wilmartin | weblog

night of thanks

Tonight, at Marathon Greenville, we had a church-wide night of thanks.  A good ol' fashioned pot-luck thanksgiving dinner, worship, prayer, and thanksgiving.  It was incredible to say the least.  I know a lot of church staffers say this, but I mean it - I am a part of the greatest church on earth!

Joseph, one of our discipleship teachers, taught on being thankful for EVERYTHING God has given us.  He helped us realize the true value of the things we take for granted.  For an example, he posed the question, would you take a million dollars for your eyeballs?  NO.  Your legs?  NO.  The things we have are much more valuable than we realize.  He told us that if we are not appreciative of the things God has given us, then we will depreciate.  Wow.

It was very challenging.  It was also great to be led in worship by Paul, our youth intern.  It was awesome to sit back and not have to lead worship.  I loved just being a part of the church.  It was really humbling to have God show me just how great I have it in this life.

Take a minute and think of those little things you take for granted.  You sight, legs, lunch, a car, the ability to communicate, laughter, family, friends, love, etc...

Praise You God!

setlist 11/16

at Marathon Greenville:

Tell The World - United
Not To Us - Tomlin
The Stand - United
Broadcast - Fee

setlist 11/9

at Marathon Greenville:

Take it All - United
You'll Come - Hillsong
None But Jesus - Hillsong
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill
Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster

tunes

currently on my playlist:

Decode - Paramore (from Twilight Soundtrack)
Spotlight - MuteMath (also from Twilight Soundtrack)
John Mark McMillan - both albums
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
Corey Crowder - Gold and the Sand (pick it up in stores 11/11)

what's on your playlist?

God, forgive us

dear God,

I'm sure the outcome of this election didn't take you by surprise.
thank You for being all-knowing and always in control.

forgive us of our intolerance
our hatred
our divisive nature
and our greed.

forgive those of us who doubt your power
by thinking that one man can negate the fact
that YOU are God
and YOU are sovereign
and that YOU still have a plan.

forgive us for attributing Your divine power to a mere human.

forgive those of us who label ourselves as Your followers
yet give off a spirit of fear -
which is contrary to Your will.
forgive our unfaithfulness in the promises of Your word.
we are imperfect and sometimes we doubt.

forgive us of our pessimism.
we don't always know how to react to change.

forgive us for backbiting
and for making personal, public accusations
against people we don't even know personally.

please strengthen Barack Obama during this time.
prepare him to be the leader he needs to be.

AMEN.

obama and faith (worth watching)

its over

reactions?

done '08

I voted.  It's done and over.  This will be my final blog about Election 2008 before we know for sure who our next president is going to be.

I just want to take this chance to say again, that despite all the hype, propaganda, mud-slinging, and exaggerations thrown around throughout this election, the world will not come to an end if the candidate you support does not become the president.

I will also remind everyone that it is not the government's job to regulate morals and standards.  It's the individuals job to do so.  If you are a Christian it is your job to encourage people to do the right thing - not the president's job.

God blesses each of us with a sphere of influence - people surrounding us that we have the unique opportunity to influence either positively or negatively.

I think it was Rob Bell who once said, "if there is too much darkness in the world then the problem is lack of light."  Darkness cannot overtake light.  You can't fill a room with darkness, but you can remove the light making way for the darkness to take over.  My point is that if you believe this country is morally bankrupt then the responsibility lies on YOU to make the difference - not a politician.

Vote for the candidate you believe in, but don't think for a minute that either one of them will solve all of the problems in this country.  God has called us to love - to be a light in a dark world.  And if we are not fulfilling that commandment then the moral problem falls on our consciences. 

PRAY PRAY PRAY - it is powerful you know.

setlist 11/2

at Marathon Greenville:

Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Let Me Sing - Todd Fields
'Til I See You - Hillsong
All Around the World - Elevation Worship

one more week

Well, in less than a week we will be voting to elect a new president.

I've been in several intense discussions in the past week about who I should vote for.  I'm known around the office as the flaming liberal - just because once last year I brought up that I wasn't completely pro-war.

I've encouraged everyone to vote based on what issues are the most important to them.  Throw out all the personal attacks from both sides (i.e. "McCain is too old," "Obama is a terrorist") and think about the issues that matter most to you.  Whether it be abortion, homosexual marriage, health care, education, foreign policy, taxes, etc... let me me know what issues you put the most emphasis on and if you want, let me know which candidate fits into your beliefs on the issues.

Comment and let's start a good healthy discussion!