Radicalis Day One

Radical(Latin-radicalis) means “of the root.” To last in life and ministry you must be rooted in Christ, in his Word and in Love. — Rick Warren

Getting back to the basics of Christianity may be the message Pastor Rick Warren and other conference speakers are sending to the hundreds of church leaders attending Radicalis at Saddleback Church, but the delivery method is purely high tech.

ESPN-style anchors kick off each day of the 4-day event with morning reports and updates to Web-savvy church leaders following a livestream of video, chat, and tweets. Social media pros man their Twitter and Facebook accounts and echo out posts that include photos, video and audio sound bytes.

Despite the apparent information overload, the message is clear: grow RADICALIS ... develop spiritual roots by getting into the word of God.

Judging by the enthusiasm of those in attendance, the message is being delivered loud and clear!

 

Posted via email from alexmurashko's posterous

Where's Your Focus?

Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. - Ephesians 5:17 (Msg)


Are you looking for a vision for your life? I am. I've taken this summer to try and really focus on what God would have me do with my life.

Earlier in the summer, I took a couple of days retreat in the mountains ... and despite being teased about eating at a restaurant a couple times and not really "communing with nature" it was nevertheless an attempt at trying to get direction from God.

Also, this summer, I've had a 40-day focus on trying to discover my purpose. I combined reading Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life again, Bible reading, note-taking, and prayer.

Do I have a vision or goal for my life right now? Well, in some aspects I do, in others I don't. However, these things are true ... my joy is in the Lord, and my focus on Him directly relates to how well I am able to see Him working around me and even through me.

Please know that I'm still looking for answers. My words here are for me as much as they are for you. It's not about preaching!

Warren writes:

There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life, one lived on purpose. The men and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused. For instance, the apostle Paul almost single-handedly spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. His secret was a focused life. He said, "I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." - Philippians 3:13 (NLT)

Are you still looking for direction? My prayer is that your focus on God is more intense than its ever been. Your growth in the Lord depends on it!

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Alex Murashko, the founder of Outreach New Media, has been helping people get their message out for more than 16 years.

Note To Self

I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. -- Philippians 3:13

Did you know that the first seven chapters of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life can be found online for free? I went to the site today in order to bolster my comments at BlogCatalog regarding "religion" and happiness. I put religion in quotes because it's often such a point of contention in regards to its definition.

My point is that salvation is not about religion. And unless you are concerned about where you will spend eternity and what kind of life you are leading here on earth, you might just care less about how much more important establishing faith in Christ is than religion. One more reason to care...you might be in just enough pain to surrender.

Back to my "note to self." So, as I was browsing those first few chapters I found Philippians 3:13 within the text. What a blessing! I'm not in the best sorts right now. I'm physically and emotionally spent. However, my joy remains in Christ and this little verse was a definite pick-me-up.

Prune and focus...my "mantra" in the coming days. I want more of Him and less of me!

Amen?

A Reason to Celebrate

If you haven't been to TheScroogeReport yet, now is your opportunity. I've posted a Christmas devotional there by Rick Warren, Christmas is a Time of Salvation.

Now, more than ever, challenged by the tough economic times, our celebration of Christmas is important!

Why Celebrate Christmas?

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don’t be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!". . . When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child....The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God... - Luke 2:8–12, 15–17, 20 (NLT)

I wanted to apologize for originally announcing that Rick Warren would be giving the first Sunday message on the 3-week series, The Purpose of Christmas. Youth pastor and funny guy extraordinaire, Doug Fields, gave the first message, "A Change of Celebration." Also, although the previous link I gave leads to the homepage of live, current series, and archived messages, you may have had to make another click. Here's the link directly to Doug Fields message.

Here's the question to ask this first week. Why celebrate Christmas? From the verses above we see that the shepards certainly did celebrate the birth of Jesus...

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child...The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God...

What was the reason to run, tell everyone, and praise God? What were they looking for? What did they find?

This week, let's ask ourselves these questions with a focus on Christmas.

DIGG!

Christmas Series Begins

It's here! A 3-week study on the purpose of Christmas begins this weekend. Hopefully, you have a copy of The Purpose of Christmas. Don't worry about it if you don't. Begin by listening to the study's opening message by Saddleback Church's Pastor Rick.

You can view and listen to his first message on the purpose of Christmas here!

Hope to see you back here on Tuesday, Dec. 9th, to discuss Rick's opening message about the purpose of Christmas. Oh, and let's try and read that first chapter by then, too.

Let's have our own 3-week study right here!

The Purpose of Christmas is available at Amazon.com, Costco, and check with your local book stores.

See you later!

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WEEK ONE: Why Celebrate Christmas?

Christmas Priority Adjustment

Business program host Cavuto interviews Warren on Christmas
Pastor Rick Warren gives a way to celebrate Christmas in tough financial times



Don't forget, I'm having a bloggers book study on The Purpose of Christmas right here! Get more information, including on how to get the book at my post, Blogging on the purpose of Christmas.

DIGG!
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WEEK ONE: Why Celebrate Christmas?

Hannity and Colmes: Warren on Christmas

"The Purpose of Christmas" Launches



I'm having a book study on The Purpose of Christmas right here! Get more information, including on how to get the book at my post, Blogging on the purpose of Christmas.
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WEEK ONE: Why Celebrate Christmas?

If you stop to think about it...

I hope you either already have a copy of Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas or plan on getting one soon. Remember, I'm asking you to join a "blogger's book study," if you will, right here, starting this coming Tuesday (Dec. 9).

I read the opening chapter last night and found it to be not only to the point, but fun!

Also, I wanted to share the back cover of the book with you here:

If you stop to think abouit it, it is astounding that the simple, unasuming birth of a peasant baby boy more than two thousand years ago in the Middle East can today cause traffic jams every December in places like New York City, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro.

The night Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, a small group of poor shepherds were quietly tending their flocks of sheep in a nearby field, looking up at the stars. Nothing seemed any different from a thousand other nights. But what was about to happen would transform not only their lives, but billions of other lives as well. The world would never be the same again.

Then the back cover also includes this:

Regardless of your religious background, you need to know how the three purposes of Christmas solve your three greatest needs.

Understanding and receiving God's Christmas gifts to you will transform your life...forever!

See you back here next week for the beginning of a study on The Purpose of Christmas!
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WEEK ONE: Why Celebrate Christmas?

Blogging on the Purpose of Christmas

Want to do a 3-week study on the purpose of Christmas? It's simple. Start by getting Rick Warren's book, The Purpose of Christmas, then listen this coming Saturday (Dec. 6, 2008) to the study's opening message by Saddleback Church's Pastor Rick.

You can view and listen to his first message on the purpose of Christmas here!

Let's do this! Let's meet back here on Tuesday, Dec. 9th, to discuss Rick's opening message about the purpose of Christmas. Oh, and let's try and read that first chapter by then, too.

Let's have our own 3-week study right here!

Be sure to pick up a copy of The Purpose of Christmas now!

I'd love to see you back!

Note: The books are available at Costco as well!

DIGG!
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WEEK ONE: Why Celebrate Christmas?

Do You Have a Safety Net?

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. - 1 Peter 3:8 (NIV)

This from Rick Warren's book, Purpose Driven Life:

We Need Each Other: To Wait and Weep With

As a pastor, I see situations daily that nobody should ever have to go through alone. Nobody should ever have to wait in the hospital while a loved one is in life-or-death surgery. No woman should ever have to wait alone for the lab report on a problem pregnancy. Nobody should ever have to wait for news from a battlefield alone. Nobody should ever have to stand at the edge of an open grave alone. Nobody should ever have to spend the first night alone when their spouse has just walked out.

Life’s tough times and tragedies are inevitable – each of us will face them. But we don’t need to go through them alone. We need God’s safety net to help hold us up through these difficult times.

What is God’s safety net? It is a group of other believers – a handful of people who are really committed to you. We call this kind of group a community. Here’s God’s plan for community: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV). Community is God’s answer to despair.

Romans 12:15 expresses a similar idea: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (NIV).

The first part of that verse is easy. When something good happens to someone, it’s often easy to join in on the party.

But when someone is having a tough time, it can seem more difficult. But, really, it’s simple. When you’re going through a crisis, you don’t want advice; you just want somebody to be there – to sit with you, hold your hand, put an arm around your shoulder, or cry with you.

As Paul tells us, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV). Encouraging someone else doesn’t always mean giving a pep talk or words of wisdom. Sometimes the best kind of encouragement is just sitting in silence – waiting and weeping with a friend.

Do you have a safety net – a group of fellow Christians you know you can count on in life’s toughest times? If not, go out today and begin building those friendships. The hard times in life are inevitable, and only a fool would go into them unprepared.
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers.

Gas Prices, Car Repairs...and Peace

Why is it that owning a car can be such a financial drain? First, there's the high purchase price of the car itself, then the high gas ($4.11 per gal at the time of this writing), then the repairs, and so on.

This morning, I had to take my car into the repair shop for a brake job and to fix the air conditioning. I'm not a happy camper. But wait! There is something to be grateful for! My mechanic took me to work and I sit here ready to put in a full day's work...car or no car.

It's often hard for us to be grateful. Sometimes we need to be nudged back into reality...the reality of God over us.

So, this morning in my mostly ungratefulness, even with me being safely at work, I read an email from a friend. It is mostly a cut and paste job from the first few paragraphs of a book.

It's not about you.

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.

It's not the first time I read these words from Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. But they came again at a perfect time.

It's not about my brakes, my car, my finances, my job...it's not about me!

I rest in Him...regardless of what is going on with me or around me. You too, can have peace in Him...simply begin with knowing it's not about you.

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. - Psalm 119:165 (NIV)

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Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose Driven Life" is one of the top-selling books of all time. The book has been used as study material for Bible and book studies around the world.

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Alexander is a writer in the online spiritual battlefield. You can also find him at The Scrooge Report.

Calling Down Fire...or Not So Much?

A lot of Christians seem to be ready to "call down fire" when it comes to the morality of their neighbors, friends, relatives...and even this country. However, from what perspective are they coming from...their own or God's?

Something, that has resonated with me now for a few years is a message I heard from Pastor Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, at a men's conference.

"It's time for Christians to be known for what they are for, not for what they are against," Warren said.

This is my prayer today...rather than rail against something out of our own will, let's support someone or something truly in need. Let someone say, "Those Christians are about love!"

This from Henry Blackaby's Day by Day:

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did? - Luke 9:54

James and John were called the “Sons of Thunder.” When they discovered a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus, they were fully prepared to call down fire to consume the entire community! Perhaps they felt that through such a show of power, their gospel message might be enhanced. The two brothers were willing to sacrifice the lives of the villagers in order to further the cause of the gospel. Jesus rebuked them.

Later, the apostles heard that Samaria had responded to the gospel (Acts 8:14). Who was commissioned to go and help them receive the Holy Spirit but Peter and John! God’s purpose had not been to destroy those people but to save them. God chose not to rain down fire on the village, but to shower it with His Holy Spirit. What must have gone through John’s mind as he saw those same people, whom he had been ready to destroy, now rejoicing in their salvation? How grateful he must have been that Jesus had prevented him from carrying out his plans!

What an enormous contrast between man’s thinking and God’s! Man’s thinking would have resulted in the destruction of an entire village. God’s plan brought salvation to it. People will benefit far more from what God wants to give them than from your best plans. Have you been shortchanging the people around you by merely giving them your plans instead of God’s?

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Gold Medallion Award winner "Experiencing God Day-By-Day" is based on Henry Blackaby’s multi-million selling Experiencing God book and Bible study. Find insight and grace in this 365-day devotional focused on the divine presence in each life. This book will help you see what God has instore for you while sustaining the essential habit of turning to God on a daily basis.

Your Words Can Give Life

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. - Proverbs 18:21 NIV

Often, we take words so casually, tossing them around with such disregard. However, as Jon Walker, author of "The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals" writes:

We can speak death with our words, or we can speak life.

Walker's devotional continues about the "killing" capabilities of words:

Perhaps you’ve been on the other side of the killing kind of messages: “You’re not smart enough. You’re not thin enough. You’re not fast enough. You’re not good enough. A real Christian wouldn’t think such a thing.”

In a world where people are beat up and put down, God gives you superhero power to punch through the negativity. You speak life to others when you say: “You matter to me. I like you just the way you are. You’re human, anyone could think that. Your life counts. You were created for a purpose. God loves you, and you’re incredibly valuable to him.”

Your words may be the only encouraging thing some people hear in a day, or a week, or a month. You – yes, you – can become the voice of God’s grace in the lives of others, supporting, loving, helping, and encouraging with the words that flow from your mouth. (Romans 14:19b)

In the New Testament, the word ‘encouragement’ often means “to come alongside.” We’re to come alongside one another, “building each other up,” just as the Holy Encourager comes alongside us to teach us and remind us of the way of Jesus. (John 14:26)

We become encouragers when we stop looking down and start looking up (Colossians 3:2) – the need and opportunity for encouragement is everywhere. “Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us,” (Romans 15:2a MSG) and this “will build them up.” (Romans 15:2b NLT)

So, how about it? Will you become today a consistent source of encouragement to those around you? It’s a choice on your part. You can lift a person’s spirit, change the atmosphere of your office, or lighten the burden of someone in your small group. The Bible says we should “look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15b MSG)

My suggestion? Get personal. Start with a smile...that's a way of speaking, too. Smile encouragingly to someone working hard...even if it's someone you don't know. Or as Walker writes:

Commit to encouragement – Make a choice to build up the people around you. Fill your conversations with phrases like: “I believe in you,” “I’m grateful for you,” “I see God using you,” “I appreciate you,” and “I’m glad you’re in my life.” The Bible says we should “encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)

Value others – An encourager works hard at bringing the best out in others. Value people by understanding they are valuable to God. He encourages you in spite of the failings in your past; he believes in you in spite of those annoying, little things you excuse in yourself but criticize in others. J (Quite honestly, this thought compels me to give grace to others.)

Be encouraged – Encourage yourself, for “there is good news of great joy for all people, and his name is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-10)

Jon Walker has worked with Pastor Rick Warren, through Saddleback Church, Purpose Driven Ministries, and Pastors.com. Warren's book, "The Purpose Driven Life" is one of the top-selling books of all time. The book has been used as study material for Bible and book studies around the world.

It All Starts With God

For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, ...everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. - Colossians 1:16 MSG

This from Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life Journal:

Point to Ponder: It's not about me.

Question to Consider: How can I remind myself today that life is really about living for God, not myself?

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions.

There is an alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life. It's revelation. We can turn to what God has revealed about life in his Word. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it. The same is true for discovering your life's purpose: ask God.

God's wisdom...goes deep into the interior of his purposes. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest--what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us. - 1 Corinthians 2:7 MSG

The journal is the perfect companion to The Purpose Driven® Life! Features include scriptures and quotes by Rick Warren, taken from the bestselling book, plus space to record reflections, prayers, and goals while seeking Gods plans for your life.