Porn and Pancakes

"Porn, Temptation, Lust ... All Men Struggle with it .... Some Men are Dominated by it ... Few men ever talk about it. Porn and Pancakes is all about the conversation. So let's have it.

You are invited to the greatest men's breakfast ever at Pocono Community Church this Saturday, February 27th at 9am. Nationally known guest speaker and former porn producer, Donny Pauling, from XXXChurch.com, will speak about pornography and how it can dominate our lives. Discover how to fight for the integrity of your family and marriage and walk away with hope for your future. Bring a friend and enjoy a free breakfast on us.

Check out this article in today's Pocono Record about Porn and Pancakes! This is buzz-worthy stuff and it has already captured the attention of the community.

Pure Fun

During the month of February, the Student Ministry of PCC, Underground Fellowship, has been in a series called Pure. Pure is all about learning how to live a life of sexual purity in a sin-stained, polluted culture.

Tonight, UF is hosting a night of Pure Fun. Especially designed for parents and their teenagers, Pure Fun, is all about helping teens and their parents open the door to the conversation about sex. Special guest speaker Paul Abner, will join us and the night will include a special opportunity for teens to make purity commitments before God and their friends and family.

Parents and teens, this is a must-attend event. What could be more important than fighting for the integrity and purity of your heart. God told us to "guard our hearts, for it is the well spring of life."

I Do: Take Two

One way to fight for the integrity of your marriage and purity of your home is to keep the romance alive with your spouse. To help couples fan the flame of romance in their marriage, I led an impromptu marriage vow renewal at PCC. It was amazing to see hundreds of couples stand at the altar and recommit themselves to loving each other the way that Christ loves us. Many PCCers have requested a copy of the vows I wrote, so I've included them below.

“I DO: TAKE TWO!”

Marriage Vow Renewal || Valentine’s Day @ PCC

February 14, 2009

Renewing wedding vows can be a meaningful, touching and reviving ceremony for you and your spouse and family. As a married couple, it is a time to pause and reflect on where you have been and where you are going. It is also a wonderful example to set for your children as you join hands and hearts to reaffirm your love for each other. Fellas, it’s also very romantic.

So, whether you have only been married for a month, a year, 10, 20 or 50 years, I want to give couples here today an opportunity to renew their love and vows today. Perhaps you’ve been through a crisis in your marriage or you are in the middle of one now, this is a wonderful opportunity to start anew and ask God for a fresh supply of his grace and mercy for your marriage and family.

So, here’s the altar call today: I’m inviting you now to step forward and come to the altar and give me the privilege of renewing your vows.

STATEMENT OF INTENTION:

When you first joined hands and hearts, you did not know where life would take you. You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through all things. Life has surely brought you both wonderful blessings and difficult tribulations. So, as you stand here today to and as you reflect back over time as husband and wife, do you reaffirm your vows today? Please answer: “We do.”

VOWS: Gentlemen please turn and face your wife & repeat after me:

Once before, I have stood with you, before family and friends; once again, I take your hand as my wife. I take you this day, and for all days, as my wife. I believe in you and in this marriage more strongly now than ever. It is with joy born of both experience and trust that I commit myself once again to be your husband.

I reaffirm my love for you today. I believe our love for each other will continue to grow and mature through the years. I want to be a Godly and trusting husband. I will love you as Christ loves you. From this day forward, I recommit myself to you until death separates us.

Ladies, repeat after me.

We begin anew today, a life-long oneness. I ask you to continue to be my husband. I have always loved you and I always will. My love doesn't change with health or circumstance. I want to be a good and trusting wife. I want to continue to grow with you in oneness. You are part of me and I am part of you.

We have endured together, laughed and cried together. You are my heart, my best friend, my life. I reaffirm my love and renew my commitment to you today. I promise to cherish you, respect you and grow with you for all the days of our lives.

With you as my husband, the best is yet to be. Once again, I proudly accept your love and give you mine, for the rest of my life.

Samson and David

Yesterday I preached about the devastating effects of sexual sin and the power of God to heal us and help us recover. You can listen to it here. I juxtaposed the stories of Samson and David. Two great men. Two great failures. Both were incredibly blessed and gifted by God. But at the age of about 40, both men fell into sexual sin.

You can read Samson's story in 4 brief chapters beginning in Judges 13. His sin left him in a state of blindness and bondage. He became the laughing stock of a pagan nation and never fulfilled his God-given potential.

King David on the other hand, emerged a better man in the wake of his fall from grace. You can read his story 1 Samuel 11ff, Psalm 51. He repented, changed his ways and sought God's mercy. As a result, his legacy would be summed up as a "man after God's own heart." Unlike Samson, his final days would be spent building a temple, not tearing one down.

If you are dealing with sexual sin, ask yourself, "Do I want to end up like Samson or David?" What are you going to do about it? What kind of plan can you put into place to produce your desired results? How can you live a life that is pleasing to God (1 Thess 4:3ff)

We will talk more about it this week.

The Key To Learning

Anyone in education will be able to recite this academic axiom from memory: "Repetition is the key to learning." Samuel Johnson is famous for saying, "People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed."

The power of repetition and reminders cannot be underestimated when it comes to preaching. Here are some questions I ask myself when preparing a message:

*What do people already instinctively know about this truth I am communicating?

*How can I encourage them to apply this knowledge in their everyday life?

*What stories or symbols can I use to reinforce this truth?

I'm looking forward to this weekends message and hopefully it will help people grow a little closer to God and become more like his son, Jesus.

Ed Young: A Class Act

This past weekend a national Pastor, Ed Young, of Fellowship Church in Grapevine Texas, was blasted by a scathing television news piece questioning his character and integrity as a man of God. You can read the report and view the video here.

When I was getting ready to plant PCC 7 years ago I visited Fellowship Church and had the opportunity to spend some time with Pastor Ed. Since then, he's been a source of inspiration and knowledge for me personally and for our church.

From what I know about Pastor Ed, albeit from a distance, he's a great man of God who loves Jesus, his family, his church and his city. I've seen his Constitution and By-Laws and know for a fact that he has gone to great lengths to set up appropriate checks and balances in his ministry.

Yes, he makes a lot of money and has a big house and even flies chartered air planes due to his demanding international travel ministry schedule. But I also know is an incredibly generous man, as well - giving his entire net worth to his church more than once. How many people or pastors can say that? Not many. I know of only one other, Pastor Rick Warren.

As I've watched Ed navigate this difficult moment in ministry, here are a few things I've learned in the form of personal questions:

• Is there anything in my life and ministry, that if put on display for the entire world to see, that would bring me or my family or our church public embarrassment?
• Do I need to establish even greater measures of accountability into my life and the life of our church to ensure that we are living a life above reproach?
• Do I have friends and leaders that would stand by my side and personally defend me like they defended their friend Ed?
• Would I respond with class, grace and forgiveness and stay above the fray in the face of such harsh, unwarranted allegations and malicious attacks?

These are personal and vulnerable questions every leader should ask of themselves and the organizations they lead.

Recovering

I had surgery today on a precancerous mass behind my left year. Apparently, it was a birth defect that had remained latent for most of my life and surfaced about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, like most men, I procrastinated for a decade and never had it examined. I won't make that mistake again.

Fortunately for me, the doctor still caught it early enough and removed a good portion of the mass. The doctor said is was much deeper and more widespread than he expected. So it's going to take a few more surgeries and possibly a skin graft to finalize the process. But all in all, I feel very blessed. There should be no long term problems once this process is complete.

The book of James says "the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective." I want to say a special word of thanks to the Elders, staff and church friends and family for praying for me. I'm resting at home tonight and on some pretty strong narcotics. I don't like how they make me feel but it certainly takes the edge off the pain in my ear and head. There is still a drain in my ear and it will be removed tomorrow. PCC, I want you to know how thankful I am for each of you and honored to be your friend and pastor. My prayer has always been to lead one church with my one life. Yesterday I turned 38 years old. Here's to growing old together with you! Love, Pastor Dave

New Sex Series

This Sunday is a BIG DAY at PCC and we are kicking off a brand new series called "Sexual Resolution." This is going to be one of the most practical, yet provocative message series we've ever done at PCC. You don't want to miss it. The creative team has also put together some incredibly fun, light-hearted, yet power illustrations for each week.

Take advantage of this great opportunity to invite your friends to check out PCC during this series. I promise you they will never experience church like this. It's my hope and prayer that the result of this series is for everyone to resolve to follow God's blueprint for sex.

First Wednesday

Tonight is our First Wednesday celebration and prayer service. You don't want to miss this opportunity to worship God, receive community and most of all - pray! We are going to be praying for our church and surrounding community.

Also, just before the prayer service, we will be holding our Annual Business Meeting at 6:30 in the Multi-Purpose Room. I was just handed the 2009 Annual Report hot-off the press and it looks great. What a night we are going to have giving thanks to God for a great 2009 and praying for an even greater year of ministry in 2010.