Tory Farina

Loosing the brain

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20789371/site/newsweek/

This is an article that talks about the discipline of fasting to help our bodies get closer to God. It says that medical when we fast the lack of sugar and fat to the brain can make our brain a little looser and allow it to interact with God in a new and fresh way. I often need to get my brain loose. I hear God easier when I am not standing in the way.

Border Battle!!!!

This is a very important Sunday for two reasons...

1) We are talking about an issue that is huge on my heart... Mark 2 tells a story that blows my mind! It is the greatest show and tell event of all time. Ill tell you more on Sunday.

2) Packers Vs. Vikings! The vikings are hungry but the Pack looks fabulous... I may have a line on a ticket. NICE!

It is going to be a great day! 

This will mess with you...

from a Franciscan Benediction…

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

How is God blessing you?

Wednesday Fasting and Prayer...

I have enjoyed these past few weeks as High Point has taken steps to go deeper in his word, deeper in Prayer and deeper in worship with our creator. Take some time today and thank Him for what He has done for you last. Focus on His amazing goodness to you and your family.

A lady in the church family asked that we pray for her sister who is far from the Lord and having some strong struggles with destructive behavior. I am preparing my messages for the next month and those people who are spiritually disconnected from God are are my heart. I can not imagine what life would be like without Gods amazing presence in my life. But there are people all over in our lives that are living as the bible says spiritually blind. My prayer has been that the Holy Spirit would move in power on the individuals lives that I am praying for.

Prayer changes the equation! My mother prayed for her brother for over 25 years that God would transform his life and that her brother would connect with him and live in a real relationship with God. 25 years of prayers and He gave his Heart to God. I know other people who have been on there way to the store and someone speaks a word to them that breaks through into there lives and they cry out to God. Paul in the NT was riding on a horse and God knocked him off the horse.

For the next two weeks I want you to focus specifically on those that are spiritually dead. Ask God to speak to your top four friends and to prepare the way in there lives. I am going to have you ask them this next week. Either through our mailer, the email invite or through a personal conversation ask God to have them say yes. And pray.

We are preparing all of our resources to make the first week of October especially easy for people to discover Christ. Pray for the Team... Band, Kids Workers, Graphics Designers, Postal Workers, Computers, Spam filters not to block the message, Message Preparation, Power to not go out, Weather to be Optimum for Gods presence to move, Hospitality Team, Greeters and Usher and for boldness in your own life. I am praying for these things... There is so much that goes into a Sunday. The bible says that all of Heaven rejoices and throws a party when 1 person decides to life for Christ. Imagine the kind of party heaven would throw if all of us brought 1 person and each one of them was impacted by the Holy Spirit and Committed there life to serving Christ. WOW! I think the party would go on for a long time in heaven.

My Goal is to make Christ known to as many people as possible.

High Point is the greatest vehicle God gave us to make that happen. Pray with me... and Invite with me... It is going to be Awesome!

Mailers at the Printers... Here is a preview!

                                 

weekend review 9-23

This was a Good week over all. There is such an energy among the team as we are getting ready for the Oct. mailer and the fresh influx of visitors. I can see that there is a real interest in people getting to know new faces and good connecting throughout the week of church families. God is doing something very special in this church.

Our Wins...

• We talked about School Spirit living a life of Worship... I feel like the whole day really pointed to that message. Our music was great. It is so much fun to have a big band and have a diversity on the stage. We have such a talented group in the house band!
• We had visitors which is important to have people regularly coming through the doors.
• Andrea and Orion are putting together an Usher and Greeter team and I feel like the initial stages of that are going well. It is fun to see new areas of our operation taken up and organized.
• Our Set up was well done today. This is such a critical area that when it is done well the band gets ample time to practice and it sets the day up well. Thank you for all your help. We are giving you all an opportunity to join teams this next week so that those who are new with us know how to get involved and that we need you all to be apart of Team High Point.

Here are my notes...

School Spirit- Worship

1)  YOU ARE A WORSHIPER.

You worship what you value most

‘You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself idols…You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.’  Exodus 20:3-5

• What do you worship?

God seeks your worship

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. John 4:23

THREE IMPORTANT PLAYERS

• THE AUDIENCE. • THE PERFORMER. • THE DIRECTOR.

We worship to an Audience of ONE

WHO IS GOD AND WHAT HAS HE DONE? 

MY ONLY REASONABLE RESPONSE IS WORSHIP

…since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29

Technically how do I worship…

It should be the most natural response that you can muster in response to a supernatural God…

Worship in the psalms

Shout to God.                 Sing a new song. 

Dance before Him.       Clap your hands. 

Bow down.                Lift up your heads.

Tell of His might.       Stand in awe. 

Meditate on His truth. Walk in his ways. 

Still your heart.    Cast down your idols. 

Run to Him.                    Make a loud noise. 

Lift your hands.    Tell the nations.

Clash the cymbals.      Seek His face.

IN VIEW OF WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE, I BRING AN OFFERING. AND I AM THE OFFERING.   

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1

Communion…

1 Corinthians 11: 24-26 The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Ride Along! Bring Out Your Dead...

I have a new appreciation for a new group of friends I have called Paramedics. On Monday I spent the day with a N. St. Paul Paramedics unit in preparation for our Up Coming series. I was amazed to see what this mobile hospital can do.

I was not sure what I would find but when I jumped in the back of the rig I realized how amazingly well taken care of we are in this country. These two paramedics had almost 25 years of combined experience. They told me story after story of how they had to save people in the worst conditions possible on little sleep and with the frustration of a strongly bureaucratic system. They joked about stupid people hurting themselves in embarrassing and gross ways. What endeared me the most to these brave foot soldiers was when they talked about "the save."

Kylen (I hope I am spelling that right) Told me that the burn out rate is High. She said that most don't make it past seven years in this business. She told me it gets old some days. You go to a house and a lady tells you her legs hurt because she road her bike to long and she needs a ride to the hospital and the next call you go to a guy cusses you out because someone thinks your doing things wrong. But she said it is all worth it when you walk onto a scene and the person is dying. You can see it in there Eyes. She said when the adrenaline starts to pump and you feel the life flow back into the person as you work on them. "That is what you live for. That moment will carry you for months!," she exclaimed with a flicker in her eye.

They are ready for anything. Aaron pulled out a needle the length of my forearm and said this is what we use to insert into the heart tissue if there is a need to relieve fluid... they said it is remarkable to feel the heart quiver as the needle is inserted into it and the pressure is released. They showed me how they like to hold the tongue to intubate and then Aaron saw something he just had to show me... He pulled out a small drill and said, "you know what we use this for?" EEEEERRRRRRRR... went the drill... "NO?" I said, He smiled and said... "We drill a hole in the calf below the knee and stick a needle right into the bone marrow. It delivers the fluids faster. Cool, Huh?" All I could do was swallow.

I had a great time and I am so gratefully for there contribution to society. "Rescue ME" is going to be a great Series.

How do You Worship?

http://common.northpoint.org/sacredpathway.html

Why is it that i don't connect with God the way my wife does? When we got married she payed differently than I did. I at times felt less spiritual and even less Godly than she was because I was not praying the way she was. I over the years have figured out that not praying the way she does is not a problem. It isn't a big deal because I have grown to understand and feel comfortable in my own spiritual skin.

I am concerned that so many times we do not understand how God speaks to us and how we connect with Him. So we try everyone else's method and some of it we like and others of it we feel uncomfortable in. I am not going to go into your personal style and method of worship and prayer this week. But I did want to provide you with an interesting look at who you are and how you are wired for worship and connecting with God.

Take this on-line test and find out which of 9 styles of worship do you most identify.

I am more of an Enthusiast and am not at all an activist. What are you?

Time to Pray...

Quick things for the church to pray for on our Wednesday prayer and fasting day...

• we need new lights- so pray that the money comes in for those. It was not budgeted in for this year and so we are trusting God that like always He will provide. It will cost around $3,000.
• Pray for the Mailer- This is Huge! God has used this in the past to speak to people in there moment of need. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those who will see the mailer. Pray that we will get a huge return on our investment.
• Ask God to Give me a Timely message- I am stressing a little asking God to direct my mind and heart to speak His message for Life change of those who hear it.
• Pray for our connection groups- Living life connected is Huge at High Point and we are praying that this trimester of Connection groups is the best we have ever had. That people truly connect with One another and with God. We are praying that people rise to the top as leaders and that God would be Glorified in our community.
• Your top 4- Have four people that you are  passionately asking God to move in there life. People that you are going to invite on the first day of our next series. Ask God to speak into your heart and mind words to speak to them that would meet the need that they are dealing with. He may lay a specific thing on your heart to pray for them about. I have had God lay a specific marriage crisis, a family stress and even an addiction that the person I was praying for was dealing with.

Lets seek God for specific things and then enjoy when He does the thing we have prayed for.

weekend review 9-16

What a Weekend!

I have been very pleased with this series... "Back to School" really has been personally uplifting and I have felt like it has been well received. I had a lady this week tell me every time she visits it is like I have been looking in her windows and talk about what she is dealing with. (I assure you... I am not a peeper.)

We had a huge crowed! 160! (move to the middle over the next few weeks. We are about to drop the mailer.) We had 140 in our main theatre. It was fun to look out and see the place filling up. I was in worship and looked behind me and God popped a verse in my mind... "I will build My church!" cool!

Tomorrow is Fasting and prayer Wednesday... I would love to hear your experience.