Scott Miller Blog :: Good Stuff

Be Blessed and Prosper!

Is the desire to be blessed and prosperous a sin? Is it wrong to want my kids, my marriage, my church, my community, my job to be blessed and prosperous? NO!

I understand you've got to remain humble and balanced in prosperity. You've got to keep your heart pure and your motive clean here, but there is blessing the Lord wants to bestow on his kids!

I bring this up as the connection of getting into/doing the Word and God's blessing really hit me this week! Take 30 seconds to check this out...

James 1:25 ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Psalms 1:1-3¹Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.   ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.   ³He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

God desires us to be blessed and prosperous people in every area!  Stating the obvious here, but blessing and prosperity is about more than just the financial area!  He desires to bless you in every area!  And this blessing is directly connected to your ability to stay in and live the Word! 

As we conclude this 40 DITW series, I challenge you to stay in the Word! Take the study method that seems to fit best with you and run with it! If you miss a day, forget it and move on. JUST STAY IN THE WORD!

Get You A Bible

Last night Tate tested me on the 66 books of the Bible.  I did suprisingly well, stumbling a bit with the prophets of the OT, but flew through the NT.  Reminded me of how I first learned the names of each book. 

Ok...you've got to put this into context.  It was the late 80's, early 90's, and rap music was the thing.  Christian rap was in it's infant stages, and I latched on to a few of the ealy artists.  One of which was PID (Preachers in Disguise).  On PID's The Chosen One's album, they did the following song entitled "Get you a Bible."  As I finished up with the book of Revelation, I so wanted to finish with, "66 books and oh so fresh, rapping 'bout God's righteousness...", but I spared Tate the limited exhibition of my rapping skills.  Enjoy...

 

Life in Egypt

I thought this video was really interesting about life in North Africa with our friends! Enjoy...

 

More video's like this can be seen on their blog site...

Matt Holloway the great donkey-ball rider

Pathway's own Matt Holloway represented us well tonight at the community Donkey-ball basketball game! Notice the action shot (he's the green blur in the middle)!

2012 Middlebury Community Lenten Services

If you are interested, here is the schedule for this years lenten services in Middlebury.  All Sunday night services start at 6pm, Good Friday Services are at 12:30pm and 7:30pm, and Easter Sunrise is at 7am.

Download 2012 Lenten services

My Friend Patrick

This is my friend Patrick standing inside his unfinished auto parts store in the small village of Source Matelas, Haiti (see 'A' on map below).  I first met Patrick last year as we painted and roofed a new house for his mom and siblings.  Patrick is the children's pastor at Mission of Hope Church in Titanyen, a student, a new husband, and soon to be (maybe already) a new dad!  In order to support his family, Patrick has started to build this little store in his village.  As you can see, the structure is up, but he needs about $500 US to finish the job. 

I have continued to stay in contact with Patrick, and I can tell you he is the real deal.  He loves Jesus, and God is going to use him to touch the Haitian people with the Gospel.  All I'm asking is that you would consider joining Megan and I in giving something to help him finish his store so he can have a way to continually supply for his family.  Thanks!

All gifts can be given through Pathway's online giving portal here, or dropped in an offering at Pathway.  Of course your gifts will be receipted for tax exempt purposes as this will be an official project of Pathway AG!

Thanks again for helping me help my friend Patrick!

 

View Larger Map

UPDATE 3-14-12

Here are a few picks of construction!

Doors are on!

Interior is painted!

The Bridge Project - Paris

Here's the latest and greatest from The Bridge Project in Paris, France! Todd and Amanda are doing a great job leading the team in bringing Jesus to Paris!

The Lord's Prayer

I've never really looked at the Lord's prayer the way I have the past few months.  Absolutely loving the chance to spend some time studying it, praying it, and thinking through it! 

If you missed the first message from this series, check it out!

  

Your Great Name

This week the Pathway worship team is going to intro this new song from Natalie Grant.  I first heard it at the community worship event a few weeks ago in Middlebury...and it overwhelmed me!  First link is the song...second link is the song story...

 

 

Middlebury Community Schools Prayer Walk

Shayne Cripe is heading up this years prayer walk at each Middlebury School this year.  For more information, see the attached pdf.  If your kids aren't in Middlebury school's, I encourage you to head to your kids school and pray there!

Download Prayer Walk

Elkhart Campus Re-joining Middlebury Campus

After much prayer and discussion, we've made the decision to combine Pathway's Elkhart Campus back in with the Middlebury Campus as of July 3, 2011.  Please listen to the this podcast to hear Jason share his heart on this, which includes a few minute of my thoughts on vision at the end.

You can then listen to the same talk I made at the Middlebury campus by following the same link.

MOH and Agriculture

Here's an update on how one of Pathway's newest strategic missions partners are helping impact culture in Haiti via agriculture! When we were down there in February, we built houses which sit on a small parcel of land. What you see in this video is what they are training the Haitians to do with their land!

MOH 500 & Farming God's Way from Mission of Hope Haiti on Vimeo.

 

Benefit Hog Roast for Tom Ethell

 
They are having a benefit for my friend Tom Ethell. Tom attended Pathway for a while, and I officiated at his wedding. Tom has Non-Hodgkin's Mantle cell Lymphoma Cancer. More information can be found here…

Download Benefit Hog Roast for Thomas Ethell Jr

 

The Bridge Illustration - Mark Mittelberg

 
I wanted to get this video link on my blog for Life Groups that might use this week's message notes for their LG study next week...use the first 3 minutes of this (after that, the acting is a bit cheesy and dated)...

2011 Couples Retreat – May 20-21

May 20-21 – Couples Retreat - Building a Win Win Marriage

Plan on being a part of our next Couples Retreat, happening in May!  Wayne and Cathy Benson will be leading our weekend!  They not only led a great church in Michigan for 25 years, but Wayne most recently was the president of Emerge Ministries, a powerful counseling ministry in Ohio. 

We'll be talking about:

• How to build a Win Win Marriage
• Creative communication
• History - How to be released from history in order to build a much better future together
• Reflective time with your spouse
• Interactive Q and A with the Bensons

Here are some further basics:

• We are going back to the Potawatami Inn in Angola, IN.  More information on the park and the area can be found here  http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/inns/potawatomi/about.html#local  and here http://www.lakes101.org/
• There is a Thursday night option if you'd like to take advantage of an extra night away.  Let us know if you'd like to do this when you sign up. 
• Get any childcare needs you may have setup right now! 
• We'll be starting Friday night around 7pm, and going through 4pm on Saturday.  Eat dinner on the way over Friday night, or check into your room and head out for a meal in the Angola area before our session starts. 
• $155 covers your room, our mtng room, dessert late Friday evening, Buffet Lunch on Saturday, and any other expenses for the retreat.  $40 Deposit is due by Sunday, May 1st.
• Appropriate Dress is casual.
• Sign Up this week at the Welcome Center at either campus!
• Questions?  Email office@pathwayag.com...

All this information can be found in this document... Download 2011 Couples Retreat Info

Pathway LG's

 

 

 

Just a quick post to point you to our 2011 Spring/Summer Life Group Directory...get plugged in!

2011 LG Directory

Otis Garrison and COH Worship Leader Claudel on April 10

THIS IS WORTH COMING HOME EARLY FROM SPRING BREAK FOR!!!  Ok, I realize most of you may not be going anywhere for spring break, but I'm telling you, Sunday, April 10th, is going to be an exciting Sunday!

After returning from Haiti in February, I asked Otis Garrison (picture above) to join us on Sunday, April 10th.  He's going to share a message from the Word with us, as well as help you catch more of a vision for what God is doing through Mission of Hope in Haiti.  Here is the good part...he's bringing the worship leader, Claudel, from the Church of Hope in Haiti with him!  Claudel will be joining our team in leading worship on that Sunday morning (at the MC), as well as ministering with Otis later on in the service. 

We will be live at both campuses on the 10th so we can all experience this together!  Get ready for a great couple of Sunday's church...

Pathway's worship team and Claudel...it's going to be powerful!  The video below was of Claudel leading while we were down in Haiti…

 

Scott and Davida Horner Story

Scott and Davida Horner, much like others throughout Elkhart County, have struggled with jobs/finances, etc.  I took 10 minutes to interview them this past Sunday during our service.  Take a few minutes to listen to this...be encouraged you are not forgotten by God!

 

Bridge International Church Celebrates 1 year!

One of Pathway's strategic missions outreaches just celebrated one year of being a church!  Here's a video they put together to celebrate.  We've put a lot of prayer and finances into this Paris church...exciting to see what God is doing there!

The Bridge One Year Anniversary from The Bridge on Vimeo.

 

Middlebury Community Lenten Service Schedule

 
During the months of March and April, churches all over Middlebury will be hosting Sunday evening services, focusing on this Lenten season.  We've chosen Psalms 51 as the text of our messages this year.  Attached to this post is a schedule of all service locations, message texts, speakers, and special guests.  If you are free, avail yourself to these community services!

Download LENTEN SERVICES-2011 post

Blessed are the Persecuted

  

Finishing up my series on the Beatitudes with a message on persecution.  Voice of the Martyrs had this video update concerning persecution in Nigeria, back in March 2010.  Nearly 500 people martyred for their faith, killed by muslim extremist, for one reason alone - they all professed Jesus Christ as their Lord.  Makes you think...

 

 

Pass it Forward Video

Pass it Forward video from yesterday...Thanks to all of you Pathway people who served with Crystal Valley this weekend!

   

Video Update from Missionary Kendall Reavis

Great video update from one of our Pathway Missionaries, Kendall Reavis...

Men's Mission Trip to Haiti

We're planning a mission's trip to Haiti for Pathway men on February 12-19!  More information will come over the next few weeks, but if you are at all interested, plan on being a part of an informational mtng immediately following the Sunday service at the MC on Sunday, Oct. 24th.  Also, you might start the process of working on getting your passport here.

Below is a a video about the organization we'll be working with, Mission of Hope!

Mission of Hope: Haiti from Landon Cox on Vimeo.

Fall 2010 MC Kid's Ministry Update

This past Sunday (Sept. 19th) I spent a few minutes interviewing Megan on what's happening in our Kid's Ministry at the Middlebury Campus.  Here's what she said!

Fall MC Kid's Ministry Report from Scott Miller on Vimeo.

2010 Pathway Ladies Retreat Oct 29-30

Here's the new video about Pathway's upcoming Ladies Retreat...more information here...

 

8-15-10 Message

We are fooling around with the idea of posting video, along with the already offered audio, of all of our services at the Pathway website.  Below is our first attempt!  Could you answer a few quick questions in the comment section after taking a few minutes to watch?

1. If you went to the pathway website to catch a message, would you be more likely to click the video or audio?
2. What about your friends who are unchurched or de-churched...if they were thinking about visiting, and went to our website, would having a video on there be that much more of a help to them?  Or not?
3. This video is still a rather large rendering of the HD video we recorded sunday.  Did it play smoothly?  Any choppy-ness?  Audio ok?  Can you hear it clearly? 
4. If you are from the Elkhart Campus, don't watch beyond 5 minutes of this video b/c you'll ruin it for Sunday...hah!
5. Any other thoughts on this?
6. Would you be willing to take this on, and give 3 hours a week to being sure the message video got on the website?

Thanks!

Further thought - I don't know if at this point, people who are yet to follow Christ are coming regularly to our website.  If we went with video, I think more of the target would be the de-churched.  People who once followed Christ, but have walked away.  Maybe they grew up in church, but there's no life in their walk with Christ right now.  If something were to prompt them to go to the website of the church their friends told them about, or pass every day while going to work, or pass while dropping their kids off at school, would video on the site help bring them in?

8-15-10 Message from Scott Miller on Vimeo.

 

Middlebury Summer Festival Video

Had a great time with the community Friday night!

Get Baptized!

If you haven't followed Christ into water baptism yet, get baptized on Sunday August 22nd!!!  Let us know right now if you are wanting to be baptized!

Baptism EXCUSES

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

Pathway Helping Haiti

Hearing Nathan Grubb talk about going to Haiti soon reminded me that there's a new video out explaining how our missions dollars are being spent in Haiti right now (See below)!  Even before our one time offering to help the initial relief effort, we were already supporting Convoy of Hope on a monthly basis.  Convoy already had a warehouse, and connections established with the local churches, and will continue to be there when the camera's leave!  I love Convoy!

 

 

Caleb Cripe on Fox 28

Pathway's Caleb Cripe was on Fox 28 news last night!  How about that...link here or video below...

 

Festival Game Assignments

Here's the list of Middlebury Summer Festival assignment for all of you who signed up! 

2 thoughts:

• If for some reason you can't do your assignment, let me know ASAP!
• You may be signed up for more than 1 game/assignment, please be sure to check it out!

Download Summer Festival 2010 games

PrayerMasters

Found this while searching for a video to go with this week's message...a bit irreverent, but funny...

Sang Hayden to Sleep

Took Hayden to worship practice last night and she fell asleep as we sang. Not sure what that says about our worship list for Sunday? Hah!

Going to introduce a new to us song on Sunday called "I Will Boast."

 

We're Together Again

Really tempted to bring out the old We're Together Again song from my childhood this week as Pathway Middlebury combines into one service...maybe we could sound as good as this church?  Always felt like this song would be sung best if we were gathered around the altars smacking communion cups together, giving each other holy high 5's, as we sing.

 

Middlebury Campus Going to 1 Service!

We have a real sense right now that we need to 'come together' at the Middlebury Campus.  In order to facilitate that, we've decided to go to one 10am service on Sunday mornings!  Hear more on the video/audio below that I shared this past Sunday...

Video of Carson Hartung Out of Anesthesia

Here's a video shot today I believe of Pathway's Carson Hartung after he came out of 7 days of Anesthesia...

 

Pathway's Sarah Balmer on the news

Pathway's Sarah Balmer reccomended one of her teachers for the 16 Excellence in Education award, and he won!  It's all Sarah's fault!  Hah!

You can see it all here...

Video from EC Reach Out

This afternoon was a huge success for Pathway...served up 800 hotdogs, and gave away 3 trailors full of clothes at the Plaza in downtown Elkhart!  Here's what it looked like...

 

EC Carpet Need

Our Elkhart Campus is in need of carpet!  We are going to try to meet that need through an offering at both campuses on May 30th...watch this...

 

 

Margin Series Discussion notes Wk 3 - Finances

Here are the discussion notes for week 3 of our Margin series.

Download Margin - Talk It Over - Week 3 

7 Steps to Financial Peace

Wanted to re-post this from last year.  Thought it fit well with a message on financial margin.  Really encourage you to pick up Dave's stuff...7 Steps to find financial peace…where are you?

1. Pay minimum on everything until you get $1000 in savings. (rainy day fund)
2. Debt snowball – pay off all personal debt except your home.
3. Create 3-6 month nest egg of your monthly expenses.
4. Save 15% of your gross household income in retirement plans.
5. Start college funds for kids.
6. Take all the extra you can scrape together to pay your house off early.
7. Spend time giving it all away.

The only step I'm not so sure I agree with my friend Dave about is step number 7. I've seen and experienced that the quicker you start to give significant finances away, the quicker God replaces it and brings more blessing. I would hate to think that I have to wait until the seventh step until I start giving extravagantly to my local church and God's kingdom! What do you think?

Nathan Turney - Asia's Little One's Update

 
Just received this update from Nathan Turney with Asia's Little One's if you are interested...

Download 2010 Spring Newsletter (N & L Turney)

Margin Series Discussion Notes Wk 2 - Scheduling

Sunday, April 18, at the Middlebury Campus (April 25th at the EC) we’ll continue our message series called Margin.  I wonder if the best things in life don’t happen in the margin of life?  I’ve attached the Life Group/personal discussion questions to this post.

Download Margin - Talk It Over - Week 2

One Prayer at Pathway in June

Talked with the Leadership Team last night about being a part of this One Prayer effort in June.  We'll be joining 657 other churches (as of today) to work through this thought - Christ's Church is UNSTOPPABLE!  It's going to be a fun month at Pathway!

Hartung Video

Coming up in a few weeks, a Pathway (Middlebury Campus) family will be uprooting themselves for a month and headed to Cincinatti, OH.  Their son Carson will be having a very intesive surgery to remove his tracheotomy from his throat.  Our Middlebury Campus will be taking an offering for their expenses on Sunday, April 18th. 

I sat down the other day with the family and they explained more...

Margin Series Discussion Notes Week 1

Sunday, April 11, at the Middlebury Campus (April 18th at the EC) we’ll start a new message series called Margin.  I wonder if the best things in life don’t happen in the margin of life?  I’ve attached the Life Group/personal discussion questions to this post.

Download Margin - Talk It Over - Week 1

DNA of Relationships - Couples Retreat

 
  
Click the link below for more information on our upcoming Couples Retreat, May 7-8.  Sign up this week with your $30 deposit!

Download 2010 Couples Retreat

Bring It Home Final Night

The last night of Bring it Home was a blast!  We topped the night off with worship, and Megan and I praying over each family that was there (about 21 families last night).  Wonder what BIH looked like?  Check out the video below...

What does a fiery furnace look like?

This would be what a fiery furnace looks like made up of a group of Pathway dad's who are committed to bringing their faith home to their kids!  Good stuff!