharaoh refused and God's wrath fell on the land of Egypt. The final time would be a devastating blow.

God instructed Moses (and his brother Aaron) to let all the Israelites know some very important instructions. On a certain day, they were to take a lamb without blemish and kill it. Afterwards, they were to take the blood and smear it along the entryway into their houses.

Vs. 12-13 says, "On that same night I [God] will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn - both men and animals ... The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt."

To this day, the Jewish community celebrates and remembers "Passover" when God saved them from His wrath.

Therefore, John the Baptist could be referring to Jesus as our "Passover Lamb" whose blood on the cross would save us from the punishment we deserved. Jesus stepped into the line of fire for us because of his great love for us.

I hope you are able to see that the "Lamb of God" statement John used points to Jesus as a very unique and special individual. This was not just a good teacher. This was not just a good man. This is God, Himself, wrapped in skin, walking where we walk, for the purpose of bringing us back to Him.