CreativePastors Blog & Podcast

Youth-Targeted Small Group Studies

Quite a few churches have let us know that Ed's sermon series have been particularly helpful in developing services for their youth ministries. Now you can reinforce this teaching with the latest of our small group studies containing notes specially targeted for student groups. These points offer alternate questions and activities designed to help each discussion time speak to the unique needs and issues of youth. 

Here's how it works: You will notice a special icon used several times in each session.  This indicates that there is a comment or question especially for youth included in the leader’s guide for that part of the study. When you see that icon, simply turn to the leader’s guide for that session in the back of the book and find the corresponding and letter (for instance, Y-b).

You can check it out in the attached pdf, the first chapter and corresponding leader's notes from the Forgiveness - the Real F Word Small Group Study. The youth notes are also included in our Snapshots of the Savior Small Group Study, and will be featured in several upcoming studies.

Podcast > Cribs > To the Crib

From Ed Young's Cribs Christmas Series

The crib of Christ is a polarizing force. When called to the crib, we have a critical choice to make. In this opening message of the series, Ed Young relates the reaction of a Roman king who was confronted by the crib over 2000 years ago with our own lives today. 

To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.

Length: 31:01

Cribs

CreativePastors

If you have iTunes 6.0, click the link below to subscribe to our podcast. Twenty-four hours after Ed delivers his weekend message at Fellowship Church, it will be downloaded to your computer automatically. You can listen at your computer or take the MP3 with you on your iPod or other MP3 player.

If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here free for Mac or Windows. You can also subscribe to the podcast using other podcasting tools and RSS newsreaders. The feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cpblog.

Podcast > Comfortable > Tagged

So many people wonder about the point of life. The philosophical question, “Why am I here?” is something that millions of people—Christ-followers and otherwise—long to answer. And we look everywhere for an answer. But in our search, we often miss what truly matters.

Through Christ’s encounter with Zacchaeus, Ed Young shows us how to discover real meaning. And we see that the only way to really understand why we’re here is to get uncomfortable enough to say something, do something, and be something for those people far away from God. We are all going to spend forever somewhere—we’re tagged for eternity. And Christians must begin to see other people through that eternal perspective.

To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.

Length: 32:09

Comfortable Series
Expanding Our Comfort Zone

The world can be a very uncomfortable place—from the pressures at home and work to worldwide issues like poverty and war. So naturally, we seek out those things that will make us feel comfortable and secure.

But true comfort isn’t necessarily found in lounge chairs and lattes. And when we focus solely on our comfort, we miss out on an enormous aspect of the life God designed for us. Sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone. But how far do we step? And why would we want to?

In this 5-part series, Ed Young teaches us the importance of stepping out of our comfort zone. And we see that the only way to experience the true comfort found in Jesus Christ is to make sure we get uncomfortable enough to do what he has called us to do.

Comfortable

CreativePastors

If you have iTunes 6.0, click the link below to subscribe to our podcast. Twenty-four hours after Ed delivers his weekend message at Fellowship Church, it will be downloaded to your computer automatically. You can listen at your computer or take the MP3 with you on your iPod or other MP3 player.

If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here free for Mac or Windows. You can also subscribe to the podcast using other podcasting tools and RSS newsreaders. The feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cpblog.

Light Christmas Message

As you start to plan your Christmas services this year, you might want to check out Ed's Light Christmas sermon as an example of high-impact results from basic elements. Using very simple lighting effects (spotlight, match, etc.) to illustrate key message points, this sermon would be easy to execute in most settings. You can find the message DVD here, or see the whole Christmas service on this DVD. And don't forget to use your promo code for free standard shipping! Just enter shipgift at checkout.

Podcast > Comfortable > Lazy Boy

Recliners are the quintessential symbols of comfort. They call to us and lure us to a life of relaxation and ease. And who wouldn’t want to be comfortable? After all, we live in an often uncomfortable world.

But when it comes to the Christian life, comfort isn’t necessarily the goal. In fact, Jesus told his disciples to get out of their comfort zone and reach out to the world around them. He wanted them to get uncomfortable.

In this message, “Lazy Boy,” Ed Young takes a unique look at being comfortable and challenges us to get out of the recliner and begin to reach out to the world around us.

To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.

Length: 33:03

Comfortable Series
Expanding Our Comfort Zone

The world can be a very uncomfortable place—from the pressures at home and work to worldwide issues like poverty and war. So naturally, we seek out those things that will make us feel comfortable and secure.

But true comfort isn’t necessarily found in lounge chairs and lattes. And when we focus solely on our comfort, we miss out on an enormous aspect of the life God designed for us. Sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone. But how far do we step? And why would we want to?

In this 5-part series, Ed Young teaches us the importance of stepping out of our comfort zone. And we see that the only way to experience the true comfort found in Jesus Christ is to make sure we get uncomfortable enough to do what he has called us to do.

Comfortable

CreativePastors

If you have iTunes 6.0, click the link below to subscribe to our podcast. Twenty-four hours after Ed delivers his weekend message at Fellowship Church, it will be downloaded to your computer automatically. You can listen at your computer or take the MP3 with you on your iPod or other MP3 player.

If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here free for Mac or Windows. You can also subscribe to the podcast using other podcasting tools and RSS newsreaders. The feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cpblog.

10 Commandments of Purity

While Ed is speaking at the Nashville Regional Creative Church Conference, he is highlighting the importance of purity in a pastor's life. With the confusion and chaos surrounding sexuality and relationships in our culture, radical steps are required to lead a life beyond reproach. Ed has developed the following commandments to safeguard his marriage to Lisa:

1. I shall have no other human relationships before Lisa, including the kids.
2. Remember the date night and keep it holy.
3. Honor Lisa on anniversaries and special days so that you may live long in the land the Lord has given you.
4. I shall not take the covenant of marriage in vain by apathy.
5. I shall not ride in a car or eat in a restaurant alone with a member of the opposite sex.
6. I shall not travel alone.
7. I shall not counsel a woman with the doors closed.
8. I shall not share the details of our marriage with others.
9. I shall not watch, read, or expose myself to sexual explicit shows, books, DVDs, etc.
10. I shall remember the implications of breaking this covenant and commandment before God.

This list was originally shared in Ed's Love Affair teaching series within the Lessons from the Ledge message. And don't miss Ed and Lisa Young's book, The Creative Marriage, for more great ideas to build a strong marriage.

Win Tickets to C3!

If you haven't entered our Show Us What You're Made Of Contest yet, be sure to get your submissions in by November 17. Your creative idea could win you and a guest free admission to our Creative Church Conference next February at Fellowship Church!

So far we've heard from some great churches doing cool things:

• Reverse trick-or-treating by handing out goody bags with church info on Halloween night
• Buying a job-related website domain name and posting it on signs around town to promote a "Taking Care of Business" series
• A family-to-family outreach program using simple refrigerator magnets that puts ministry directly in the hands of church members

How about you? Did your team produce a print piece that turned out particularly well? An event for students that seemed to make a big impact? A weekend series where everything really came together? There's no limit to the creative ideas at work in the local church. Let us know what you've been up to - we can't wait to see it!

Perspective on Recent News

In the latest Relevant Magazine newsletter, Ed Young comments on the recent news involving Ted Haggard. Read the article here.

Podcast > If the Shoe Fits

Recognizing our Unique Design 

Everyone wants to belong. We want to find the perfect fit—somewhere in the world. But far too often, we try to force ourselves into a pair of shoes we were never meant to wear. And we try to become something we were never meant to be.

But God has designed us for a specific purpose. And in this message, Lisa Young helps us embrace a powerful and refreshing truth about who we are. And as we learn to look at life through a fresh set of eyes, we see that we may have already found the shoe that fits.

To listen now, click on the podcast icon below.

Length: 28:37

If the Shoe Fits

CreativePastors

If you have iTunes 6.0, click the link below to subscribe to our podcast. Twenty-four hours after Ed delivers his weekend message at Fellowship Church, it will be downloaded to your computer automatically. You can listen at your computer or take the MP3 with you on your iPod or other MP3 player.

If you don't have iTunes, you can get it here free for Mac or Windows. You can also subscribe to the podcast using other podcasting tools and RSS newsreaders. The feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cpblog.

The Early Days

This past weekend at Fellowship Church, Preston Mitchell delivered an evangelism-focused message entitled Feet First. A great example of vision casting, it includes accounts from the early days of Fellowship Church which not only give us an appreciation for its history, but also pull us into the continuing story of the amazing things God wants to do through the local church.