God gave Nehemiah the vision to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the crumbling walls and gates that had been burnt with fire. In that same way, we desire to show God’s love in a tangible way in the place that He has called us to live. Last year as a church we sought to be like Nehemiah and be agents of change in our valley. This summer we are going to partner with other churches in this high energy outreach and we are praying that God will Rock This City!

I intended on writing this blog post yesterday. But I woke up feeling like I had just gone over Niagara falls in a barrel (do people still do that?) and decided it could wait a day. I’ll write a whole different post about it later but I have found that in some ways the day after a significant event can be even more challenging than the days leading up to it. My serious business yesterday included coffee, Scripture, an omelet, and some quality time with my little women, the Lusko ladies. We sought to normalize and regain equilibrium after an adrenaline drenched week.

This past weekend is one I will not ever be able to forget. But before I get into why let me first tell you that one of the BIG things that God has tattooed on my heart is the principle of the empty vessel. It goes like this: Our God is a God who will fill a vessel as long as it is empty and offered up to Him in faith. You can have as much or as little of God working in your life as you want. It’s up to you. I tell my church all the time that God is not reluctant to revive, He is not stingy with His Spirit. He is literally looking to and fro on the earth for those whose hearts are His so He can work in their lives in power. As I cast vision I tell them that is the reason why we must continue to step out in faith to offer Him more of ourselves, more services, and more campuses so that there are empty seats for more people to sit in and hear about Jesus.

The temptation is to limit God based on your ability. To say to Him, “Here are five loaves and two fishes, but what are they among so many?” Instead we must force ourselves to process things through the lens of His infinite ability and simply give Him what is in our hands in faith. He sees the loaves and fish as a feast for a multitude.

God is not limited, He is limitless. Even when we stretch our faith and dream big–He still has bigger plans than we do. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above anything we could ask or even have the guts to think. (Ephesians 3:20)

This weekend we saw that principle in action in a marvelous way. In all 5,143 people crowded into the Majestic Valley Arena for our Easter worship experience! The venue’s parking lots filled to capacity and traffic backed up for 3.5 miles. Eventually people began pulling off the hwy, parking their cars on the shoulder and in fields, and walking as far as 1/2 a mile to get there!. We also had over a thousand people watching the event live on the webcast in addition to those who listened on fresh life radio. Best of all, we saw 136 people make professions of faith in Christ!

I can’t tell you how proud I am of our team. I am inspired by their performance. Unbelievable. Professional. Excellent. They killed it. And I’m not just talking about those on staff. Every one of the 173 volunteers that it took to pull off this event put their hearts into it. It showed. I pinch myself everyday that I get to be apart of this movement of God’s Holy Spirit and that I have the honor of serving alongside such extraordinary people. The Skull Church Band was in rare form and it was awesome to have House of Heroes take part in the event.

I’d love to tell you that I fearlessly breezed through the whole weekend without ever doubting. I’d be lying though. I don’t think I have ever put on an event without at some point wondering–what if no one comes? And this weekend was no exception. I had moments of fear. But I like that. I want to keep doing things that scare me. I don’t ever want to come to a place where there is no faith required. Life is too short to use the cruise control. I am going to keep launching out into deeper waters, offering God empty vessels and trusting Him to fill them for His glory.

Onward and upward!

“Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” -William Carey

You can check out more pics of the event here.
And you can listen to the archived message from the weekend here.

There have been several special moments in our journey towards Easter this year. The whole process has been an act of faith and a huge rush. At the top of the list is the hour that I spent with the freshlife staff on the dirt of the Majestic Arena yesterday praying for God to move in power. We believe that on that very spot many will come to know Christ when the gospel goes out this weekend, and we sense that in some large way this event will be significant to our larger history. A defining moment.

My team has been working like the snakebirds that they are–trusting God, but planning like crazy–and there have been a lot of meetings that have gone way past the bounds of a normal work day. We have cast the vision and given the tools for everyone at freshlife to invite and bring people with us to this event. (I can pour my heart into the message, but if they don’t pour their heart into who they bring to hear that message we won’t see lost people reached.) And we are believing God for great things as we lift high the name of Jesus.

“Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees.” William Cowper.

James 5:17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!

There is still time to get the word out! Visit the freshlife Easter portal to email friends, rsvp on facebook, and tweet about this event HERE.

You can invite friends by email, tweet about it and rsvp on facebook by clicking here.

This weekend we are beginning a new series that will take us all the way to Easter. Each week, as we ramp up to Resurrection Sunday at the Majestic Valley Arena, our hearts will be injected with a sense of God’s power over death. I am praying that throughout this intense series many people will prepare to meet their Maker.

Acts 26:8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?