Just as Jesus was dedicated as a child, we follow the same tradition and offer parents an opportunity to dedicate their children to God and declare their intentions to raise them in a Godly manner.

WHY DEDICATION?

Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127:3 proclaims, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.” As believers we are called to recognize that children belong first and foremost to God. God in his goodness gives children as gifts to parents. You not only have the awesome responsibility of caring for this gift, but also the wonderful privilege of enjoying the gift. Because children belong to God and are given by grace as gifts to parents, it is only proper and appropriate that children be dedicated back to God.

NOT BAPTISM?

It must be stressed that we are dedicating and not baptizing. Jesus himself was dedicated as a child and then baptized as an adult. Baptism is done in response to repentance and faith in Jesus. Dedication is done by the parents and involves making a vow to completely submit their child to the will of God and raise that child in the ways of the Lord.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities God has entrusted to Christian parents include continuously praying for their children (Job 1:5), instructing them in the way of the Lord (Proverbs 22:6), setting a godly example (Proverbs 20:7), and disciplining them as the Lord would discipline us (Proverbs 29:15,17; 13:24). These responsibilities can only be fulfilled in Christ’s strength (Philippians 4:13).

YOUR COMMITMENT

We ask that you enter into the following commitment in the presence of God and his people: So that your child may walk in the abundant life that Christ offers, you vow by God’s help and in partnership with the church, to provide a Christian home of love and peace, to raise them in the truth of our Lord’s instruction and discipline, and to encourage them to one day trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Join us for the next Starting Point Group!

Beginning January 23rd, this 6-week course will equip you to grow spiritually and provide you with a solid biblical foundation for your life. It’s also a great way to build relationships with others!

Starting Point Group will meet at the Bells’ house from 7-8 p.m. Childcare is available if you sign up beforehand. You will need to purchase The Purple Book (available for $5 at the Welcome Table) and fill out the first chapter before the first class.

Sign up below for life change!

What does it mean to live a life with God?

Have you ever wanted to experience God’s presence tangibly? Are there sins or life patterns that you’re struggling to get rid of? Would you like to pray better, and discover new Spiritual gifts? Do you wonder what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

JIM CRITCHER, Associate Pastor of Grace Covenant Church, and friend to Trinity New Life Church, will be leading us in our first event of this sort, called Encounter. Encounter is a new experience that we’re excited to offer to you, where you’ll have the chance to engage God experientially on a deeper level than we’re often able to acheive on a typical Sunday morning.

Great! What are the details?

Join us on January 21 at Baypointe Church (5238 Mile Stretch Drive, Holiday, FL) at 8:55am for this life-changing event.

The cost will be $10 for individuals and $15 for couples. Lunch, and coffee and snacks will be provided. You can pay the day of the event but MUST REGISTER AHEAD OF TIME!

Join us for a relaxed evening with great food and an opportunity to meet our pastor and TNLC church leaders! The dinner will be from 6:30-8 p.m. on January 18th at the Bells’ house.

Newcomers is the perfect environment to meet others who are new to the church and discover more about our heart and vision for TNLC. Childcare is provided for those who signup before online or at the Connect Table.

It’s the 3rd annual TNLC Christmas party!!!

The party is hosted at the McNeills’ on Sat Dec 17th at 6:30-8:30

Appetizers and desserts will be provided, and childcare will be provided for children 5 and younger, but all kids are welcome. If you’d really like to help with food, email Allison and let her know.

We’ll also be exchanging White Elephant gifts (under 5 bucks). Naughty or nice, your choice!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

If you’ve never been water baptized after making a profession of faith, this is your chance! Just sign up below! If you’d like more info about water baptism you can download this PDF which should address many of your questions. If you’d like to talk to one of our leaders about it, please don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know!

Let the life change begin!

Ready for another chance to SERVE THE CITY?!?!

This November we will be partnering with One Community Now (a collection of church in West Pasco that we are a part of) to provide winter coats for the Cold Weather Shelter, run by Impact Family Ministries (also a part of One Community Now). Click those linky-links in the last sentence to find out more about the actual ministries.

This is a great opportunity to provide a practical need to our local community! All you’ve got to do is bring your coats to the worship service on Sunday and we’ll have a collection bin for them. Boom! City served!

One last though before you rush off to your closets: If you’re a parent, take this opportunity to teach your kids the joy of serving and sharing. Explain what we’re doing, and that we’re doing it because Christ gave to use when we needed it but couldn’t earn it, so we’re doing the same thing. Pick out a few of their coats and let them choose which one to actually donate. Let them come into the service and place it in the collection bin. Begin a family tradition of serving and loving together!

Congratulations to:

Jason and Sarah Miles

Jason and Laurie Hilfiker

George and Kari Harrington

Lacie Fowler

Aaron Prida

Brandon Mann

Darlean Weingarten

Christopher Giarratana

Welcome to the Family!

Are you ready to take the next step and become a member of Trinity New Life Church? Sign up today for our next Membership Class!

If you’ve completed our Starting Point Group (or will finish it by October 25) you’re eligible to go through the class. It will be held on October 25th from 7-8:30 pm. at the Bells house. Childcare is available if you sign up before the class.

Sign up below, or direct additional questions to info@trinitynewlife.com.

If you’ve never been water baptized after making a profession of faith, this is your chance! Just sign up below! If you’d like more info about water baptism you can download this PDF which should address many of your questions. If you’d like to talk to one of our leaders about it, please don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know!

Let the life change begin!

While Clayton and Kelly drove to North Carolina to be with the Owens during the memorial service, an idea from our sister church in Tallahassee came to wear yellow during service to honor and remember Aria. Through just some quick social networking posts, our church joined in and responded in an amazing way. Jon and Kelley were very blessed and encouraged by this show of affection, and have expressed such thanks to all of you. Here are a few of the photos, with a link to the full album below:

See the full album on Facebook or Flickr.

Ever wonder where you can go to catch up on all the previous Trinity New Life sermons? Wonder no more!

We’ve recently cleaned up our sermon archives and organized them on two pages for easy access. One of life’s biggest quandaries has now been solved: you can find all the sermons you want to with minimal effort. We’re always thinking of you…

You can find all of the 2011 sermons on [THIS PAGE], which will be updated throughout the year as new sermons are added.

Sermons from 2010 (the olden days, as we call it) can be found [HERE]. Enjoy!

Did you know that you can now enjoy Trinity New Life Church on your TV?

Thanks to the latest update on the Apple TV, you can now view videos hosted on Vimeo (TNLC’s choice) right on your TV! This means all of our sermon videos can stream right in to your living room, giving you the perfect way to catch up whenever you miss a service…not that you’d ever want to miss a service, of course…

You can also view Vimeo videos on a host of other set-top boxes, including Samsung Blu-Ray players, Roku players and Google TV, among others. See a complete list HERE on Vimeo’s site. Click HERE to read more about Apple TV.

Happy sermon streaming!

Join us for the next Starting Point Group!

Beginning September 13th, this 6-week course will equip you to grow spiritually and provide you with a solid biblical foundation for your life. It’s also a great way to build relationships with others!

Starting Point Group will meet at the Bells’ house from 7-8 p.m. Childcare is available if you sign up beforehand. You will need to purchase The Purple Book (available for $5 at the Welcome Table) and fill out the first chapter before the first class.

Sign up below for life change!

Join us THIS SUNDAY as we kickoff a new series, FRIDAY NIGHTS!

When the pressure’s on, and the big moments, the big decisions are right in front of us, how do we react? Do we fold, or lead ourselves, our families, or our teams to victory?

Join us for three weeks of gridiron sermons and stories as we discuss what it takes to be successful under the Friday night lights…of life!

Oh, and wear your sports gear to church! It’s OK to have fun!

YOUR CHANCE TO SERVE THE CITY!

Trinity New Life Church is a member of One CommUnity Now, a “a network of churches, non-profit community organizations and business and community leaders working together throughout West Pasco County to serve and bring to Pasco the hope and love of Christ through our unified prayer, acts of service, compassion, and love.”

This year we get the exciting opportunity to participate in the second annual Serve Day, which will take place on August 6th. Local churches around the county will be going to local schools to serve in whatever capacity the school requested. As luck (well, not really, I asked) would have it, we’re getting the chance to serve the school we hold services in, Trinity Elementary!

The Serve Day will begin at 7:30am with prayer and refreshments at Trinity Presbyterian Church. The morning gathering will end at 8:30am, and we’ll head over to Trinity Elementary for three hours of serving, finishing up at 12pm. There’s multiple areas to serve in, including paining, cleaning, unboxing, laminating and room setup.

Don’t let this opportunity to impact our community pass you by! We’re looking for 30 volunteers for this event, so let’s make it happen, everyone!!!

To download more info, grab the PDF of the flyers here and here.

Join us for a day at Honeymoon Island, hanging out and enjoying fun in the sun!

We’ll meet at 10:30am and have a nice big tent set up for everyone to cool off under. Maybe even some Icee Pops for everyone!

Check out the Facebook Event for more details as the day approaches!

New Life Groups are your key to developing community with other at TNLC and changing your life by learning more about God through His word! Here’s the details:

MONDAY NIGHTS :: MEN’S GROUP

Our men’s group will be held at the Bells’ house and will start at 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY NIGHTS :: WOMEN’S GROUP

This women’s group will be held at the McNeills’ house and will start at 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY NIGHTS :: WOMEN’S GROUP

This women’s group’s location is TBD but will start at 7:30 p.m.

Sign up for more info, including directions, below!

As I mentioned on Sunday, you’re not going to cover everything on a topic like sexuality and sin in 35 minutes, no matter how prepared you are. So here’s a list of additional resources, in case you’re interested:

• An article from The Gospel Coalition discussing the biological elements of the discussion
• From Desiring God on beliefs and ministering practices
• All articles from The Gospel Coalition related to this subject
• A two-hour seminar from Matt Chandler, covering about every inch of the discussion

This should keep you busy for now! If you have additional questions, please send them to info@trinitynewlife.com, we want to help you grow in your spiritual journey and wrestle through the important issues of the day!

Get ready for the biggest event in TNLC history as we move into our new home, Trinity Elementary, on May 22nd! Mark your calendars for this historic day as we move to a bigger place so we can live out a big vision of seeing the whole Trinity area transformed by Jesus.

This move will give us greater control over our environment on Sunday mornings, will have greater visibility for people to see where the church is, and will be a bigger building for more lives to be changed! Can we get excited about some lives being changed?!?! Heck yes!!!

Here’s how you can help:

PRAY AND FAST

Pick Wednesday (May 19), Thursday (May 20) or Friday (May 21) to fast and pray for the move, to bless the school, and for the lives that will be changed there! Pray that God would be glorified and that many people are added to the kingdom of God!

PRAY AND PROVIDE

Next Sunday, May 15, we are believing to raise $3,500 to cover the cost of moving into our new home. We ask you to prayerfully consider this week how much God would lead you to give in partnering with us to facilitate life change. You’ll be able to either give a special gift next Sunday, or pledge to give over the next four months. As always, if you have any additional questions, please contact us at info@trinitynewlife.com!

The North American leadership team is inviting Pastors, leaders and families to gather with us for this exciting conference in this truly spectacular location.

The conference theme is: “DREAM – Capturing God’s Purpose for your Life, Family and Mission.” Our speakers, including renownd authors Ed Stetzer and John Bevere, will be focusing on how we can discover and walk at deeper levels in God’s amazing plan for our lives.

Whether you are a student, business professional, or mother we believe God has a special moment waiting for you at this event. The time is now to reach forward and dream big for your life!

The conference is family friendly, enabling guests to enjoy the conference while having the vacation of a lifetime. The schedule is designed for guests to experience the refreshing presence of God, as well as enjoy the exciting attractions at Walt Disney World all in the same day.

Please check out all the exciting conference events at www.Dream2011.com.

Ever had a question, a doubt, a concern, a frustration you wanted to ask about church or Christianity? This is YOUR series!

From April 24 through May 15 we’ll use YOUR questions as the foundation for the sermon! Send them to questions@trinitynewlife.com, and get ready for a great series!

Plus, starting May 1, the last ten minutes of the message will including live Q&A via text messages. Don’t miss this one, who knows how it’s going to go!!!

Join us for the next Starting Point Group!

Beginning April 26th, this 6-week course will equip you to grow spiritually and provide you with a solid biblical foundation for your life. It’s also a great way to build relationships with others!

Starting Point Group will meet at the Bells’ house from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Childcare is available if you sign up beforehand. You will need to purchase The Purple Book (available for $5 at the Welcome Table) and fill out the first chapter before the first class.

Sign up below for life change!

Join us April 10th and 17th for a two-week series on how to be rebellious with your time, defiant with you money, weird in your worship, and just plain crazy in your relationship with God.

Your better bring some attitude to this series! See you then!

BAM! Healthy Kids Day at the Gills YMCA!

Join us for one of two shifts (9:30am-12pm or 12-2pm) to help hand out water bottles and freeze pops to everyone there. If you know how to open a cooler or use scissors, you’re qualified!

All you have to do to sign up is fill out the form at the link below. See you there!

SIGN UP TO SERVE

Join churches from Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee, Atlanta and Augusta starting Friday night at 7:30pm and concluding on Saturday at 4pm. The advance will include times of worship, powerful preaching, life-changing BBQ…and the corn hole tournament to end all corn hole tournaments!

All of this is yours for the low, low registration price of $20, which covers your Saturday lunch and conference materials. Sign up today at the link below to reserve your spot!

www.FIGHTBACK2011.com

Join us for a relaxed evening with great food and an opportunity to meet our pastor and TNLC church leaders! The dinner will be from 6:30-8 p.m. on April 4th at the Bells’ house.

Newcomers is the perfect environment to meet others who are new to the church and discover more about our heart and vision for TNLC. Childcare is provided for those who signup before online or at the Welcome Table.

Please RSVP by completing this form. See you there!

To help you out, or in case you missed last Sunday, here’s the Prayer and Fasting Info we handed out. It’s a PDF which should answer most of your questions about what fasting is and is not, as well as a list of specific prayer goals for our church. The list is also repeated below.

If you’ve never fasted before PLEASE READ THE GUIDE and consider starting at some level THIS WEEK! And if you’ve never been to a prayer meeting with other people before, this is the time to start! We’re not looking for super-faith warriors only, we’re looking for people ready to take the next step in their faith. This is it!

So read the guide, decided on your fast, pray during each meal, and plan on joining us Saturday at 5pm at the YMCA for our closing prayer meeting. We’ll have New Life Kids set up and a movie on, so parents will be rotating every few minutes to watch the kids. No excuses! Big faith!

Church Prayer Goals

LOVE JESUS

• For every person in our church to have a passionate, white-hot love for Jesus Christ.
• For everyone to seek to grow in holiness and intimacy with God every day of their lives, allowing him to expose false idols in our lives.
• For false idols to be exposed in the lives of those who don’t know Jesus, specifically the idols of trusting in moral goodness, security of money, and pride in personal abilities.
• Pray for the salvation of everyone in our area! Pray for their lives to be rescued and restored by Jesus!
• Pray for our kids to love Jesus from an early age, that we would see salvations in New Life Kids with regularity!
• Pray for middle and high school students to give their lives to Jesus and withstand the pressures and temptations of their environment.

LOVE PEOPLE

• Pray we would be a spiritual family, not just an organization.
• Pray we would love and care for each other like a real family, bearing one another’s burdens in love.
• Pray for the strengthening of families and marriages in our community.
• Pray against divorce in our community and our church. Pray for broken marriages to be reconciled by the power of the Gospel.
• Success in evangelism, specifically for these people: (list your friends here)

SERVE THE CITY

• Pray for the staff and students of our adopted school, Odessa Elementary. Pray for all of our schools in the area!
• Pray for the staff of the YMCA, that they would be blessed!
• Pray for the growth and success of our plants in Boston and Miami.
• Pray for the churches in our local area, that we would all see souls saved!

See you Saturday at the prayer meeting, 5pm at the YMCA!

Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Conference dates are July  26-July 29.
2. Early registration is until April 1.
3. The conference theme is: DREAM: Capturing God’s Purpose for your Life, Family and Mission.
4. Our speakers will be focusing on how we can discover, build, and experience God’s amazing dream for our lives.
5. Special guest speakers include Ed Stetzer, Lisa Bevere, and Dr. Mark Rutland, president of Oral Roberts University, along with Jim Laffoon, Brett Fuller, and Rice Broocks.
6. Exciting seminars include a professional development seminar with Lynette Lewis and former Disney Institute executive Simon T. Bailey.
7. Stay at the beautiful Walt Disney World Swan.
8. Outstanding Room Rate for conference attendees is $129 per night.
9. Conference room rate also available three days prior and three days after the event.
10. Family-friendly conference schedule: Experience the conference sessions in the morning and enjoy the theme parks in the afternoon and evening!
11. Specially discounted theme park tickets available only to Every Nation conference attendees.
12. Special Disney character breakfast for our Every Nation family.

Please go to the official conference website to register, make room reservations, and to view all of the exciting details at Dream2011.com!

Join us February 2-4 for a three-day fast as we look to align our hearts with God’s, suppress the noise and hear the still small voice of God, kill sin, pray better, love better and give better.

We’ll be fasting on February 2-4, breaking the fast after praying the night of the 4th. We’ll be praying for the following things:

Church Prayer Goals

• Unity around the Gospel, and the mission to bring truth, grace, and changing power of the Gospel to our city.
• Wisdom and protection for our pastor
• For God’s Kingdom to come on Earth, even as it is in Heaven.
• For leaders to rise up in our midst to proclaim, teach, and lead our city to God.
• For spiritual hunger in everyone in our church
• Pray against people in our community trusting in their good deeds, bank account, and self-sufficiency.

Personal Prayer Goals

• To grow in holiness and freedom from sin.
• For greater desire for God.
• Success in evangelism, particularly in reaching our to 1)_____________ 2)_____________ 3)_____________ 4)_____________ 5)_____________
• Additional personal goal _____________________________________________
• Additional personal goal _____________________________________________
• Additional personal goal _____________________________________________

Prayer Times

The Bells will be hosting nightly prayer meetings from 7-8pm at their house during the fast. Contact info@trinitynewlife.com for details and directions.

Join us for a three-week series as we turn the madness into the magnificent.

• JAN30: The Sales Pitch- What idea of marriage are you
• being sold?
• FEB06: The Creative Team- The right people in the right roles produce the best results
• FEB13: Return on Investment- How to make the most of ever moment

This is a perfect series to invite friends to; I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want or need to have a better marriage. See you on Sunday!

New Life Groups are an essential way to grow with God, build community and live out our new life in Christ. As our church grows larger, we continue to develop close relationships in a smaller context. At TNLC we believe New Life Groups are your key to developing connections with those who share your interests or are in a similar life-stage, and changing your life by learning more about God through His word.

Men’s New Life Group will meet in the Community Room of the YMCA on Wednesday mornings from 6-7 a.m. for a time of accountability, encouragement, and prayer. Contact Pastor Clayton  (clayton@trinitynewlife.com) for more info, or just show up!

The women’s New Life Group will meet at the McNeills’ house from 7:30-9 p.m. on Tuesday nights, going through the book Captivating. For details and location, please contact Kelly Bell (kelly@trinitynewlife.com).

See you there!

As I mentioned in the message yesterday, I’m challenging EVERYONE in our church to undertake the E100 Challenge Bible reading plan to begin 2011. In case you missed it or forgot, here’s a ton of details:

• Booklets with the reading plan are available to pick up at the church, but you can download your own HERE.
• If you don’t have a Bible in a translation you can understand, you can pick up a free one at church or use the online one at YouVersion.com, which also has an app for nearly every phone out there.
• Never read the Bible or been able to understand it when you did? Here’s a PDF of 7 habits of highly-effective Bible readers, as well as a PDF on how to read the Bible.
• Only read the Bible on your phone? Sign up for the E100 Reading Plan at YouVersion.com.
• My suggestion would be to read 5 passages every 7 days to give yourself a realistic chance to catch up when miss.
• Look at your schedule and pinpoint specific times you’re planning on reading the Bible. If you wait until the end of the day it’s unlikely to happen. Do you best to make it first thing so you’re whole day is oriented around God’s word!

That’s all I’ve got! Church, TAKE UP THIS CHALLENGE! I CANNOT encourage you strongly enough, DIVE into the word of God! Let it renew and transform you!

This 6-week course will equip you to grow spiritually and provide you with a solid biblical foundation for your life. It’s also a great way to build relationships with others and discover unique opportunities to serve in one of the many TNLC environments.

Starting Point Group begins January 23rd at 9am in the Community Room of the YMCA. Childcare is available. Be sure to pick up your Purple Book ($5) this weekend at church so you’re ready for your first group!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Join us right here at the Y for a classic service of singing carols and celebrating Christ. The service is from 6:30-7:15 p.m. and will be for the whole family. It’s gonna be awesome, bring your friends and family, but don’t be late! You might have trouble getting a seat!

CONSPIRACY OF GENEROSITY

This Christmas season Trinity New Life Church will conspire against consumerism by giving generoulsy to three key areas

OUTSTRETCH

In an effort to Serve The City, we are beginning a relationship with Odessa Elementary School, so we will use a portion of the offering to provide breakfast to the entire staff as they begin the spring semester, as well as meeting student school supply needs.

OUTREACH

As a church plant, we love church plants, and want to serve Aletheia Church in Boston and SouthCoast Church in Miami this season. We want to bless Aletheia with 100 chairs for their facility, and SouthCoast Church with a much-needed sound system for services.

OPPORTUNITY

Finally, we know great and unexpected opportunities will be presented to us in 2011, and we want to be in a position to respond immediately to them.

We will take up a special offering December 12, believing to raise $5,000 to be a blessing in these areas. Please join us in prayerfully consider how you’ll participate in this conspiracy of blessing!

It’s time for our next baptisms, a celebration of life change and decision to follow Jesus with the whole of our lives. We’re doing one more before the end of the year in the HEATED YMCA pool.

If you’ve never been water baptized after making a profession of faith, this is your chance! Just sign up below! If you’d like more info about water baptism you can download this PDF which should address many of your questions. If you’d like to talk to one of our leaders about it, please don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know!

Let the life change begin!

Mark your calendars for an incredible time to chow and get challenged by visiting pastor and church planter Mike Cantrell! We’ll meet at the IHOP on 54 and Duckslough at 12:30 p.m. Sign up below and you’ll get all the info you need.

See you there!

What an amazing month we have ahead of us! So much fun stuff was announced yesterday, so let’s hit the highlights:

Can’t wait! More details will be coming about each and every item, but we wanted to get them to you so you can mark your calendars now. Let’s rock and roll!!!

As you heard yesterday, we’re beginning to partner more and more with Odessa Elementary, located in right in Trinity and home to our very own teacher extrodinare, Carly Schrader. This Monday night, November 22, you have an opportunity to help them get ready for the holidays!

From 4-7 p.m. volunteers will meet at Odessa to help set up Christmas decoration. So grab your work gloves, find an excuse to get off work early, and we’ll see you there!

Oh, and if you’re wondering what to do when you get there, just ask for Carly Schrader. That’ll get you on the right path!

Anyone who’s completed our Starting Point class  is eligible to become a member. If you’re not sure, just email us and ask and we’ll let you know!

To sign up, just email us (info@trinitynewlife) and attend the November 7th class held at 9 a.m. at the YMCA. Childcare is available, so let us know about the little ones you’re bringing!

We just finished up the monster series Lies You Hear in Church, a rollicking ride through the spiritual yet un-Biblical ideas that permeate our lives and churches. Now we’re diving into something we’ve never done with a sermon series at church: preaching through a whole book of the Bible!

Now half of you are really excited, and the other half might have just reached for your calendar to see what you can schedule on Sunday mornings for the next six weeks. HOLD ON JUST A SEC! I think you’ll enjoy the series more than you’d expect…

Reading the Bible is one of the most important activities we can do to develop a closer relationship with God, learn about His character and nature, see what He requires of us and learn how to live our lives under His lordship. But when most read the Bible they jump around from scripture to scripture, looking for a quick quote or idea to bright their day or make sense of a tough situation. While God’s word is applicable in all situations, it’s better to read the word as it was written- from someone, to someone, addressing a particular situation. This is what we’ll do as we dive into the book of James.

We’ll examine who James was, who his audience was, what his writing meant for them and how we can be encouraged and challenged by these Holy-Spirit inspired words 2,000 years after they were written. The Bible isn’t a confusing, mysterious text which only a few can decipher. It’s the living and enduring word of God, and He still speaks clearly to us through it today.

Join us this Sunday as we start our journey through James, finding out how we can put our faith to work in our everyday lives. Bring a Bible (or we’ll give you one if you don’t have one) and get ready to be transformed by God!

Just wanted to offer a quick recap of the service yesterday:

• Great job by Bryce filling in for Afrika. I love when the whole team is working together, but it’s nice to know we’re developing some depth and quality leaders!
• Did you know it was 10/10/10? Yeah, I did to.
• In case you’re wondering the songs yesterday were Blessed Be The Name, One Way, and Hear I Am To Worship. You can find all of those songs on Amazon.com and iTunes if you’re looking for them.
• So thankful for Casey stepping up and knocking it out of the park with tithe and offering on a consistant basis. Makes my heart glad to not be the only jabbering head up there week-to-week!
• Heard New Life Kids went really well. Nothing’s more important than imparting a genuine love of Christ to the next generation!
• Always fun to see new and returning faces in the crowd, especially when some have an Every Nation connection. What a spiritual family!
• Gonna have to start approving the travel plans of everyone in the church so we can have everyone here at the same time. I enjoy everyone too much not to have you around all the time!
• Talked with someone after the service who’s just starting to follow Jesus, and their passion was so full and fresh they couldn’t contain it. It was awesome!
• Finished up Lies You Hear In Church with by covering four lies for the price of one. Talking about performing your funerals is never a comfortable subject, but I’m determined to always speak truth in love to this wonderful church, even if it’s not always the most comfortable talk. If I shy away from talking about hard things because it might make people uncomfortable, the I think I’m a bad pastor.
• Two people responded to the message to accept Christ as their only means of redemption before God!
• Looking forward to our new series, Faith at Work, but I’ll highlight that later in the week.

That’s it! I pray you’re all passionately seeking and serving Jesus today, bringing his kingdom to your world as it is in heaven.

Love you all, have a great week, see you Sunday!

Calling all Creatives!

TNLC’s assembling a team of people to help us dream and scheme of how we can make our sermons, our Sunday environment, our events and all things in-between better. Wanna get in on the action, share your ideas, and make a good thing great? Then come on down!

All you need to do is send us an email (info@trinitynewlife.com) and we’ll get you the details on our November 6th planning meeting/creative brainstorm/idea explosion.

Boom goes the dynamite!

Should Trinity New Life Church burn a Koran? No.

Can we burn one? Legally, yes, we can.

We can, but we shouldn’t.

In what I can only assume is the result of living in the same city as the University of Florida, a Gainesville pastor recently said he was going to and then decided against burning a Koran. A pastor of roughly 50 people in northwest Florida was given national and international attention because he wanted it. In other words, mission accomplished. He says his motivation was to serve as a warning, but I’m not sure who he was warning, what the warning was, or what he expected in result.

This man is clearly about his own agenda and not the agenda of Christ. Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), not to make them mad, flaunt their cultural biases, and gain media attention. Those who are far away from Christ are not brought near to Him by mocking, jeering and insults. I can see no way in which the lost Muslim was considered an enemy to be warned in this situation, instead of being rightly considered a lost person to be prayed for and reached out to. Thus I must conclude this pastor was seeking his own agenda, and not that of Christ. Offense is not absent from the gospel and from Christ (Jesus is the rock of offense himself 1 Peter 2:18) but we must strive to make his message of himself as the exclusive means of salvation and relationship the stumbling block, not our presentation of it. This man, and those who are now following in his example (I won’t link to them to add to their lust for attention) are exhibiting the very antithesis of Christ’s message (Matt 5:44) and offer nothing in congruency with the Gospel.

Yet this event does not exist in a vacuum from other religious controversies. In fact, the pastor said he would call off his planned burning if the NYC “mosque” plans would be abandoned. I won’t hold my breath. These two events just can’t be separated, particularly because they display two very different applications of the same principle.

Earlier I stated TNLC has the right to burn a Koran. So does the nut-job pastor. The group seeking to build a Muslim community center near Ground Zero also has the right to do so. It’s permissible. But is it beneficial?

I don’t think it’s just fear-mongering and racism driving the opposition to the community center. I think there’s just a fair amount of people who see it as a right to build but an incredibly insensitive thing to do. The Muslim community is asking for a legal right to not be exercised in Gainesville because of the cultural insensitivity and religious ignorance it would display. However, as many Americans are asking the same thing of the Muslim community, they are being met with “show tolerance, change your sensitivity.” I’m confused how the same request of the moron pastor isn’t being understood as the same one asked of the leaders of the community center project? You can, you have the right, but please don’t because it’s too painful.

What very few will admit is involved in all of this is the desire for the government to protect and/or promote a certain religion. Christians and Muslims can’t have it both ways- either we allow the free exercise of religion or we don’t. It’s the exercise of that freedom (thinking of how those in another faith will respond to an action and adjusting accordingly) which should be one of the many areas Christians separate themselves from others. We do not consider others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3).

I am not for the government promotion of Christianity and suppression of Islam, but I am concerned at the government and media bias the other way, which is so quick to protect and offer Islam the benefit of the doubt while allowing the very same desecrations to take place against Christianity. A crucifix in urine is given an award for art, regardless of how this would offend Catholics. The US Military burns bibles so as not to offend Muslims. Muslims burn bibles in Pakistan, but Rick Warren doesn’t threaten to burn a case of Korans in response. Christians in Gaza fear for their lives as Muslims burn bibles and destroy crosses. An effigy of the moron pastor is burned as retaliation for the threat of burning a Koran. Muslim converts to Christianity are routinely attacked for their faith. And while the city of New York is rolling out the red carpet for this community center, they fight tooth and nail against churches meeting in their city, including one small church they’ve been fighting for 15 years.

The answer is more compacted than rights- we’re in a spiritual battle (Eph. 6:12), and spiritual forces are both masking and twisting logic in these discussions. We must be hearers of the word, doers of the word, lovers of God and people, and love our local and global neighbors as ourselves. We must be quick to give a defense to the faith which we hold. We must understand how we believe is just as important as what we believe. And in all things, we must understand it’s the Lord’s place to bring victory over an enemy/issue/situation, not our wise and persuasive words. We must join with him on his mission of seeking and saving the lost, not on the forceful expansion of a theocracy. Every attempt to make Jesus a king by force was roundly rejected by the one who already was king.

1 Corinthians 10:23 “You say, “I am allowed to do anything”–but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”–but not everything is beneficial”

Who’s hungry?!?!

In case you’ve missed it, bring you, your friends, your momma and your appetite to our pre-game tailgate on August 29! From 9:30-10:15 before church we’ll be grubbing on some amazing IHOP pancake breakfast. If you’ve got one, make sure you wear a jersey from whatever team you’ve got one from.

Be there, or BE HUNGRY!!!!!!

• Updated CONNECT page
• Updated Sunday Service page
• Calendars you can subscribe to!
• Brand-new archive page of our previous sermons all in one place!
• New homes for our photos and videos
• A Resource page with tons of links to help you build your faith in Christ!

Whadday think? Did we miss anything? Let us know if you’d like us to add something and we’ll work on it!

I don’t want to spoil it too much because we’ll have a recap video coming sometime this week, but I couldn’t let the day go by without saying SOMETHING about our anniversary service yesterday!

On August 2, 2009 13 adults and 6 kids gathered together for the first time as anything called Trinity New Life Church. Less than five months ago we began weekly services, and now over 50 people call TNLC their spiritual home. Yesterday we celebrated this incredible occasion with a service out at Fred Howard Park, a cookout with some of the greatest food you could ever imagine, and then we headed down to beach for a little bit of baptizing!

Congrats to the four who made their declaration to follow Christ yesterday, surrounded by so many watching at the beach. So proud of you!

Thanks so much to everyone who’s poured so much into this past year and helped us create something where nothing was before!

I love you, TNLC. I am so blessed to be your pastor. I love seeing you follow and worship Jesus. And I cannot WAIT to see what year two, year five, year ten and year TWENTY bring for God’s glory!!!

Be thankful for all God’s done, TNLC. But be even more excited about what He’s yet to do. See you Sunday!!!

Newcomers is the perfect environment to meet others who are new to the church and discover more about our heart and vision for TNLC. Childcare is provided for those who signup before online or at the Welcome Table.

Please RSVP by completing this form. See you there!