Greg Peters Live

Relationships are a ton of fun, awesome times are often had and phenomenal memories are made; but the downside is they require a massive amount of hard work.  As we have been working through our series, Relationship Rehab, I have been reminded of just how much work relationships take.  I have labored so much over the last couple weeks messages because there is no simple solution and the topics of pain and forgiveness do not come with simplistic, cookie cutter answers. Last Saturday night about 90 minutes before the evening service I deleted all of my notes to my fourth point, which was the work of a couple hours of study. It had been a real long time since I was tweeking, rearranging and rethinking a message so much – that sermon was a ton of hard work. I do not say those things for your sympathy or applause, I say it because it is simply indicative of  relationships – they are hard work.  If relationships were easy it would be easy for me to write sermons about relationships and it would be easy for you to enjoy the benfits and fruit of relationships. Let’s just admit it – Rleationships Are HARD WORK!

Although they are hard work, relationships also bring incredible rewards.

Monday morning I had breakfast with a friend of almost 20 years and he talked about the joy of our friendship and how he is glad we have recently had a little more time together.  This morning at 7:45 I spoke with a friend from Texas for about 15 minutes.  Before he hung up he mused about what our friendship would be like when we are both grey headed (After I hung up I laughed because for neither of us is our problem greying hair, but keeping what hair we have!). I have also had a lot of fun lately with my best friend, Denise. She makes me laugh, she is a great hostess (she threw a mean Super Bowl party), she is an awesome mom and there are many other things I enjoy about her! But all of the friendships I just mentioned have taken me alot of hard work.

Just so you don’t think I am patting my self on the back, I also have screwed up alot of relationships. In fact, for whatever reason, I have a frinedship right now where I can’t get a returned phone call. I also told my wife a couple weeks ago that I was too hard on a friend and left them feeling drained when our conversation was over. I have another friendship where an apology is owed by me. Just typing this paragraph brings me stress.

Thankfully, hard work brings even greater rewards. Let’s do the hard work this week!

• So thankful for all that God is doing at Parkview. 
• Closing with the John 8 principle was powerful with many stones being brought to the altar and layed down.
• Heard a couple of great stories about the timeliness of God’s Word in people’s lives this weekend.
• Totally taught the lesson as a student not a professor.
• Have really enjoyed Denise joining me for the first 2 weeks of this series. She brings tremendous wisdom and insight!
• Loved singing about the forgiveness I have received.
• Met some new friends.
• It was great to have Mark and Renee Gage as our special guests this weekend. Really hope some of our people will take a short term missions trip with Mark.
• Had a real nice lunch with the Gage’s and one of our Life Groups.
• Forgiveness is a choice
• Forgiveness is hard work
• Forgiveness is about seting myself free
• Forgiveness is based on the righteousness of God
• Looking forward to watching the Super Bowl game tonight
• Have a great week!

Some random thoughts and links:

• Read a blog post that included a video – very good and thought you would enjoy a little learning. Click Here
• A guy at the city told me there are some jobs open. A guy at Sea Ray boats said they are hiring.
• This is a really good post - thought provoking and convicting.
• If you ever leave our church I plead with you to do this!
• I am REALLY looking forward to this weekend and talking on the topic of Forgiveness.
• Can’t wait to double our parking. The rain slowed things down but hopefully jsut a few weeks to completion.
• Enjoyed my first book over breakfast! Got a great group of guys.
• See you this weekend! Bring a friend – we are making more seats available!!!

• I slept horrible last night and it was awesome!
• Yes, you read the above line correctly.
• Here is what happened – it seemed as if every time I rolled over I was awakened but the goodness of God on my life and on our church.  My pulse would quicken, my soul would fill with joy, I would praise him, fall back to sleep and then repeat the cycle again soon. Never had the experience to that extreme!
• This weekend was a weekend of life change for SO MANY!
• Baptism was incredible in all 3 services!!!
• We talked about pain, and Denise and I shared some of our pain. Amidst that tough talk was such a sweet spirit.
• SO MANY people in our church want to work through their pain and get healthy.
• Lean into it, learn from it and never be the same again. Embrace it, deal with it and move on!!!
• If you missed the service you can go here and listen now.
• I am not an expert in anything but I do feel like I have a Phd. in pain.
• MASSIVE attendance – had to bring out chairs for the 11 am service!
• Many people have stepped out by faith and begun to practice grace giving!!
• God will keep his promises!!! 
• We ran out of the Scripture memorization packs we are making available for this series – we will have more next weekend!
• What God is doing at Parkview is blowing me away.
• It is a team effort!
• He deserves all the glory!!

We have all heard the stories – ie. geese flying in a “v” formation, what 2 horses can pull together verses what they can pull individually, ten hands put the ball through the hoop, etc

We have all heard the cliche’s – ie. there is no “I” in team, teamwork is dreamwork, all for one and one for all.

To me teamwork is a major secret to success. Teamwork is important in every area of life.

• God – this is my favorite team - He and I make an army. I try to start each day with Him and know that my time with Him changes everything.  He is beyond description!!
• Marriage – my wife is my biggest asset! From a human standpoint, Denise, is the biggest reason for all my successes in life. She is honest with me, loves me more than I deserve and is loyal beyond reason.
• Parenting – Just this week alone, Denise and I spent time with Seth’s school teacher and a couple of the children’s workers from church. This evening he is spending the night with very dear friends. Denise and I are his coaches but we have a great team around us!
• Church – In just the last few days I have had several people comment about the incredible team God has surrounded me with. It is wonderful to hear people in our church talk about the other leaders in our church that they respect. Not only do we have incredible leaders, but our volunteers are phenomenal!!
• Staff and Elders – I know this group could fit in the above category, but I wanted to say a little more.  Our Elders have a heart for the Lord and have a laser focus on the spiritual health and development of our church family. Our staff are an incredibly dedicated group of extremely talented people who have a passion for God and a love for people. Both our elders and staff are very loyal to me and that is invaluable. There is no competition, we serve the Lord together!

Today, I am celebrating my teams and our teamwork!!!!!

• O give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever!
• This weekend we closed our series, Ritual, by talking about the ritual of Baptism.
• We had 20 people sign up to be baptized next weekend!
• Come ready to CELEBRATE next weekend!!
• So exciting to see people taking steps towards Life Change!!
• Last night we had a very successful Group Link, we launched 2 new Life Groups and added people to 3 other groups already in existence.
• I haven’t said much about our attendance numbers recently, but this weekend we had 787 – church, let’s celebrate what God is doing!!
• Sat night attendance is up – Sun at 9:30 was very full and 11am was packed!!
• PLEASE attend Sat night @ 6 if you can!!! Let’s make room for our guests!!
• Parking was insane!
• Our parking lot is scheduled to be finished in less than one month!!!
• Last week I preached on the Ritual of grace giving and this week we had one of the largest offerings in recent months - over $16,500, plus a little more than $1,000 for Haiti. Once again, I don’t normally post offering totals but I think we need to celebrate the different ways in which God is blessing.
• For all of you who are stepping out in faith in the area of giving – I KNOW God is going to bless!!!!
• NEXT WEEKEND YOU HAVE GOT TO BE ON TIME!!!
• Looking forward to launching our new series, Relationship Rehab
• Have a great week!!!

I wanted to post a link to a news story that involves 3 Angels Orphanage. This past weekend we collected breakfast bars and crackers and partnered with Life Coast Church to make a difference in Haiti. Watch this clip as Mike and Gretchen share a little bit of their story. The 26 children who were brought to the U.S. were already in the process of adoption and the embasssy fast tracked their process so they could be placed in the home of their adoptive parents.

This weekend we will be receiving an offering to take our next step to help in Haiti. With our offering we will partner with  Convoy of Hope, Churches Helping Churches and we will also use some of the funds for our own personal involvement in Haiti.

Please pray about what the Lord would have you to give. Let’s join together in generosity and do our part in helping reach the people of Haiti!

Can’t wait to see you this weekend! We are going to have an awesome weekend. Be sure to arrive on time and come prepared to WORSHIP!

• As I mentioned in my last post, our church responded in a great way to the needs in Haiti.
• Pastor Mike Wehde and Lifecoast Church have also done an awesome job reaching out. As I mentioned, they already had a relationship with 3 Angels Orphanage in Port-au-Prince.
• I spoke with Mike a couple times yesterday, as well as a couple texts.
• He was trying to find a flight for 26 kids and 6 workers who had received embassy permission to flee Haiti and come to the states.
• Long story short, Mission Aviation Fellowship flew the whole group to Ft. Peirce last night!!
• I told Mike that Parkview is prepared to help in whatever way possible. I will keep you posted.
• This weekend we will be receiving an offering to help in Haiti relief, recovery and renewal.
• Be sure to pray for the people of Haiti and how God would have us participate.

• absolutely amazing weekend!!
• Sensed God’s presence in a great way.
• Ton of recent guests back visiting again.
• Parking was crazy! Only about 4-6 more weeks until our new parking lot is open.
• Spoke on the ritual of tithing, although tithing is not exactly how I would unpack our worship opportunity.
• Click here to  listen online
• Had a great Discovery Pointe luncheon with new friends.
• Really appreciate the amazing team that the Lord has surrounded me with – staff, elders, finance team, building team, etc…
• Very thankful for our small group leaders! This coming semester we have 31 classes or life groups to choose from. If you attend Parkview, be sure to get connected in a group. Click here to sign up.
• We collected a pickup truck and SUV load for Haiti. I have never seen so many breakfast bars and crackers. Way to go Parkview!
• Next weekend we will be taking up an offering for Haiti recovery.  We continue to assess the opportunities and search for where we can be most strategic. Most importantly, be sure that you PRAY!
• Have a great week!