End Times?

Ever seen the bumper sticker that says, "Jesus Is Coming"? How about the one that says, "Jesus Is Coming, Look Busy"? Or how about the one that says, "Jesus Is Coming, And Boy Is He [Mad]"? That last one was "edited for television" if you know what I mean.

Bumper-sticker theology aside, every generation of Christ-followers has wondered if it might be the last. If the success of the Left Behind series - with sales of more than 42 million - is any indication, people are curious about the end times. But for some people it's more than just curiousity . . . it's concern.

What's going to happen? And when? Does the Bible tell us what to do? How about what not to? That's what we're talking about this weekend - and next - at all three gatherings. So grab a Bible and a buddy and join us as we take a look at what Jesus said about the end times.

No substitute

Substitutes. Seems like if you're going to eat right, it's all about substitutes. Some substitutes aren't bad. Butter substitute? Margarine's better! Egg substitute? Hard to beat EggBeaters. Sugar substitute? Aspartame is sweet!

But other substitutes? Meat substitute? Dry peas? Beans? Tofu? Are you serious? There is no substitute for meat! No matter how full I feel, if something didn't die, I didn't eat! And coffee substitute? Don't even go there!

What happens when we settle for a God substitute? Is it possible for followers of Christ to substitute other things for Him in their lives? What kind of things and why? And how can we be a church that refuses to settle for anything less than God Himself?

We're going to talk about all that and more this weekend at all three gatherings. In fact, I'm going to give the most important update yet regarding our proposed move to SkyRidge Plaza in Round Rock. I hope you will be there!

Up Close & Personal

Back in the day when I was living in Hollywood and trying to make it in a "hair band," I actually ran into a lot of celebrities. Remember Molly Ringwald? Sixteen Candles? The Breakfast Club? Pretty in Pink? She and her mom came into the office supply company where I worked. I just happened to be on the floor at the time and helped them find what they were looking for. Molly was in her late teens and she seemed so uncomfortable. Her mom did all the talking. I remember wondering if she was happy.

And it wasn't just movie stars. It was rock stars. I was backstage at Gazzaris on the Sunset Strip when I ran into Bobby Dall from Poison. I shook his hand and congratulated him on their success. You know what he said? "Hey you gotta cigarette?" I don't know. There was something disappointing about that. I got tattooed next to Nikki Sixx at Sunset Strip Tattoo. At the time, Motley Crue was in L.A. rehearsing for their upcoming world tour. I remember that Nikki was totally excited about his new motorcycle. He seemed happy. In 2007, he'll publish his memoirs drawn from journals he kept at the time. The title? The Heroin Diaries.

I don't mean any disrespect at all toward Molly or Bobby or Nikki. All I'm trying to say is that many times when I've been up close & personal with a celebrity, it wasn't what I might have thought. They're real people with many of the same struggles the rest of us have. What if you could get up close & personal with God? What would that be like? In what ways would He be like what we expected? In what ways would He unlike what we expected? That's what we're talking about this weekend. God: Up Close & Personal.

Don't forget that starting this weekend our Saturday evening gatherings in Cedar Park and Round Rock will merge for the summer at the Round Rock ISD Performing Arts Center adjacnent to McNeil High School. Start time is 6 p.m. And of course there are still two Sunday morning gatherings at the Parkfield campus in North Austin. This Sunday The Calvary Austin Worship Band will be doing a live recording of both services on Sunday, June 11th, as part of a live worship compilation CD entitled "Seven Days of Sunday." The recording project will include songs from seven different churchs throughout Austin. Please arrive early and be seated in the auditorium at least five minutes before we begin! Start times are 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.