Celebrate Christmas Eve @ PCC

Please join the Pocono Community Church family this Christmas Eve and celebrate the birth of Christ.

Come out and enjoy:

*Singing your favorite Christmas carols

*Candlelight ceremony

*Live Jazz Band

*Fun creative elements in the service

*Inspiring video story of faith

*Hot chocolate and cookies and more...

We have 3 Christmas Eve Services to choose from: 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm.

It's going to be a lot of fun for the entire family. Please make this part of your Christmas tradition and celebrate Christmas Eve with the people of Pocono Community Church.

The Christmas Spirit

Someone asked me today if I was "getting in the Christmas spirit." For many the Christmas spirit is:

• Baking cookies
• Singing carols
• Sending cards
• Planning parties
• Buying presents
• Sipped from a glass

But no one demonstrates the Biblical "spirit of Christmas" more than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Consider Mary, this teenage girl who's life is turned upside down as the sovereign plan of God unfolds around her. She never asked for a miraculous, Holy Spirit empowered, virgin conception, but God trusted her with it anyway. Instantly, she's confronted with private and public humiliation. She comes dangerously close to losing the love of her lifetime. Can you imagine what she told her parents?

Yet amidst all chaos and confusion that first Christmas, Mary surrenders her will to the will of the Father and simply says, "Let it be." In other words, I choose to worship and obey the Father even when it doesn't make sense or seem to be working out the way I planned.

The true Spirit of Christmas is surrender. In essence, that's worship. The first time worship is used in the Scriptures is to describe Abraham's decision to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the mountain altar. It says that he went out of obedience to worship the Lord. Worship is obedience.

Mary, in the same spirit of Abraham, worships the Lord and surrenders her plans, expectations and will to the work of the Father. That's the real spirit of Christmas.

G Willie

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15

My grandmother, Willie Mae Brumback, at the age of 90, went to be with the Lord last Friday morning at 12:30 am.

In a letter she wrote me some years ago she asked me to preach her funeral. Of course, I agreed to my grandmother's wish and am humbled that she would even ask.

I want to thank many of you who are praying for my mom, Betty, and family during this time of sorrow. We know grandma is in heaven now and reunited with her husband Tweed Dale. More importantly, she's with Jesus for "to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord."

And while it's never easy to place a final kiss on cold lips that will not kiss in return, we can take comfort in the fact that there is life beyond the grave for those who die believing in Jesus.

Sunday Night Download

This week was an awesome weekend at PCC. Here are some of the highlights:

+The Creative Worship Arts Team did an amazing job. Worship was awesome. You totally rocked the "Mighty God" song.

+The laser light show and the Mannheim Steamroller song was crazy!!! Thanks CWA Team for your creativity and commitment to excellence. Wow!

+Saturday night service was awesome. We were just shy of 600 people! Saturday PCCers are doing a great job inviting their friends. That's why we announced this weekend that WE ARE STARTING A SECOND SATURDAY NIGHT SERVICE IN JANUARY 2011.

+Beginning the weekend of January 8/9, 2011, we will offer 5 WEEKEND SERVICES AT Saturday night 5pm & 6:30pm and Sunday at 9:30am, 11am, and 1 PM (Spanish). I can't wait to see how God is going to help us reach more people who are far from him by making more room in our weekend experiences.

+I need 200 people in the Sunday morning crowd to move to Saturday night. Please make a 6 month commitment to come to one of the services on Saturday night beginning in January. Let's make more room at the table!

+The story of PCC is really a story of sacrifice. Sacrifice is when I give up something I love for something that I love even more. We love lost people more than anything at PCC!

+The series, He Shall Be Called, is going very well. This weekend I spoke about the El Gibbor, or Mighty God. It was one of the most fun and memorable messages of 2010 for me. Lots of history, which I love. We looked at the geo-political landscape of the original hearers of the prophecy to help us better understand the prophetical context which in turn makes the message even more real and relevant to our lives today. Great stuff!

+Saturday night we held the last Membership Class of the year with about 100 more members added to the roster. it's crazy to think how much the church has grown in the past year. And the wild thing is, the best is yet to come!

+I had a great time preaching in the Spanish service today. I love Pastor Emilio and the Spanish congregation. We sang my favorite song of the year, Cristo Yo Te Amo. Love that song!

+The Spanish congregation prayed for me at the end of their service as Pastor Emilio informed them that I was traveling to Washington, DC to preach my Grandmother's funeral on Monday. I appreciate their love and prayers more than words can adequately express.

+A huge thanks to many that are praying for me and my family as we say goodbye to one of the matriarchs of our family, Willie Mae Brumback. I'll share more about my "G Willie" tomorrow.

+Time to review my message notes for tomorrow and call it a day.

+I love you PCC and am so honored to be your pastor.

Apple Christmas

Check out this creative approach to opening up a Northpoint Church service with Christmas music played only on iPad and iPhones. Crazy cool.

New Christmas Series

I'm really excited about the new series we are kicking off this weekend, "He Shall Be Called." It's based on the Isaiah 9 passage that describes not only the fact that Christ would be born, but what kind of man he would become.

Hopefully, this series will give all who know Him a greater appreciation for who Jesus really is. And more importantly, it will give those who have only known him from afar an invitation to know him personally.

Week #1 - Wonderful Counselor

Week #2 - Mighty God

Week #3 - Everlasting Father

Week #4 - Prince of Peace.

Remember all you PCCers, do not come alone this weekend! Invite your friends to join you and let's celebrate Christmas together as a family.

Sunday Night Download

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend at PCC:

*It was my first time back in the pulpit after two weeks off. It felt great to preach again, but the rest really did me well.

*I preached a looooooooong sermon. I went 55 minutes Saturday night and 40-45 minutes in the Sunday services. God bless the PCC attenders who listen for that length of time without walking out on me.

*We baptized lots more people this weekend. It was one of the coolest baptisms ever. Pastor Brad and Pastor Andre did all the baptisms. Great job guys! Andre actually lost his footing and he and one of the guys both went under. Priceless baptism moment!

*So far, the PCC family has given over $25,000 in the

special Christmas

offering. What an amazing act of generosity. We are well on the way to reaching the $150,000 goal.

*The Christmas Offering will be used 3 ways: $25,000 to feed the poor, $50,000 for children's ministry expansion and decor upgrades, and $75,000 for media enhancement to launch an online church and additional PCC campuses in the Pocono area.

*I'm really excited about the new Christmas series starting next weekend, "He Shall Be Called." Don't come alone!

* The PCC Christmas Choir will be singing your favorite Christmas songs next week. You don't want to miss it.

*The church family decorated the building for Christmas today. It took them all day just to get the 27 foot Christmas tree up in the lobby. It looks awesome! Thanks to the 80 plus volunteers who showed up to serve!

*The worship team wrote and performed a special song for the series. It was awesome. So thankful for the great team of volunteers we have at PCC that are willing to use their gifts to glorify God.

*We God thanks today for: the healing of a man who had bleeding and swelling behind his eyes (totally healed), a restoration of a couple who have been separated for 12 years, and a teenager who recently wanted to commit suicide has now found faith in Christ and reason for living.

Sunday Night Download

Here are some thoughts from this past weekend:

1. I took a few days off this past week and took my family to Great Wolf Lodge. We had a great time celebrating Williams first birthday. We also drove down to see my family in Harrisburg and enjoyed just hanging out with them. My dad made homemade pasta, bread, butter (yes, he churned his own butter ... I know), apple cider, cinnamon rolls and sticky buns and more. I gained a few pounds : (

2. I got the weekend off from preaching - the first one in 17 weeks! Pastor Brad, our new executive pastor, spoke for me and did a great job. You can hear his message on "The Family That God Blesses" here. It should be posted by Monday afternoon.

3. Since I didn't have to preach this past weekend I did a lot of thinking and planning for 2011. I've got my preaching calendar lined out through Easter and I also did some major work on the 2011 budget too. I'm so excited about the vision God is given me and PCC for the next year of ministry.

4. Instead of going to PCC this Sunday, me and friend went to Liquid Church in Morristown, NJ. The founding and lead pastor, Tim Lucas, is a good friend. He is doing an amazing job building a great church that is reaching tons of lost people for Jesus. I learned a ton from Tim and Liquid today and look forward to synthesizing some of those learnings into the culture and flow of PCC.

5. I'm headed to NYC tonight to leave for Haiti early in the morning. It's a vision trip with my friend and founder of Convoy of Hope International, Hal Donaldson. Convoy is an international disaster relief and compassion organization. They feeds thousands of children all over the world, including over 40,000 kids per day in Haiti alone. I'll be visiting their feeding programs as well as the new distribution warehouse that is currently under construction. This new facility will enable Convoy to feed almost 80,000 kids per day by this time next year. Please pray for my safe journey to Haiti.

6. I'm totally excited about the Thanksgiving Outreach this week to need families in the Pocono Mountains. We are reaching out to 100 families in our community and providing them with a full course Thanksgiving Meal.

7. This weekend at PCC we will be participating in the special One Day to Feed the World offering. We are encouraging all PCCers to give one-day's pay to help feed needy children through the Convoy of Hope feeding programs. Please pray that that God will move on our congregations heart to birth a spirit of generosity the likes of which we have never seen before.

8. This weekend my good friend, Michael M., will be speaking at PCC. He was a former assassin with the IRA in Ireland. Now he has given his life to Jesus Christ and he has become a missionary serving all throughout Europe, working closely with Convoy of Hope outreaches. You don't want to miss this amazing story of redemption and life-change.

Happy Birthday David III

In honor of my oldest sons 5th birthday, David III, I want to share the top 5 things that I love about him.

1. I love David's infectious laugh.

David is the funniest little kid you've ever met. His laugh is infectious. It can soften even the hardest heart and lift even the heaviest burden. One of our favorite things to do together as a family every Sunday night is watch America's Funniest Home Videos. David's laugh is actually funnier than the videos.

2. I love David's teachable spirit.

Just like any other preschooler (or adult for that matter), David can have "his moments." But even when he misses the mark and suffers at the "seat of learning", David has the ability to adjust his attitude and make things right. What a valuable character trait that I admire in my son.

3. I love David's tender heart.

David has a tender heart towards his family, especially his mother. He drives her crazy sometimes but he's certainly a momma's boy (just like his daddy). He loves his brothers and sister too and has a sweet spot in his heart for the things of God. I pray that God nourishes his heart for people.

4. I love David's competitive nature.

He loves to compete - whether that's me timing him running laps around the kitchen to the living room and dining room or even racing him on his bike. He wants to win. That desire to always be the best will take him far in life.

5. I love David's desire to be with others.

David hates to be alone. In fact, he refuses to be alone. He always wants someone close by to wrestle, snuggle, tease or talk to. I'm a lot like him. I love to be with my family and spend time with close friends. I pray that David's community-mindedness will always help him make room for others that don't like to be alone either.

Weekend Highlights

It was another great weekend at PCC. I feel like a broken record but I just can't believe what God is doing in and through this great church. Here are some of the highlights:

+We wrapped up the End of the World message series with a special illustrated message that included a funeral, coffin, and hearse. The Creative Worship Arts team did an amazing job!

+The reality is that our world will never end. We will all live forever in one of two places - heaven or hell. Many chose life this weekend at PCC.

+Thank you Lori and Derek who wrote and produced a special song for the funeral performance today. Crazy good. Can't wait for you guys to record it.

+My friend gave his heart to Christ today! I've prayed for and invited him to come to PCC for the past 5 years. God is faithful if we do not give up!

+We had over 2000 people in attendance this weekend - that's almost 1000 more people than this time last year!

+Our PCC Kids Team did an awesome job with the PCC Kids Fall Bash. They gave away bikes, candy, Nintendo DS's, and most importantly - Jesus.

+Alexis, thanks for singing "People Get Ready" at the end of all 4 services this weekend. It was awesome. I couldn't think of a better way to wrap up the series than that.

+I can't wait for next week for our new series, "Blessed". I'm kicking off the series with a special message titled "The Church God Blesses."

+This week is First Tuesday - a night of prayer, worship and communion. God's really given me an encouraging message for the service. Can't wait to share it.

PCC Kids Fall Bash

This weekend @ PCC we are celebrating Children with our PCC Kids Fall Bash. During each of our weekend services there will be:

* Candy

* Games

* Bounce Houses

* Prizes

* Music

* Bible Story

and much more. So don't miss this opportunity for your kids. Bring your friends too!

I will also be wrapping up our End of the World Series with an illustrated message. This is perhaps one of the most creative and important services of the year. If you have friends that are far from God - this is a great weekend to bring them to church!!!

Politically Speaking

Since the political season is in full swing (I received like 10 flyers in the mail yesterday alone!), I thought I'd share some of my current thoughts on politics:

• I'm not called to follow a blue donkey or a red elephant, but a white Lamb.
• Do you really believe if you could get more donkey's or elephants in Washington DC that we would have revival in America? Seriously?
• Jesus didn't commission 12 politicians, he commissioned 12 disciples.
• Real change comes from a radical follower of Christ who serves their community with sacrificial love.
• The answer for America lies not in the white house but in the church house.
• Since Christians do hold a dual citizenship, we should be involved in politics. But the local church should not be campaign headquarters.
• Base your vote one the values of the Bible.
• Christians are called to carry the cross of Christ, not the sword of Caesar. Let's not give a first class allegiance to a second class cause.
• America's problems will not be solved by a politician or a political party, but by a local church that is filled with the love of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
• If we spent more time praying for our elected leaders instead of criticizing them we would probably have better leaders and more righteous decisions.
• I would rather be known for what I'm for rather than what I'm against. I'm for Jesus!

Weekend Highlights

Here are some highlights from this past weekend at PCC.

+I gotta give it up for the PCC Dance Team! They blew it up! Thanks so much to the team and the team leaders. Your creativity, innovation and commitment to excellence is greatly appreciated!

+The Saturday evening service was one of the best ever. We were just at 500 in attendance and the night was filled with great energy and enthusiasm. Thanks to all you PCCers who come out every Saturday to worship and serve.

+Overall the attendance was close to 1900 people. We had lots of first time guests and the message seemed to be received very well. Lots of people made commitments to Christ. Can't wait to get the final number of salvations tomorrow.

+We had a new bass player and drummer on the worship team on Saturday night. They were awesome musicians. Thanks guys! Welcome to the PCC family.

+I'm really looking forward to this coming weekend where we will wrap up the End of the World series with perhaps the most creative service we've ever done. If there was ever a weekend to bring your unchurched friend - this is it!

+The PCC Kids Fall Bash is this weekend during all our services too. There will be lots of games, prizes, candy and fun for everyone during each of the weekend services.

This Weekend @ PCC

This weekend we continue our series, End of the World with a special, first-of-its-kind, hip hop dance routine by PCC's very own! You do NOT want to miss this weekend. This is going to blow your mind!

Also, I'll be preaching through the ENTIRE book of Revelation. It should only take me 2 hours : ) Just kidding. Seriously, if you've ever wanted to know more about the book of Revelation and what the end of the world will be like, then come out this weekend. Hope to see you there!

Eat The Frog

This week I've been listening to "Time Management Principles For Busy Pastors" produced by my friend, Nelson Searcy. Nelson delivers some practical ways to save time and thus get more done. One principle in particular that really caught my attention was "Eat the Frog."

It goes like this: if you knew that you had to eat a frog, you would most likely delay that task on your to-do list until the end of the day. However, you would be filled with frustration, anxiety and distraction as you worked on your other tasks rendering you less productive.

The solution: eat the frog first. Deal with what you don't want to deal with on the front end and get it out of the way. Once its checked off the list, you will be more effective and productive throughout the day.

Tony Campolo

Listen to this amazing story told by Sociologist/Preacher Tony Campolo.

Weekend Highlights

We had a great weekend at PCC. Here are some of the highlights.

+Hip Hop Artists Exodus Movement performed in all of our services. They were so good. Thanks guys for being here this weekend.

+Our worship team introduced a new song today called The Stand. They put their own PCC flavor to it and tore it up. They also did an cool arrangement of Sing Sing Sing with an old hymn "When we all get to heaven". Very cool.

+While I was preaching in the second service a fly was buzzing me. I went to swat it away and I actually caught the crazy fly in my fingers. It was hilarious and bar far the funniest thing that ever happened to me when I was preaching. Mr. Miagi has nothing on this preacher!

+I met so many people this weekend going through a world of hurt. One woman told me her husband was just diagnosed with cancer and only given two months to live. Another teenage girl came up to me after the Saturday night service and asked to pray for her because she can't shake off severe sadness. Another man asked to pray for him as he was just diagnosed with global cognitive impairment as a result military service.

+Lots of people committed their heart to Christ this weekend. It always amazes me at how the simple preaching of the gospel plus the work of the Holy Spirit yields a life forever changed.

+I can't wait until next weekend when the PCC Dance Team will be performing in all the services. It's going to be awesome.

This Weekend @ PCC

This weekend PCC welcomes hip hop artist, Exodus. They will be performing in all of our english speaking services. Exodus is a Christian rap group that actually wrote a special song for our series, End of the World.

You don't want to miss this weekend. Be sure to bring a friend with you!

I'll be finishing up last weeks message "How to Survive the End of the World." We'll be looking at what Jesus said to the 7 churches in Revelation chapters 2-3. It will prove to be a practical and powerful word to prepare our hearts for the second coming of Christ.

Sunday Night Reflections

Below are some highlights from another great weekend at PCC.

*Buzz and Woody showed up at PCC this weekend and made many little kids extremely happy. A huge THANKS to all our dedicated PCC Kids volunteers that make the weekends a fun place to learn about Jesus and make new friends.

*The PCC worship team did an amazing job with the special song "End of the World" by P.O.D. They totally rocked it! And the video was awesome too. Thanks CWA Team. You guys are amazing!

*Tons of people committed their life to Christ this weekend - including this 13 year old girl and her mom who came up to me after the 11:30am Sunday service with tears in their eyes and asked me, "What can we do to be saved?" Dude, that's like totally NT kind of stuff. I led them in the sinners prayer at the altar and the peace of God just flooded their hearts. It was so humbling to do God's bidding.

*The Parking Lot Team did an extraordinary job this weekend and were able to move lots of cars in and out of the lot 4 times without any major traffic jams. Thanks for tweaking the system and your relentless pursuit of constant and never ending improvement.

*We introduced Pastor Brad Wick's family this weekend and Brad hosted all the services. He did a great job.

*Looking forward to next weekend at PCC with special guest, Exodus. Exodus is a hip hop group that is going to blow it up next weekend. Start inviting your friends now!

This Weekend @ PCC

This weekend Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 3 will be at PCC. All you moms and dads out there don't want to miss all the fun and excitement. Make sure you bring the kids and a camera.

Also we continue our new series, End of the World. This week we begin to look at the Book of Revelation and what Jesus has to say to people in order to get them ready for his soon coming return. We will be studying Revelation chapters 1 -3 if you want to read them in advance.

This weekend is a great opportunity to bring your friends. So be sure to invite everyone you know.