Hey Xtreme!Seriously. When I climbed to the top of that ladder this week, I thought, “Maybe this was a bad idea.” I could see the headline now…”Local Pastor Falls to his Death in front of 100 People. Dipstick.” Well, the good news is I made it down without dying. I hope you guys take some time this week to consider how you’d like to live your life.KARMA:  Do you want to keep on working under a points system like “Karma”? Do  you want to keep on trying to keep score between you and God? How does that effect your relationships with others? Interesting to think about.MERCY: Or, are you tired of trying to be “good enough”? Tired of working hard to be “acceptable” to others and God? Maybe you need someone to wipe the slate clean for you?GRACE: And maybe, just maybe, you don’t want to stop there. Maybe you want to reach out and take ahold of all God’s got for you! It’s available. 

Are you kidding me?Last week I arrived in a coffin. This week we learned how we die to ourselves.The response was powerful as about 80 people came forward and dropped their cards in the coffin. It was nailed shut, driving home the reality of how final death really is. Then we got the best news!”I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)I hope you guys are living that new life this week. There’s no Xtreme this week, so enjoy your Easter with your family. 

This weekend was crazy. “I’ve never entered a sanctuary in a casket before.” Just add that to the list of things I can no longer say. The message was simple. “Live to Die”But what do we “do” with that? We understand that our God loved us so much that He died for us. But how do we respond to his call to, “Take up your cross, and follow me”? We’ll find out this week as we “Die to Live”. Do NOT miss it.

We’re living in Xtreme days, which calls for an Xtreme faith. So welcome to our blog. This is gonna help us stay connected week to week as we learn how to live out this faith in our God.I’ll see you this weekend. –Joe