Hello Uprisingers! Hope all is going well.

So if you were at my message today (Sunday) you probably walked away with more questions than you did answers. And I want you to know first off that that is totally ok! In fact, it's exactly what I intended. 

Out of the many big questions we often ask in life, I chose to tackle these four at service this morning:

1. What is the meaning of life?

2. Who is Jesus?

3. What is truth?

4. Is there a God, and if He exists, does He love me?

I want to encourage all of you to revisit the passage and verses that I used to answer these questions. I also want to give you guys some additional verses, quotes from the Book of John, that answer many of these questions. We must NEVER forget the importance of Jesus' resurrection from the dead; that is the foundation and basis of our faith as Christians.

So here are my 4 points and some verses that illustrate the answers to these difficult life questions:

1. The Resurrection brings life. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2, John 11:25)

2. The Resurrection shows Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:3-5, John 20:26-29)

3. The Resurrection displays truth. (1 Corinthians 15:6-8, John 17:17-19)

4. The Resurrection provides grace. (1 Corinthians 15:9-11, John 1:14-17)

So I pray that you will grow from the reality of these truths, and that your lives will live in a way that reflects the glory of God and worships Him no matter what the circumstances may be. And if you have questions, please come out to Uprising on Sunday September 4th for a Q&A discussion that we will be having with myself and some of our leaders.

Living the resurrected life with you, 

- Derrick Hatch

Derrick Comments On His Message Sunday.

Hello Uprisingers!

Stoked to be blogging for all of you!

So for those who heard my (Derrick) message on Sunday, I want to highlight those core truths of the Gospel that Paul mentions in Galatians 1:1-5.

Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia: Galatians 1:1-2 (NIV)

1.     The Gospel is from God.

2.     The Gospel says Jesus rose from the dead.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Galatians 1:3 (NIV)

3.     The Gospel brings grace and peace.

[Jesus] Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, Galatians 1:4 (NIV)

4.     The Gospel says Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

5.     The Gospel brings us freedom to live a new life (Holy Spirit).

6.     The Gospel is God’s will.

To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:5 (NIV)

7.     The Gospel gives God the glory and not us.

Guard these truths and keep them at the foundation of who you are and what you do. This will ensure that you will always see this Gospel as true, even if someone else is trying to deceive you by another “gospel.”

Embracing the Gospel with you,

- Derrick Hatch

Pray for Battlezone tonight

I thought something might be kinda cool.

here is my message for battlezone tonight.
would you join with me in preaching it by reading it and praying for tonight?
i think this may be a cool way for us to all be involved in the preaching of
god's word.


"Who is Jesus to this culture?
well, he’s kinda been gone for a while.
so, its harder and harder to know.
this book [the bible] just gets older and older while
we have new shiny things to look at and new idols rising in man
made glory.

i am not here to compete with that.
if you hear what im saying its because God himself is passionately after you.

i know that Jesus is Lord. i know that Jesus is God. i know the cross and resurrection are historical realities.. but thats just it. isn’t it? its history.
its as important as fifth period history with Mrs. Crisp, who smells like old black licorice strangely, when it is summer and school is out!

but, heres the difference, its history with eternal ramifications. its history that is still affecting change and restoring lives and giving hope even today.
its more than history... its now.

i mean think about it... even the word “history” is simply “his-story”
its what God has been trying to say, if we would listen. its his story, and its still happening all around us.

in Romans a guy named paul is thinking about Jesus and teaches that in “his-story” something went wrong. man turned away from god. this is called sin.
and that that sin deserved death. man separated from a perfect God by murders and slanders and gossip and killing each other with their words everyday.
then it says that one man came from God named Jesus and died in our place. he lived a perfect life and then was tortured by those he came to save.

a historical event. the cross, like pearl harbor or the signing of the declaration of independence, the cross happened on a day in real history, in real time.
the climax of history, the peak of his story.

fast forward 2000 years.

romans goes on to say that this historical event has present and real realities. that the cross has something to say to 2011. to 400 kids sitting on a blacktop waiting for me to end.
it says that those that look to the cross for hope are now sons and daughters of God.
that “all things” now “ work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose”

His purpose. His story. He’s still telling it.

The good that Paul is talking about in Romans 8:28 is that these sons and daughters who have found hope in the cross are now starting to look more and more like Jesus.

that in all reality, the history of the cross has broken through and into today by those who are starting to look like him. that Jesus who has been MIA for 2000 years has actually been here all along... in his people, telling his story.

and thats why im here. a man whose found hope in the cross and now can’t but tell his story. thats why many of you are here, those who have been made sons and daughters of God, now telling his story through trials and hardships and joys and laughs. because the cross has something to say to 2011. Jesus is here and now among his people calling for some of you to stop running and come home. to stop being silent and hiding but to stand in worship and tell his story that is happening in and through your journey in knowing him."

ty

Thoughts on Blessed Part 1

Welp, i really wanted to get a bit farther than two verses wednesday... but i think God had his way.

I received a question in my email in response to the message that basically asked: "ok, now that we see that Jesus' perspective is radically different than ours what do we do now?"

What a great question!

Jesus is changing the way we think and look at life...and.. here is the crazy thing with that... as our minds are changed and our perspectives change... so do our actions.
its not even like we have to try and change, it naturally happens as we look at the world around us differently.
its kinda like this:
say you grow up blind. You get used to feeling your way through life and listening to everything around you.
then one day your eye sight starts working and you can see everything around you.
this is going to drastically change the way you live your life... though there is nothing that you have to try and change.
you will now walk with your hands free as you watch where youre going.
the things that you like may change, the things that anger you might change... but its nothing that you did.
you now see beauty and evil around you. You may have used to like quiet places, now you like to watch busy loud places.
you have changed.

i cant wait to see the change that GOD DOES in you guys as your minds are made more like Jesus'!

in Him,
ty

God is the Author

Someone once said, "If God is the author of our lives, like Shakespeare is the author of Romeo and Juliet, the only way they could know Shakespeare is if Shakespeare wrote himself into the story, so the only way we could know God is if he 'wrote' himself into our lives, which he already has."

This means, the only way that Romeo and Juliet (the characters) could know Shakespeare in the book, is if he wrote himself as a character in it. The same way, the way we could know God is if he "wrote" himself into our lives. Get the metaphor? I wanted to share that with you, because it's another way at looking of how God takes place in our lives. When people say God is the author, it literally means it. He is the AUTHOR. He's the CREATOR. He is what CREATED us. Just like the author of a book. Isn't that SWEET? 

Dani Johnson is one of the millionaires for the new show, "Secret Millionaires", where they go into third world countries and share their wealth with the poor. Over the radio, she was interviewed, and at first said, "At first, when ABC asked us to do the show, we declined. We were doing this already before, as a secret, and we wanted it to stay that way. But then we realized that it wasn't just for the poor, but that doing this would send God's message to all the people watching it." So not only did Christ preach good news to the poor, but by doing that, he preached good news to the WORLD. Spreading good news and helping them, healing them, is an example of God's work. Isn't that something we can do? Helping others, which gets people's attention, which brings them closer to God? Like Tyson said in the last blog, even when people choose to be against God, it still can be following Him. God is continuously working in them and is working in us; He has a plan for everyone, which is not of our right to know. But He is doing SOMETHING, and let us just rest in that. 

Love you guys, and will see you soon at Uprising. 

-Madi

"YAHWEH our Righteousness" jeremiah 23:6

we come not by means of ourselves. we come not by means of fantasy, religion or self righteous false worth. we come not on the coat-tails of our fathers before us nor by the purchase of our ticket with the spoils of this world. we climb no ladder, earn no merit, win no prize.

we come as stowaways; as gentiles. as unworthy. we hide in the pocket of our Lord, clothed in Him. disguised to look like we fit. but our holy God is not fooled; he is not swindled, he has accepted our guise, for we come in the guise of His Son. we come only by means of the cross, of Christ crucified. we sneak by as the Father's gaze of wrath is fixed upon his blameless Son; who now stands in our place.

this night we will be found where we aught not be. in the company of angels. within the gates of the great city. past the courts of the unworthy gentiles, past the brazen altar and the flames of the burning of His hot anger, past the throne of judgement where we would stand condemned, into the most holy heart of God. we stand safely where God’s righteous anger has already burned vehemently and sufficiently.

but we will not be found out. the eternal worship of the floating creatures and the song of the redeemed will find no interruption, it will carry on. because we who do not belong now belong. because the thief has become the son, the murderer has been given eternal life, because the prodigal has been given Christ. and Christ has become our RIGHTEOUSNESS. let us worship Him accepted. 

let us forget our past and praise Him as His redeemed.

not "following Jesus" might just be "following Jesus."

My single most heavy desire is that you would walk with and follow after Jesus.

The crazy thing that I have been realizing is that "following Jesus" is really relative to where Jesus has you at that very moment. I am realizing that sometimes the "not following Jesus" is part of Jesus' plan (even though it feels like ours) to get us to a place where we can "follow Jesus".

Dang, this has got my head spinning. It's not for me to know who is and who isn't "following Jesus;" it is my role to walk with and love on people. 


Now I admit that part of walking with people is encouraging them along the way I think they should go, but I also must admit that if they completely ignore me and go the opposite way that that may be God's exact plan and that if they would have followed my advice in the first place they might have ended up wiser but less knowing and trusting Christ.

So, I love you guys and am praying that God would continue the work that he has begun in you!

ty