Day One - Matthew 2:13-15

Sometimes we downplay the importance of prayer, specifically the discipline of being still and quiet so that we can hear the Lord when He speaks. Our busy lives and cluttered world leaves little time for solitude and rest at the feet of our Lord. As a result many today are missing some of the most important directions of their lives from the Lord. In Matthew 2:13-15 an angel comes to Joseph and tells him to take the child and his mother to Egypt. Joseph immediately gets up and leaves with his family. I wonder what would have happened if he would not have listened? What if he would have missed the message or refused to believe it's merit? What then? I believe that every single word God speaks is important to our lives. God does not talk just to hear Himself. He does not ramble on about nothing. When He speaks it is important and we must be prepared to take whatever He says and immediately move into action. If we don't we may just miss out on something that could be extremely important.

Tips to hear God speak:
     1,  Listen - When you pray be intentional about being still and quiet at least twice as long as you .                       speak. Don't just talk when you pray, listen, it's a two way street.
     2.  Make time every day - set a specific time and place each day where your distractions are
                        limited and you can sit still and just listen.
     3.  Read or listen to God's word every day -  If you want to know what God sounds like, you
                        need to read the words of the Bible and become familiar with His voice through the
                        written word.

Help Haiti!

Do you want to be apart of something cool?  You want to do something amazing for the people of Haiti?  Come to church this weekend for all the details on how you can help.  The church of God can do amazing things when the people of God come together.  This is going to be one of those times!

Pastor Pete

PS more to come...

Word From The Pastor

How should we respond? There is a great deal of debate right now over what churches should or should not do in response to the earthquake in Haiti. Some feel that we should allow our government to handle the situation because they can handle it best. Others say that churches should raise money and send it through organizations like Red Cross to the people that have been affected. Still others say it is not our responsibility at all to help those who are hurting because we have so many in our own country that are suffering. But what does the Bible say?

First, it says we should pray! In Exodus when the natural disasters struck Egypt the pagan Pharaoh asked Moses to pray. The people of Haiti who have long been known for their Voodoo practices are now calling on Christians to pray for them too. Should we refuse? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we should pray continually, and the Bible teaches us that we should pray about all things and on behalf of others. We must pray for the people of Haiti. We should also pray for wisdom and discernment in how we can physically help those people as well. If we do this we can be certain that God will lead us in the next two areas.

The church of God should also give to help those in need. Paul thanked those in Philippi for sending him aid again and again while he was in need. Romans tells us that we are to be hospitable and share with those in need. 1John 3:17 says “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” The church should give to those in need, despite their geographic location or ability to pay us back or come to our aid in the future. If we pray God will give us the specifics on how much and when to give.

Finally, the church should GO! We should go and physically respond to natural disasters such as this if we are able. While we help hurting people we have the privilege and honor of sharing our faith with them as well. In Romans 10, Paul asks how can the lost respond to the Gospel unless they hear the gospel, and how can they preach unless they are sent? The church must GO!

So what are we doing? Well we have already started to pray and if you have not done so already please join us in praying for the people of Haiti and how the Lord will use us in response to this disaster. We will give, but we will NOT be collecting special offerings for the people of Haiti. At Cowboy Fellowship we have never asked you to give more then your 10%. We firmly believe that if you and your family faithfully tithe God will provide for all of our needs as a church and we will have the resources we need to respond in times like this as well. If you are not tithing we would challenge you to start today so the church can continue to impact the world with the Gospel. You can now give online at www.cowboyfellowship.org as well. Finally we will have boots on the ground in the coming months. As the search and rescue efforts come to a close and the relief efforts go into full swing we plan to send individuals from our team into Haiti to help and share the good news of Jesus with others. If you are interested in going please check the bulletin each week for updates and announcements.

Cowboy Fellowship is one of the most gracious and Biblical churches I know of. Because of people like you we have responded to the tsunami, Katrina, Rita, the earthquake in China, and to droughts in Africa. It is amazing to look back on our short 6 year history as a church and see the impact that this church has had all around the world. Because of people like you we will soon be adding Haiti to that list as well. I hope to see you this weekend at one of our services!

Pastor Pete

2010 Town Hall Report

We had a great town hall meeting yesterday after church.  In case you missed it here are the high points.

1. Next week on Saturday night we will be Licensing several men into the ministry it starts at 7 pm so don't miss it.  Also we are having our first Saturday night pot-luck starting at 6pm bring a dish and come join us for that too.
2. We announced the updated Covered Facility total ( I forgot the exact number but will try to come put it in later.)
3. Mark Weatherston was re-elected as Elder for another 2 year Term, and Bob Hogan is a newly elected Elder as well. 
4. We introduced Cowboy Fellowship 2.0 which is our new and much improved website.  Surf it today by clicking on this link www.cowboyfellowship.org
1. Big improvments have been made in the following areas.
• New Home Page that has more info on it
• Big Buttons on the home page to help you find what you are looking for.
• Upcoming events on the home page
• New and imporved sermon page.  
• Online Giving is now available through the site.
• Clean, look and feel
• And much more just go check it out. 
5. BOOST 2010 was also announced.  Cowboy Fellowship will be hosting a conference in Leaky Texas on March 25-27 for adults and families.  This is going to be a time for Cowboy Churches to join together in worship and be encouraged and lifted up.  Sign up today to reserve the best rooms.  Click here to download registration form, Get it in as soon as possible with your $20 deposit to reserve your room.

All in all it was a great meeting but what would you expect from a great church full of great people?  2010 is going to be amazing, BE APART OF IT!

Pete

2010 Town Hall

Hey everyone I am really excited about our Town Hall meeting this weekend.  We have some exciting announcements to make.  We will also be having Elder Elections, and a Building Project update.  If you are member of Cowboy Fellowship or just a regular attender you need to be at this meeting.  The meeting will start about 10 minutes after church is dismissed.  And should last about 30 minutes.  I can't wait to see you all at church and at the Town Hall, see you then.

Pete

The Promise

I have question and a song for you today.

This came out in our Bible Study on Christan Leadership last night.
What is God's personal promise to you! In Acts 27 and 28, Paul is on a ship on his way to Rome, but he has a Word from God, "I am sending you to Rome". Now some people will say that is just a statement, but if you are God and you speak word as truth and can be counted, isn't that a promise, isn't it trustworthy, isn't it true?
So my question is this: What is God's promise to you? What is God's word to you? How does it move you,inspire you,empower you?
These are words of passion,strength and reliability. These are words that ring strong and true! Are these the words people use to describe you? Are they the words they use when they speak of you?

Yes, no, maybe, sometimes? As you ponder this line of thought or question today, come back to where it starts, ask our God who is alive, Who is able to hear. Call out to Him and expect a reply, and listen, listen for His Word back to you... and my prayer for you is that you realize all you need is Him.



Scotty

Pray in 2010!

What a GREAT day at Cowboy Fellowship.  God's House was full today and with just a few more people it would have been packed.  It was great to see everyone, and hear so many join in with the band this morning and last night!  We are so blessed with musical talent at Cowboy Fellowship.
Just in case you missed it we talked about Prayer this weekend.  More specifically we said that you have the time to pray in 2010.  In fact you cant afford not to pray!  If you don't take the time to pray at least three things will happen.

1. You will linger to long or leave to early
2. You will loose your way
3. You will learn the hard way

If you feel like your prayer life needs a boost click here and listen to this sermon, or hit the play button below.  I pray this message will inspire you to make prayer a priority this year.  You've Got the Time to Pray!