John Markum

Tag: the

What I want to say to The Awakening this morning.

Posted on by johnmarkum

Good morning church!

A few things I want to remind you about this morning as you go about your day:

  1. First of all, your pastor loves you and is praying for you today. I do not take for granted your faithfulness to our church, and to our service. The highlight of my week is worshipping  with you every Saturday night. I can’t wait to be with you all again tomorrow!
  2. Last week we gave away free Prayer Journals that we had made for everyone. They include a 2011 calendar, tips on prayer and Bible reading, pages for keeping track of your prayer requests with encouraging scriptures on each page, and space for taking notes from sermons. There are several left and you are welcome to grab one this Saturday if you missed last week.
  3. This week we’ll have Connecting Point immediately after our worship experience. Connecting Point is a short meet-and-greet where you can get connected with other Saturday night attenders. We’ll have food, a short video, and a chance for you to find out more about The Awakening and how you can get connected to what God’s doing on Saturday nights at Edgewood. It is open for anyone wanting to get more connected, whether this week is your first time with us, or you’ve been coming a few times. So invite someone to come with you!
  4. Church Business Meeting: This Sunday night at 6 pm. This is open to everyone who has made Edgewood their church home. This is our annual meeting and there are a variety of thing to be dealt with and voted upon. The meeting does not take very long (I love our church!).
  5. We want you to help us make an impact! Over the next few weeks, we want to encourage you to find a place to serve on Saturday nights. We have multiple places where you can use your talents to bless others including tech team, band, children’s service, nursery, greeting, and hospitality table. Help us make The Awakening the most exciting thing to do on Saturdays!

We continue teaching from our series, Retro, this Saturday at 6 pm, with a message from Genesis 25 on stew. Yeah, stew. Trust me. It will change your life. See you all tomorrow!

Blessings,

John

My New Year’s Resolution

Posted on by johnmarkum

So I already gave a general idea of things to think through this year. Like many of you, I’ve had to narrow that down to a few specific goals for myself. In short, here are a few of the things I’m trying to make happen in 2011:

  • Give more away.
  • Take my wife far away for our 7th anniversary sometime between March and June. Somewhere warm!
  • Attend the NewSpring Leadership Conference in Anderson, SC. I’m totally psyched about this thing!
  • Have a new, record setting year in people who come to Christ, get baptized, and make Saturday nights their church home at Edgewood.
  • Get a new Mac Pro for home business.
  • Sell home in Springfield, MO.
  • Be more Christ-like in thought, word, and action.
  • Go on a missions trip to help a close friend and church planter, Justin Banks of Audacity Church, in Wichita, KS.
  • Model the love of my Heavenly Father to my 3 children (4, by the end of the year!).
  • Get back in the gym. I’ve gotten SO out of the habit!

So what are some of your goals this year? Please share!

Blessings,

John

Spiritual Habits: In the Word

Posted on by johnmarkum

It amazes me how often we say “God, I just want to know your will for my life!” And we act as though we’re waiting for a burning bush, or a voice from Heaven, or Elvis to come back and tell us what God wants for our lives. And yet we’ll spend no time in the Word where God has already revealed His will to us.

The problem with many Christ followers and creating the spiritual habit of getting into the Word, is that most don’t know where to begin, or how to read it.

When it comes to where to begin, most go for “the beginning,” Genesis. They usually get to chapter 10, hit a long line of genealogies and ask, “Why am I doing this?!?” If you are a newer believer, or if you are still on the fringe with God, church, and faith – there’s probably no better place to get started than the Gospel of John. Out of the 4 Gospels (accounts of Jesus life) , John is the most unique. If you have been in church for awhile, or if you just finished reading John, I would strongly suggest that your next reading be James, then Philippians, then Romans.

If you don’t have a Bible, read online at either biblegateway.com or youversion.com, or get one at a local Christian bookstore. Everyone asks about translations, and not all translations are made equal. You need one that is easily readable, and yet accurate and close as possible to the original languages. Without getting into that conversation, I  suggest a New English Translation (NET) available online everywhere, New King James Version (NKJV), New American Standard (NASB), New Living Translation (NLT), or English Standard Version (ESV).

As far as how to read it, start with 1-3 chapters, 3 to 6 times a week and try to develop into reading 5-10 chapters daily. While reading, look for, and ask, the following questions:

  1. What command is there to obey?
  2. What example is there to follow?
  3. What sin is there to avoid?
  4. What character is there to develop?
  5. What promise is there to claim?
  6. What good is there to praise God for?

Pray before and ask God to speak to you through His word. Take one thought away to remind yourself of the rest of the day. And pray again afterward and thank God for opportunity to know His will.

May God richly bless you, and may the resurrected power of Christ fall on you as you read and obey His Word.

Blessings,

John

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain