Be On Your Guard

We're going through Andy Stanley's book Enemies of the Heart, and yesterday's message I preached was dealing with Greed and it's antidote - Generosity.  In Luke 12 Jesus said, "Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (vs. 15 - NIV)  At the end of the parable of the rich fool, Jesus warns us that those who store up things for themselves but are not rich towards God will lose everything.

In his book, Stanley recommends that we ask 2 very important questions of God and ourselves: "Why do I have so much?"; and "Lord, what do you want me to do with the extra that I do have?"  The answer to both is to be generous.  If we are willing to look into our hearts and deal with our selfishness, we can really be generous and do some good Kingdom work with our finances!  Be rich towards God and those in need (see Matthew 25:31-46)!  Be generous with the time, talents, and treasure He's given you and don't use it all on yourself!

Post your response below with how you answer the question, "why do I have so much?"

We had another great day of service this last Saturday working on 40 different projects for Serve Sunnyslope.  We tried moving the projects into our neighborhoods where we live and meet, and from everything I've heard it was a great success.  Thanks to everyone who came out to serve and help us accomplish our mission to connect, grow, and serve.

It was so great to see 3 more baptisms this last Sunday!  God is on the move and we continue to have increasing numbers of baptisms over these last 2 years.  As Perry Noble says, seeing people get baptized "never gets old!"

Catching Up

I'm loving the current message series we are in: Enemies of the Heart.  It's based on Andy Stanley's book by the same name, and it is a great book.  We have some for sale each Sunday, or you can order one here.  If you've missed either of the first 2 weeks, listen to Chuck's messages here.  I challenge you to read the book and listen to the messages and let God work on you.


This Saturday, October 22, is another Serve Sunnyslope day for FCC-Phoenix.  Be at our campus at 7 am on Saturday to get connected to a job in your neighborhood (or where we need you!) where you can serve.


We are collecting a Thank Offering on November 20 to benefit some ministry partners: Missions of Hope International in Nairobi, Kenya; Tornado Relief in Joplin, MO; and New City Church right here in Phoenix.  Our goal is to receive a $25,000 offering that day to share with these ministries.  Our hope is that giving to the Thank Offering will be over and above your normal giving as we all have so much to be thankful for.  Thanks for sharing generously with us in this special way.


In September, June and I were able to take a 5 day trip into the beautiful mountains of northeast New Mexico.  We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary which was in last August.  The weather was great (we enjoyed the nice cool temps!), the scenery was beautiful, and we really enjoyed hiking and exploring the area and our time together.  We're very grateful to some friends for making this trip possible!

See you Sunday.