Facebook places is a simple concept – it uses the GPS locater on your mobile device to figure out where you are. When you open your Facebook mobile app you will see the logo and the word “Places”. When you open it you will see your recent check-ins as well as your friends’ check-ins. At the top right there will be a check in button – tap that and you can check in, post a status with it, and tag friends who are with you.

If where you are is not showing up, you can search for places or you can CREATE a place. Here is the ministry point – does your church show up on “places”? It needs to. If it doesn’t create it NOW.

Here’s why: You want your people to “check in” to Facebook on Sundays – it is a witnessing tool!

When people check in it shows up on their profile and in the news feed. That means as people check in to your church they are announcing to all their Facebook friends that they are at church – YOUR church!!

So, this Sunday why not run an encouragement for members to check-in at church? You may attract guests and visitors just because of the number of friends they see that attend.

Personal well-being blossoms among U.S. adults who strongly identify with their religion, regularly attend church and have three or more close friends in their congregation, say sociologists Chaeyoon Lim of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Robert Putnam of Harvard University. Members of this devoutly connected group cite especially high levels of life satisfaction regardless of how many or how few friends they have outside their congregation, Lim and Putnam report in the December American Sociological Review.

Wow. Regularly going to church & having Godly friends really does make your life happier!

Here are a two bible verses that said it first:

Psalm 5:11-12  But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
  For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.

Psalm 133:1  How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

So, don’t ignore the evidence – get connected to God through your local church.

Here are 5 quick tips on how to be happy:

1. Know the Lord as your Savior – nothing else matters!

2. Join a vibrant, Bible believing church. You ought to sense the joy of the Lord when you walk into the building. If you feel like you are at a funeral service – visit somewhere else!

3. Join a small group / Sunday school class / life group – or whatever you want to call it. You need to meet & make friends with people who are in the same life situation as you.

4. Go all the time. The study found that it was people who attended regularly that experienced more happiness. You can’t go to church too much!

5. Grow in the Lord – the closer you get to Jesus the more joy & happiness you will find.

Be happy – go to church!!

After your sermon on tithing we decided to tithe that very day. To be honest, we didn’t have it but wanted to take God at His word. We wrote a check for our tithes and put it in the offering plate and decided to trust God. That was on Sunday.

By Thursday we were completely out of money – and we started looking back on the tithe.

We thought about doing various things to get some cash – but decided we would just trust God. He had said He would bless us so we decided to wait. We were having that conversation and my husband said something like, “No Honey. We tithed. We trusted. We will wait and see what God does.” Those words were not out of his mouth for 30 seconds when our phone rang! I could tell the conversation was about money. When my husband hung up the phone he was so excited. Someone was giving us a check for 10 times the amount of money we had tithed – as a gift!! God came through. We were in tears.

His promises can be trusted!!

This Sunday we are challenging everyone to take God at His promise on “Prove the Tithe” Sunday. Lets all trust God and know for ourselves that His promises can be trusted!!

She heard that recent sermon of yours, felt convicted to tithe on the gross, shared it with me and a discussion ensued.

We beat the horse to death (pros and cons)…is that right or not?…and so on. Finally, I told her we have to trust the man of God and obey his teachings, but ask the Lord to deal with him and educate him if he is dispensing ungodly counsel to the flock (even if erroneously).

We committed to tithe…and to tithe on our gross…to our hurt this week. Well, you know the rest, sortof. {We received}  a check for each of us in the amount of $ _____ ……… this was almost the exact amount we were tithing to our hurt!

Yep. There’s a lesson for you and us. We learned you were “right on the money” (pun intended) about tithing on the first fruits (the gross…before Cesar–or Obama–gets his), and you will learn that God prompts the heart (and purse strings) in mysterious ways for His purposes, spiritually.

This week is “Prove the Tithe” Sunday. Why don’t you join us in claiming the promise of God and watch as He blesses your life – He promised!!

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

So, before we move onto another week, there are at least 5 things you shouldn’t forget about this past Sunday:

1. An infatuation on Worry, Wealth, and Worldliness will mess your priorities up. They are weeds in the garden of your Christian life. Get rid of them. Don’t make stressing about the future, the pursuit of wealth, or the pursuit of pleasure the top priorities of your life.

2. Jesus shares top priority with no one or nothing! ‘Nuff said!!

3. Trying to juggle a bunch of top priorities will cause you to drop the ball of your relationship with God.

4. The Christian life is not “neat”. Weeds spring up every day in your life from nowhere. Recognize them and get rid of them and just know it is going to happen. Elsewhere in the Bible it would be called Spiritual Warfare.

5. It’s all not just “preacher talk”. Sunday night you heard from a businessman, mom, and business owner about how they do/have struggled to keep God their top priority and how blessed their lives have been because of it. If they can do it – you can do it!!

Keep living 4 Jesus!!!

Below is an article from Lifeway about growing Spiritually.

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A fellow was raised in the back hills of West Virginia—I mean, so far out in the sticks, never in his life had he even seen a big city, to say nothing of modern inventions and neon lights. He married a gal just like himself and they spent all their married years in the backwoods. They had one son, whom they creatively named Junior. Around the time Junior reached his sixteenth birthday, his dad began to realize it wouldn’t be too many years before their son would become a man and would strike out on his own. It troubled him that his boy could reach manhood and wind up getting a job in the city, not prepared to face the real world. He felt responsible and decided to do something about it.

He and his wife started saving for a trip the three of them would take to the city. About three years later the big day arrived. They tossed their belongings in the ol’ pickup and started the long journey over winding, rough roads to the city. Their plan was to spend several days at a swanky hotel and take in all the sights. As they approached the outskirts of the metropolis, Papa began to get a little jumpy: “Mama, when we pull up at the hotel, you stay in the truck while Junior and I go in and look around. We’ll come back and git ya, okay?” She agreed.

Bright lights and uniformed doormen greeted them as they pulled up. Mama stayed put as Papa and Junior walked wide-eyed toward the lobby. Neither could believe his eyes! When they stepped on a mat, the door opened automatically. Inside, they stood like statues, staring at the first chandelier either of them had ever seen. It hung from a ceiling three stories high. Off to the left was an enormous waterfall, rippling over inlaid stones and rocks. “Junior, look!” Down below was an ice skating rink—inside.

While both stood silent, eying one breathtaking sight after another, they kept hearing this clicking sound behind them. Finally, Papa turned around and saw this amazing little room with doors that slid open from the center. “What in the world?” People would walk up, push a button and wait. Lights would flicker above the doors and then, “click,” the doors slid shut. By now, dad and son stood totally transfixed.

At that moment a wrinkled old lady shuffled up to the doors all by herself. She pushed the button and waited only a few seconds. “Click,” the doors opened with a swish and she hobbled into the little room. No one else stepped in with her, so “click,” the doors slid shut. Not more than twenty seconds later the doors opened again—and there stood before them this fabulously attractive young woman in her twenties—high heels, shapely body, beautiful face—a real knockout! As she stepped out, smiled, and turned to walk away, Papa nudged his boy and mumbled, “Hey, Junior . . . go get Mama!”

Seems that everybody these days is looking for a little room like what Papa thought he had found. A place where if they push the right button, wait momentarily for the door of opportunity to slide open, then like magic, in only a matter of seconds they would be instantly transformed. Think of all the money people would save from cosmetic surgery and all the time they would save from exercise and all the guilt they would save from dieting.

I think believers would even like a room like this in their spiritual life. In the twinkling of an eye they could go from spiritual infants to spiritual adults. Physically the maturation process does not occur this way and neither does it spiritually. Spiritual growth like physical fitness requires work, time, and a willingness to grow. No shortcuts exist for spiritual maturity.

Spiritual growth is not an option for believers. God intends for every believer to grow to spiritual maturity. His word commands us: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). That’s our obligation—and our privilege. The primary goal of spiritual life is human transformation.

But, many people have a mistaken idea about what spiritual growth involves.

I. The Misconceptions of Maturity

A. Spiritual maturity comes with age.
Granted age provides us with more experiences and the chances of growth are greater as one increases in years, but age does not guarantee growth. Not everyone who grows old, grows up. There is a vast difference between age and maturity.

B. Spiritual maturity is instantaneous.
This myth stands in direct opposition of the first misconception. Just because one has given his or her life to Christ does not mean instant maturity. As in physical life, spiritually one grows from infancy to adulthood. The thrust of Biblical teaching emphasizes the long-term, patient, undramatic growth of Christian character through unspectacular means. Growth takes time.

C. Spiritual maturity involves activity.
Some folks think that the mature Christians are the busy ones. But busyness doesn’t result in maturity nor can it be substituted for it. It may, in fact, be a hindrance to what really is vital and important to spiritual growth.

D. Spiritual maturity is knowledge.
A person may have a lot of facts, a lot of information, but that can’t be equated with spiritual maturity. Unless one’s knowledge transforms his life it is doing nothing more than informing his life.

II. The Meaning of Maturity

What do we mean by spiritual growth?

Spiritual maturity is Christlikeness.
The Bible says, “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, [growing] into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Eph. 4:13). Maturity equals a life that resembles Christ’s life. No other meaning may be allowed to substitute. All other meanings will be lesser, man-made alternatives that disguise the all-demanding standard God sets before us in the Scriptures. Granted, age, knowledge, activity, and zeal would be easier standards by far. But God’s standard, his meaning of maturity is none of these things. The only measurement that counts, according to Ephesians 4:13 is being like Jesus.

Are we growing more and more like him? Do we love God as God loves us? Do we love others as God loves people?

On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription: James Butler Bonham—no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by his family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom.

No portrait of Jesus exists either. But his likeness is to be seen in us, his followers, as we grow to maturity.

III. The Steps to Maturity

If the goal of the Christian life is to resemble Christ, then there must be some steps that we can take in our journey to reach our destination. These steps are not difficult. We cannot be spectators in spiritual growth. By consistently practicing certain mechanics GROWTH will occur.

A. Get accountable.
“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). Maturity flourishes with accountability. Granted, no one wants to be accountable much less to be held accountable. Yet nothing like accountability will take us to maturity.

B. Read the Bible daily.
“The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The Bible is food for the believer. It becomes the source of spiritual nourishment and sustaining strength.

C. Offer yourself in worship.
“Not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25). Every member of the human race was created to worship. Our lives begin to resemble what it worships. Therefore, if we want to resemble Christ we must worship him. And it must be an all the time thing not a sometime thing. Unless we are prepared to worship God with all of our lives, we will find it nearly impossible to worship God for one hour on Sunday.

D. Witness for Christ.
Jesus said, “My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8). If Jesus is alive and growing in us then a natural outgrowth is to share him with others. Witnessing brings all the other disciplines of spiritual growth into practice.

E. Take time to pray.
Again Jesus said, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Prayer is dialogue with God. It is not like beeping God or sending him a fax. Prayer comes out of a relationship with God. It is a personal conversation with God.

F. Honor God by giving financially to a local church.
“’Bring the full 10 percent into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure’” (Mal. 3:10). There can be no significant Christian growth without the money we have at our disposal being placed in the Lord’s hands for his use. Financial giving to God’s work is not a debt I owe but a seed I sow for growth to continue in my life. To take the other steps and leave off tithing is like going to the fitness center, exercising on the equipment, without working up a sweat. We are not giving all of ourselves if we aren’t giving our money to God’s house.

These steps to GROWTH are the non-negotiables of spiritual maturity.

IV. The Examination of Maturity
Based on the following words—Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood—answer two questions.

First, where are you spiritually?
In other words, where would you place your spiritual growth to date? Which word would you circle to best describe your spiritual maturity?

The word you circle is not the most important aspect of this exercise. For example if you have recently said Yes to Jesus then it stands to reason that you would be at the infancy stage. If you have been a Christian for a short time then you might circle Childhood or Adolescence.

The second question is the critical one.

Are you spiritually maturing in your walk with Christ?
If yes, from your circle draw an arrow pointed to the right. If no, draw an arrow pointed to the left.

Remember life results in growth. If we are not growing we are dying. Spiritual growth is not found in a little room where quick changes occur. It is found in a daily obedience to practice the necessary disciplines so we become more like Jesus Christ.
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Rick Ezell is the pastor of First Baptist Greer, South Carolina. He has served churches in Naperville, IL, Scottsburg, IN and Overland Park, KS for the past twenty-three years.

I’m not talking about your crazy uncle or cousin that everyone is ashamed of at the family reunion. {if you don’t know of a crazy uncle or cousin you’re probably it }I’m talking about how crazy our family and home situations can be at times.

The days of the perfect family seem to be over. Where did ‘Father Knows Best’ and ‘Leave it to Beaver’ families go? Fact is, our family lives don’t resemble that well ordered life anymore.

So what does that mean? Can God still do something with your family? Can God still use your family? Can some “sense” come out of your crazy family?

Believe it or not – He can do great things with your Crazy Family! There are a lot of crazy families in the bible and there is help and hope for yours!

Join us beginning on Mother’s Day and find out how. Invite someone to be with you. Almost all of us know a family that is hurting and needs help. You can really make a difference in their lives by just inviting them to church.

PS. If you click on the picture you can watch a video where I talk about the upcoming series even more.

Immediately, two Bible passages came to mind….

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

I can’t tell you for sure if we are having revival in our midst – but I can tell you that it sure feels like revival and that 2 of the obvious signs of revival are happening….

1) Souls are being saved. The last night of February we baptized 18 people [the largest 1 time baptismal service in our history]. During revival, we had 4 more saved. This past Sunday, we had 15 saved [including my daughter] and 1 join for baptism. If all of those are baptized in March, we will have baptized nearly 40 people in 2 months! To put that in perspective, the most Liberty has every baptized in a YEAR is 52!! Keep inviting the lost and sharing your faith!

2) Giving is at record amounts. The last 2 weeks total offering [Tithes, Missions, KTFB, Revival] may be the largest 2 week offering in our history. If it isn’t, it is real close. I just finished reading in the OT [I'll let you look it up in your quiet time] where giving was a sign of revival. They had to stop the offering because the people were giving  faster than it could be used! Now, we aren’t going to stop the offering - I am a Baptist preacher and we are in a building program – but it is just another sign that revival is happening in our midst. Keep giving and lets see how fast we can get relocated so we can see more saved! Keep giving so we can see how many ways we can touch our community with the love of Christ.

The last sign of revival is confession of sin and forsaking of sin. Maybe today you want to start praying and asking God if there is something between you and Him that is keeping you from being in a close, vibrant, growing relationship with Him? If /when He shows you something – get rid of it and let’s watch as revival continues in our midst!!

Cause if this Ain’t revival….I don’t know what is!

• We had 399 in Sunday School – what’s up with that? Scott’s sole mission is to find the 1 person who did not get counted yesterday and make sure we had 400 in Bible Study. If you came in late and think you didn’t get counted, send him an email to let him know….

• We had 2 teenage boys walk the aisle and present themselves for baptism at the 11:00 service. That is awesome! We had youth everywhere yesterday. Last night’s service the youth were out in full force! Way to go guys!!

• I baptized a 77 yr old man yesterday morning. How cool is that? My wife led him to the Lord a few weeks back and the Living Water SS class had been visiting him and sharing the gospel with him for months! We have almost 20 people that are scheduled to be baptized this Sunday night, but we wanted to baptize him early because of his age and health. Isn’t the grace of God awesome?!

• We held our last SS teachers meeting before Super Sunday. It was a great meeting that we started off with a time of small group prayer. Each leader had to find someone NOT in their class and pray with them in groups of 3 or so. It was a sweet time of fellowship.

• The sermon on Samson yesterday [according to your comments to me & altar call] seemed to have shaken folks up a little – yay!! How easy is it to go through the motions without having a touch of God on your life and no intimate relationship with Christ? Don’t do it!!!

• I hope your prayer this morning was that God would give you a NEW HEART!

• This weekend is going to be awesome. Pray for Bill Stafford and This Hope. Invite someone to come to Revival and Super Sunday. Invite school teachers, fireman, and law enforcement to our special event just for them at 10:00 in the Sanctuary.

• And finally, at the beginning of the 11:00 service we had technical difficulties so I had to DANCE to cover! Yes, I threw down on the stage to start the service! If this preaching gig doesn’t work out then………

I think that’s all….It is study day….