1. Pray.
Our weakness toward evangelism is often related to an absence of prayer. When we neglect praying about evangelism, we see the task as too big for us, or opportunities too scarce. Mark says if we pray for opportunities we’ll be amazed at the ways God answers.

2. Plan.
Because we don’t plan to evangelize, it generally doesn’t happen. Many of us tend to think we are presently too busy and think time will materialize later. It will not. Make time, develop a plan.

3. Accept.
We have to accept that God has given us the responsibility of sharing the gospel. It is not the calling of a few, not limited to the “gifted.” Mark says, quit dodging your responsibility and make the necessary adjustments.

4. Understand.
Part of the problem for many is a misunderstanding of what makes our evangelism effective. Success in evangelism is related to faithfulness, not fruit. Fruit is the work of God, not man.

5. Be Faithful.
Mark says, “Maybe we are too polite to be faithful to God in this area. Maybe we are more concerned about people’s response than God’s glory.” For many the desire to be polite and not offend people (or in my case, not wanting to come off like a salesman) is an excuse to remain unfaithful to the call of God.

6. Risk.
Some people are shy. We often do not know what a person’s response will be when we present the gospel. In my own recent experience, I fear losing a potential relationship by throwing out the gospel too soon, or too awkwardly. We will often have to risk (a relationship, embarrassment, etc.) in order to be faithful to God.

7. Prepare.
Give your evangelistic work some thought. What potential objection or question might your hear? You are more likely to engage if you have prepared yourself in advance.

8. Look.
Apathy, laziness and busyness can keep us from seeing the opportunities God provides, so can unbelief. Pray for opportunities and then anticipate God’s provision.

9. Love.
If we love people, we will seek their good, and this of course includes sharing the gospel with them.

10. Fear.
- of God, not man. When we refuse to share the gospel with others we “are not regarding him or his will as the final and ultimate rule of our actions.”

11. Stop.
Mark says, “We should stop excusing ourselves from evangelism on the basis that God is sovereign. We should not conclude from his omnipotence that our obedience is therefore pointless.” We must affirm both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility as it relates to conversion and evangelism.

12. Consider.
Pointing to Hebrews 12:3 Mark points us back to the gospel itself. He says that when we aren’t considering the cross of Christ, we lose the heart to proclaim the good news. True gospel-centeredness will compel us to evangelize.

Blessings,
Danny

• It’s all about Jesus. (Everything we do should be for his glory)
• The Church is the hope of connecting the world to Jesus. (I hear the doom and gloom, but the Church is built to last and we have the good news) 
• People matter to God. (May we be more passionate and caring about people)
• We are not just on a mission, we are a mission. (We are here to fulfill his purpose)
• All things are possible. (All things, again, All things are possible)
• One day all of this is going to wrap up. (Time is short and the mission is at hand)
• I love my family and seek to lead them deeper in to blessings)

What are you thinking this week?

Blessings,
Danny 

At the beginning of this discussion we started talking about developing a new kind of
membership class that would help people understand more about our church, our history,
our function and give them some opportunities to take some “next steps” in their involvement
here. We knew that we didn’t want to create the typical membership class that was just information
download and as we’ve worked through the process what we’ve come up with is something
we’re calling “identity”.

Here’s the basic concept - our mission statement as a church (the reason we exist) is to “glorify God
by making disciples who love Him completely and others sacrificially.”
There’s lots of stuff packed in to that statment but that’s a discussion for another day.
When we look at that mission statement and start
 dreaming about what it would mean if our church would really take that mission seriously we come
 up with a long-term vision for our church, that we would “Transform Our Region, Transform Our World.”
 Again, lots packed in there but that has really become a tagline for lots of our ministries and activities
 here - people have really latched on to it.

As we’ve looked at that vision we’ve put some thought in to a “vision path” or strategic plan that we
call our 4 I’s - invest, invite, ignite, impact. Here’s a quick rundown of each of those 4 I’s -

• Invest - the expectation that every person in our church would have a growing relationship with
•  someone who would not call themselves a follower of Christ with the intention that we’d be able
•  to share our story and share God’s story
• Invite - the church leadership’s responsibility to provide events across every ministry area
• (kids, youth, adults, etc) which leverage those invest relationships and give people an opportunity
•  to discover more about what it means to follow Christ
• Ignite - the reponsibility on every person in our church to take their own spiritual growth seriously
•  through 3 S’s - Sunday morning, small groups and spiritual disciplines
• Impact - the active “living out” of our faith in our region and in our world

As we started talking about how we were going to kick off this “membership class” 
What better way than Sunday morning?? So we’ve taken the content and adapted it to a
Sunday morning context and will be delivering it over the next four weeks.
 The format will be a little bit different - we will still worship, hear
 from God’s word and meet together to encourage one another but there will be much more interaction
 and feedback from the congregation as well as more direct resourcing for people to help them take a
 “next step” in one or more of these areas. Our goal for this series is that every person who calls Oasis
 their church home would take a next step in their spiritual journey over the next four weeks.

So what do those next steps look like? It might be a commitment to Christ for the first time, baptism,
getting involved in ministry, joining a small group, putting a plan together to make personal Bible reading
a priority, etc etc. Every week we’ll be giving people resources focused on the content of that week that
will help them with that next step.

Join with me the first Sunday of July, as we look at IGNITE and how Sunday morning fits in to that. 

blessings,
Danny

Today I want to encourage you to read Daniel 1 and notice Daniel’s example.  When Daniel decided to not partake of the King’s delicacies the Bible says in Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies…”(NKJV)

Notice Daniel “purposed in his heart”.  He was determined and made up his mind from the beginning that He was going to stand strong.  Let’s determine today that we are going to finish strong. Let’s purpose in our heart that we are going to seek God with everything we’ve got… heart, soul and mind. 

Thanks for Joining with us,
Blessings
Danny

It's not like any church I've ever been to before. The messages are interesting and relevant to everyday life. The music is great too. Don't worry; you won't have to dress up in your Sunday best. It's really a relaxed and casual setting, and they have refreshments available before and after services.

The services are each weekend, Sunday at 10:30am. I hope you can make it!

If you have any questions, email me back, or check out the church's website at http://www.oasischurchtx.com

Try it out this week!

Blessings,
Danny

HOW ARE WE GOING TO FAST?

This will be a Daniel fast that will include primarily fruits and vegetables. 

The scripture that I continue to meditate on is Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”(NIV)

Don’t forget to let me know if you are going to join us!

Blessings,
Danny

It's what we call a Burning heart, an intensity to live holy. It can be summed up in a few words " Hunger and Thirst" for God.

You know hunger - it's your body's way of telling you that you need food,

Thirst, is your body telling you that you need Water

You spirit works the same way,  its' telling you that you Need God.

Your body can't live without food or water

So what makes you think you can live without God?

 The word "consecration" literally means "setting apart." Consecration is a ministry of the Holy Spirit setting us apart for God and away from our problems and issues. That is ministry.

When the Holy Spirit's divine resources meet our human needs through the loving channels to the Glory of God and his grace we are set free and delivered. Passion for our destiny!!

I pray this week that God will reignite the Passion for your destiny and purpose.

Have a great week,
Danny


 

I'm working on a new sermon series for next summer, But I wanted to take it for a short test drive on you. I will call it 10 things that could change your life.

The first installment of the series is taken from the sermon on the mount titled -"Five rules for a happier life".

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for the average person. Exceptional people get out of the box."

2. Never give up.
Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think.
There's an old saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My mother would tell me early on, when I was struggling or discouraged trying to get something going, "Well, Dannyt, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.
Remember, "As you think, so shall you be."

Have a blessed weekend,
Danny   
Let me know your thoughts!