IMPORTANT REMINDERS!!!

Here are some important reminders:

1) Midnight Bowling is tonight!!! If you are signed up to go, you need to be at the church no later than 10:30 PM!!! Be sure to bring at least $25. The actual charge is $20 and the extra is for you to get something to drink or snack on. Be sure to have your ride at the church ready to pick you up at 2 AM!!!

2) Money is due for youth convention this coming Wednesday night (2/1)!!! For more info on this event, click on the tab on the top right corner of this page. We have some students signed up but we need more students to make this event possible!!!

3) The early bird special for the Atlanta Missions Trip is coming to a close soon!!! Be sure to turn in your deposit ASAP to hold your spot and also to save you $50!!! There is also a tab on this page for more info on this life changing event.

4) I will be preaching this Sunday and I would love to see you there!! Service starts @ 10 AM!!!

We love you all and believe in you!!! Don’t forget 10:10!!!

-Pastor Leo and Rebekah Colon

Wednesday night recap (1/25)!!!

This past Wednesday night was another great night at flipside!! Worship was awesome and the message seemed to challenge everyone once again!! Several students raised their hands at the end of the message to not look at their relationship with God as a bunch of “rules & rituals” but to look at it as a relationship that requires sacrifice.  Don’t forget 10:10!!! You can really tell a difference in flipside services because students are making an effort to read their Bibles and spending time in prayer. We all can spend 10 minutes praying and 10 minutes reading our WORD!!! Here is a quick recap of the message (Part 4 of “not a fan” series) :

• We can so caught up in doing what is right and totally miss what is important.
• There are so many people that think they are “followers” when in reality they are just “fans” because they have been so consumed with doing right and totally missing the mark .
• We can easily find ourselves so caught up in the “rules and rituals” that we totally put Jesus to the side.
• Instead of following hard after HIM we follow hard after making sure that we are doing right and everyone else see that.
• In Matthew 23, Jesus tries to get the attention of a group of “fans” known as the religious leaders.
• These people were so consumed with how they were seen by the general public that they totally put Jesus to the side
• When Jesus is not concerned with the outside but He is more concerned with what is taking place inside of us
• At this time there was 2 different types of religious leaders…
• Sadducess- Their faith was something they were born into. It usually wasn’t something they chose.
• Pharisees- They would measure their faith by their hard work at learning and following the law.
• You can easily see these religious leaders in us at times as well.
• The main problem that Jesus has with these leaders was they were hypocrites!!!
• The word hypocrite means a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.
• It was like putting on a mask and playing many different characters at the time.
• These people were so fake that Jesus goes on in Matthew 23:5 (READ)
• These religious leaders teaching, in no way was reflected in their lives!!!
• In the same way can be seen in our lives
• We say and do one thing in public and we completely do another when we are in private or around certain people
• Jesus doesn’t expect us to be perfect but He calls us to be authentic!!
• We can’t have compromise in our lives!!!
• Fans are inconsistent and are so consumed with how they are perceived and totally have lost focus.
• Followers are consistent and are more consumed with how Jesus sees them!!!
• Read Matthew 11:28-30…
• Just following the rules is not going to get you a seat in heaven!
• Truly following hard after Jesus and not being worried about what others think will get you there!!!

If you missed this past Wednesday we missed you and we hope to see you next Wednesday night!!!

-Pastor Leo and Rebekah Colon

IMPORTANT REMINDERS!!!

There are a couple of events that you need to be reminded about:

1. Be sure to check out some pages on the top right corner!! You have youth convention and ATL missions trip!! There are some important details about these events and some $$$ that is due soon. Be sure to check out the info and do what you can to be involved in these awesome events!!

2. Midnight Bowling is next Friday!! The cost is $25!! You will need to be at the church @ 10:30 PM and picked up no later than 2:10 AM!!! You will not need to turn in any $$$ to us, but you will need to pay the cashier at the bowling alley that night. Be sure to sign up next Wednesday, so we have an idea on how many lanes we will need to reserve.

Last night in flipside (1/18)!

Last night was another great night in flipside!!! Awesome worship, a lot of students responded to the message, and we had a great crowd last night. If you missed it, here is a recap on the sermon (if you would like to catch up,just scroll down to previous posts):

NOT A FAN PART 3

Title: One and only or one of many?

• There is a moment that every relationship comes to and its called the “Define the Relationship” moment
• This is where you and that other person define what you really want out of this relationship and really where that person stands
• There is that moment when we say this is cool but there is something better out there or even something else more important
• Whether you realize it or not, you “define relationships” all the time.
• You can easily “DTR” by actions you commit as well
• There is that moment when we “DTR” with Christ….
• In Luke 14, there was a moment like this… we all know Jesus always had a following
• You just never knew what would happen at any given time, the miracles that were taking place, the awesome messages, and so on
• There will always come a moment when Jesus would draw a line in the sand to see where this crowd of people really stood…
• Luke 14:25 & 26- Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them He said: “If ANYONE comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters- yes, even his own life- he cannot be my disciple.
• This is a “DTR” moment, you would think he would say something totally different from that.
• Instead he tells the people that if they want to follow Him, they must hate their family, even their own lives.
• I am so certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that people grabbed their bags and got to walking another direction
• There is so much more behind what he is saying, we look at that and think the worst….
• You may be thinking in your mind, doesn’t hating someone totally go against what Jesus teaches?
• Does Jesus really want me to hate my paw-paw, nana, my mom, and everyone in my family?
• He uses this type of language at this time because at this time, if you became a follower of Jesus without your family’s blessing, you were saying you hate your family.
• A decision to follow Jesus would have been seen as turning your back on your family and walking away from them.
• Jesus was being real with this crowd of people
• For some of you to be a true follower of Christ, would cost you some friends/relationships
• It may offend some family member, it may even mean being cut off from your family.
• It may even mean your mom or dad, rolling their eyes at you or even your boyfriend/girlfriend breaking up with you
• The case in point is, if you are not willing to choose Jesus over your family, then you are not ready to become a true follower.
• The word “hate” is defined as “to dislike something intensely” or to have “feelings of intense hostility.”
• Jesus doesn’t want you and I to hate our family members or anyone for that manner
• It would totally go against what the Bible teaches on the subject.
• The two greatest commandments are to love God with everything and to love your neighbor as yourself
• What Jesus really is saying, is found in another version of the Bible…
• Luke 14:16 (NLT)- If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison- your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters…
• Another version of the Bible says, “love me more.”
• Jesus is telling us that we should love Him more than anything else, and “hate” is still in the mix…
• We should love Him so much that it doesn’t even compare to the love we feel for someone else, that is the kind of love we should have for Him.
• Rebekah (my wife)  knows where she stands in our relationship and I have told her more than once and she has told me that same too
• In my life… #1- God, #2- Wife, #3- Family
• This is how you can determine if God is truly your one and only…
• #1. What you do with your money? (what we are not willing to let go of, is what controls/master over our life)
• #2. When you hurt, where do you go for comfort?
• #3. What disappoints or frustrates you more? (what do you allow to determine you attitude or set the day)
• #4. What is it that really gets you excited? (a specific team, relationships, sports, and etc)
• A lot of times, following Jesus can mean following Him alone.
• Fans will allow things to take the place of Jesus
• Followers will understand what is more important…
• There is a cost in following in Jesus and there will be sacrifices that have to be made.
• Are you willing to pay the cost?

God should be first in your life above anything else! All you have to do is get your priorities right! Put God first and live like it and you will see things come together and no matter what you face in life, it will be ok!!! We love you at flipside and we hope to see you again next week! If you missed us this past Wednesday night, know that we missed you and be sure to come next week! We are here for you. -Pastor Leo and Rebekah

Last Night in flipside (1/11)!!

Last night was another great night in flipside!!! Worship was really great and I am not just saying that…. Last week we issued a challenge to everyone in flipside called 10:10! 10:10 consists of reading your Bible for 10 minutes and praying for 10 minutes as well. When we consistently spend time in prayer and reading our Bible, it totally opens us up to hear from God and opens our heart for worship as well. As you get to KNOW Him, you will develop a hunger for Him. So, with some flipsiders doing this on a daily basis it will be felt at a time when we are all together! I am so pumped cause I know this is going to spread, keep it up!!!

Last night we also had 3 students commit/rededicate their lives to God! We hit on Part 2 of “not a fan” and it seemed to go over really well. Here are some of the key points from last nights message:

• Christmas has come and gone… it seemed like it was just yesterday
• Most of you received that gift that you were a total “fan” about, whether its that new gadget, gaming system, phone, etc…
• What happens over time, the things that we most wanted lose their value in our lives and no longer serve us in the way we need
• Whether something else comes out better or we just no longer care about it and it just collects dust
• We find ourselves no longer being a “fan” of that product
• Its like how we treat our relationship with God….
• I know that’s hard to swallow but there is so much truth behind that statement.
• We give our lives to God and really get excited and we are on cloud 9
• We begin to do things that help us in our walk with God and then if we are not careful, we will become complacent.
• Those disciplines that we picked up are no longer in our lives and then we slowly put God on the side and He begins to collect dust in our life
• These people will be seen as “fans” and not true followers!
• A follower in the midst of imperfections will stay strong and totally understand how God operates
• A fan doesn’t understand God and only serves God when its convenient!
• The question to ask would be… Do you have a knowledge about God or intimacy with Him?
• The Pharisees in the Bible would be a group of people that knew about God but really didn’t know Him.
• Read Matthew 15:8
• Jesus said this about this particular group of people and could easily be seen in the lives of so many “fans” that call themselves Christ followers!
• There are those that can talk the talk but they for sure don’t walk the walk.
• These Pharisees gave their lives to study the word of God and they knew everything you could possibly know when it came to the “law”
• One major area they failed in… they failed to totally surrender their hearts to God!
• You can know all you want about God but if your heart is not in it, you are just a “fan” and not a follower!
• I will hate to know how many people have missed heaven because they had a “head” knowledge and not a “heart” knowledge of God.
• The best example is found in relationships, the best way you get to know someone is spending time with them.
• You can hear about someone all you want but if you don’t spend time with them, you will really never know them
• You can go to church all you want but church alone doesn’t help you to KNOW God as you should, you need to spend time with Him too!
• It helps going to church but you need to do more than just that!
• There are a lot of people sitting in churches that know about God but really don’t KNOW him!
• TO KNOW COMPLETELY AND TO BE COMPLETELY KNOW
• When you marry someone, the goal should be to know them before you make that commitment.
• Then on your wedding night, you become COMPLETELY KNOW to them.
• In Psalm 139, David couldn’t explain it any better. (READ IT)
• We get to the place of truly knowing God, when we totally give our lives to HIM!
• When was the last time you poured your heart out to God?
• Would Jesus look at you and say, “You know about me or you truly know me.”

My challenge to you would be to “KNOW HIM!” Spend time with Him and don’t live to be a “fan” but live to be a follower! We love you at flipside and implement 10:10 in your life. That is a great way to KNOW HIM and know we are here for you!

-Pastor Leo

Wednesday Night (1/4)!!!

Happy New Year and I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!! This past Wednesday night was awesome!!! If you missed it, God really did some amazing things. We issued a challenge through the message and also challenged everyone with 10:10. Several said they no longer want to be “fans” of Jesus Christ but the want to be “followers.”

10:10 is this…. Spend 10 minutes in prayer everyday and 10 minutes reading your Bible everyday. If you would commit to that, I promised you… guarantee you… that your walk with God will improve in a lot of ways!!! So.. when you hear me say, text you, facebook you 10:10 you know what I am talking about. Take this challenge personally and make an effort to do it on a daily basis.

Here is a recap on what we hit on last night and will continue for the rest of the month:

• We are all a fan of something or someone
• Whether we are a fan of our favorite sports team or a fan an actor/actress/ etc.
• When it comes to sports, its easy being a fan of your favorite team when they are winning but when they are losing…. its another story
• There are so many “fans” out there that you could easily say they are so wishy-washy when it comes to the way they support their teams or whatever they are “fans” of
• Even Jesus had “fans” during His time on earth
• One of the best examples is found in John 6
• Jesus was getting His preach on at this time and He was preaching so good that over 5,000 people showed up
• He was performing miracles, healing this sick, and so on.
• It was just another day for Jesus, as the day went on… He realized that these people have to be getting hungry
• He looked over to His disciples and asked them to find some food to feed these people..
• One of them was like there is no way we can feed all these people. Another disciple found a little boy with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.
• He gave it to Jesus, Jesus blessed it, and they began to feed those 5,000 people…
• The Bible says they all ate and had their fill.
• It also says that they had leftovers!!!
• This was a huge miracle in itself and after that, people wanted to stick around.
• The next day, Jesus and His disciple left and went to another area and these people wake up and realize that Jesus and His disciples are gone…
• They all decided that they wanted to catch up with them but not because they want to follow Jesus but they want to do it for the wrong reasons…
• Read John 6:26
• Jesus knows they are not there for the right reasons… they want food!
• Jesus goes on to give them a little challenge
• Read John 6:35
• Jesus tells them that He is the bread of life and He is the only thing on the menu
• This crowd has to make a hard decision…. They have to decide if Jesus will really satisfy their hunger and their thirst or are they looking for more.
• I want to tell you that Jesus gained 5,000 disciples that day but it didnt happen…
• Read John 6:66
• Many of those “fans” turned back and went home. They went home not only physically hungry but also spiritually hungry as well.
• What really gets me is that Jesus didn’t go chasing after these people but He actually let them go.
• He didnt sent His disciples chasing after them either.
• There is something really awesome about this story and will hopefully challenge you…
• JESUS DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE CROWD WHAT HE CARED ABOUT WAS THE LEVEL OF THEIR COMMITMENT!!!
• How can these people witness these awesome miracles and witness Jesus first hand, its easy….
• We do it all the time!!!
• A lot of people are just “fans” and not “followers” of Jesus
• Its really easy to separate those that are “fans” and those that are “followers”
• One minute they are in and the next they are out
• The minute these people are called to make a sacrifice or a commitment they turn back and walk away
• You may find that you, yourself is like that or has done that.
• So, the question is…. Are you a fan or a follower?
• If you find yourself being a “fan” why don’t you make that commitment to be a follower now?

Start this new year strong!! Start with the new you!!! Start this year no longer being a “fan” but a “follower!” Starting with asking God to forgive you of your sins and start doing the 10:10 challenge. We love you at flipside and we hope to see you next week! If you have any questions, feel free to call us or facebook us. Hope to see you next week!!! -Pastor Leo

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

If you missed this past Wednesday night (12/21) you really missed a great time!!! We really had fun at our annual Christmas party and it seemed like everyone that got involved had a blast. Of course, you always have those that think they are too cool to play games (LOL).  For those of you that got involved thanks and congrats to JP for winning Karaoke this year!! You are the champion!!!

Don’t forget that there will be no flipside this coming Wednesday night (12/28)!! We will miss all of you and we hope you are looking forward to when we meet again on the 4th of January!!

We will be having a Christmas service on Christmas day and we would love for you to join us. Service will begin @ 10 Am and it shouldn’t last longer than an hour. We will also have a service on New Years Day as well.

Well, if we don’t see you till the 4th of January, Have A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! We love you guys and know we are here for you!!! Don’t forget what Christmas is really about. Its great to give and get presents but don’t forget what God did for you!!

Love,

Pastor Leo & Rebekah

Coming this week (12/18-21)!!!

We got a lot of great things going on this coming week at Praise Family Church & flipside!!!

CELEBRATION SERVICE ON SUNDAY

To see what’s going on at Praise this weekend, check this web address out: http://praisefamily.org/2011/11/christmas-at-praise/

You really don’t want to miss this!! There are going to be some memorable things going down and its going to be a lot of fun. To top it off…. ITS FREE!!!! Bring your little brother or sister and earn some serious brownie points with your parents!!! Hope to see you there.

FLIPSIDE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT

This is going to be a great time!!! We will have unlimited popcorn w/ different types of seasoning, drinks (soda pop), and cookies, when it comes to food. When it comes to entertainment… we will get to hear some flipsiders sing some karaoke (which I am sure will be horrible), play some fun games, and have some chill time as well. Did I mention we will also have some prizes and giveaways:-)

Do what you can to bring/invite someone to come with you and let’s finish flipside out with a bang!!! Hope to see you there.

-Pastor Leo

Last night @ flipside (12/14)!!!

It was another awesome night at flipside!! Worship was awesome and God really did some great things in a lot of students lives. The message really challenged a lot of students as well!! You also missed me singing Karaoke to my awesome wife. I sang her “Have I Told You Lately,” by Rob Stewart. I really got some major brownie points for that deal;-) Here is a recap on last night’s message, as we wrapped up our current series “Characters” and we hit on Mary Magdalene:

• Check out this video to see a modern day Mary Magdalene speak into our lives:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN3NnsPoU4g
• Everyone has a moment they will never forget
• I am sure an event has taken place in your life that was monumental and you can tell me every single detail about it
• You can tell me how life was before and after that specific event
• Mary Magdalene had that kind of moment with Jesus
• She was the perfect example of before and after story of Jesus coming into someone’s life and totally changing them
• Mary at one time had seven demons in her (Read Luke 8:2)
• She was also mentioned in the Bible to be a prostitute
• The change that took place in her life was forever, Mary didn’t go back to her old way of life
• She witnessed first hand the change that can take place in your life when you are totally sold out to Christ
• She was around Jesus at all times after her encounter…
• In Mark 16:9 (read) you see where Mary was the first one to see Jesus after He rose from the dead
• In John 19:25 (read) she was at the feet of Jesus when He was on the cross
• In John 20:11-20 (read), you read where she had a personal encounter with Jesus once again
• Mary washed the feet of Jesus with her hair and anointed with a bottle of perfume over His head (Which was worth a years wages)
• When you truly have an encounter with God, it totally changes you
• The response that Mary had to being changed is the same response we need to have….
• SHE BECAME A WITNESS AND TESTIFIED ABOUT JESUS
• You life should testify to the goodness and the power of God
• Mary was bound by demons and had this reputation, Jesus reached out to her and she was free
• He showed compassion, mercy, love, and goodness to Mary
• Just like He has shown you…
• People knew Mary wasn’t living a good life but she didn’t let that stop her from being a witness
• She left her lifestyle and actually helped support Jesus and His ministry
• YOU MUST SHARE YOUR STORY!!!
• No one can take away your story or change it!!!
• Your before and after is the most powerful tool you have to be a witness to Christ!!!

So, when was the last time you truly encountered God? What did you with that encounter? Did you slowly let it go? Did you tell others? People are out there that have faced some hard times, it could help change someone’s life if you would just simply tell your story. Be the witness you are called to be and tell your story. What do you have to lose? Jesus laid it all down for all us… would it be too much for us to do the same?

If you are ready to make a change, hit me up. Need some direction, hit me up. We love you here at flipside and we hope to see you next week!!!

-Pastor Leo

What’s going on this week!! (12/9-14)

Tonight (12/9) & Tomorrow night (12/10)-

• Santa’s Workshop from 6:30-8 PM- Picture w/Santa, hot chocolate, cookie decoration, & write letter to Santa.
• Come out and chill for a bit!!! Bring your little brother or sister!!
• All here at the church in front of flipside!!!

Sunday (12/11)

• Service @ 10 AM
• flag football for guys behind flipside from 2:30-5 PM!!

Wednesday Night (12/14)

• Prayer in flipside @ 6 PM
• flipside @ 7 PM
• Let’s hit 100!!! Bring/invite someone to come with you!!
• Part 3 of the “Characters” series, we are going to have Mary Magdalene speak into our lives.