Dan Gould

Author: dgould77

  • Ephesians 1

    “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.[b] 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” v. 3-8 (NLT)

    Can you believe that from the very beginning God had a plan for us to be in relationship with Him.  Before He created anything, he knew about you and about me and His plan was for us to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  Can you imagine what that would look like today?  To be holy and with out fault has always been the goal.  However, since sin has entered our world, the enemy does everything possible to keep us from experiencing this and become this type of person. It would be really depressing if it ended there, but the good news is that God has done everything possible to get our attention and remind us of His unfailing love by through the life, death, and Resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.  In Christ, we can be restored to the relationship that sin separated.  That’s the Good News of the Gospel, and leads to God’s ultimate plan found in Ephesians 1:10,

    “And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.” v. 10 (NLT)

    One day Jesus is coming back!  He is coming back with power and authority to restore what sin has made a mess of. It will be a glorious and sad day for all.  For those that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior it will be a time of rejoicing in His return.  For those that denied Christ, or chose not believe, or even waited for “the right time” it will be to late, and they will be judged according to the things they have done.  Just think about that for a moment before you move on.

    When it comes to your relationship with God, where are you at?  As we read today, God desires to have a relationship with us, He has proven that by sending His Son to live, Die, and Come back to Life in the Resurrection.  Today, may we think about this and ask God what is keeping us from being holy and without fault in His eyes.  Then lets pray and ask God to forgive and restore us in Christ to be the person He created us to be before the creation of the world as we know it!

  • ONE NIGHT

    There is only One Place you will want to be on Wednesday March 11th from 7:00 – 8:30pm and that’s in the Student Center at Grace Community Church!
    All Small Groups will come together for One Service, Honoring One God, Becoming One Voice, with One Challenge . . . To Bring One Friend that doesn’t know Christ!  Don’t Miss it . . . it’s going to be RAD, Chill, Awesome, Chem, off the Chain, Legit, Sick and what ever catchy word you want to insert (                              )!

    Make sure you don’t miss it and bring a friend!!!

  • The Pulse

    February wk- 3 – 2009

    This Weekend Annoncements

    PLANET WISDOM – MIDDLE SCHOOL RETREAT
    REGISTRATION ENDS THIS WEEKEND!!!
    Don’t miss this awesome retreat.  We will stay the night in a hotel and attend the conference starting Friday, Feb. 27th and ending on Saturday, Feb. 28th.  Register on-line cost $120!

    ONE NIGHT
    Wednesday March 11th from 7:00 – 8:30 in the Student Center
    All Small Groups will come together for One Service, Honoring One God, Becoming One Voice, with One Challenge . . . To Bring One Friend that doesn’t know Christ!  Don’t Miss it . . . it’s going to be RAD!

    MAKING THE BAND
    If you play an instrument or sing and want to get involved in playing in one of our worship bands now is the time… We are having a meeting on March 1st @ 12:30 in the student center to see who wants to be involved.  This is not an audition just a meeting of interest. Hope to see you there. If you have any question feel free to contact: Tyler Ellison or Josh Tollison

    MEXICO MISSION TRIP
    Happens June 13th – 20th register online or at Seeds Book Store
    Pre – $400 before April 5th with completed registration and $100 deposit.
    Reg – $415 after April 5th with completed registration and $100 deposit.
    Late – $425 after May 10th can only happen if space is available.

    WILD WEEK
    Happens July 7th – 11th register online or at Seeds Book Store
    Pre – $315 before March 15th with completed registration and $100 deposit.
    Reg – $335 after March 15th with completed registration and $100 deposit.
    Late – $365 after April 19th can only happen if space is available.

    SMALL GROUPS
    Wednesdays 7-8:30pm for 6th- 10th grades
    Sundays 7-8:30 for 11th – 12th grades

    PS – If you are in Middle School or have a Middle School Student, don’t miss Planet Wisdom!!!!  It’s happening February 27 and 28. Here is a taste of what to expect!

    Mexico Mission Trip Update

    The Mexico Mission Trip is right around the corner.  We are expecting a lot of students participating and want to make sure everyone has all the info they need.  Therefore we will hold an important Mexico Mission Trip meeting on May 10th. Here are the details:

    Mexico Mission Trip Meeting (Please Note the Change)

    • Sunday, May 10th at 12:30 in the Student Center (for anyone interested in going)

    Who Should Attend?

    • Students wanting to go
    • Parents wanting to go
    • Volunteers wanting to go
    • Parents of teenagers that want to go

    At the meeting we will give info on what we will be doing the week we are there and answer questions that you may have!

    This was an awesome trip last year and God did an amazing work in us and through us.  We are so excited to go back this year and hope that you will join us!

    Communication

    THE PULSE – Help us keep Parents and Students in the know.  Make sure you encourage others to sign up to receive THE PULSE via e-mail.  It might be the life-line to the information they are missing!  Click here to get it!!

  • Main Event – Bowling with the 6th Grade Small Group

    What a blast last night was!!  It was my first time, won’t be my last time to go to Main Event.  We ate pizza and bowled two games and played some video games all in the normal Small Group time slot.  Everyone had a good time – even David had a good time and he had a broken foot!!!!  Josh Harris did a great job as a Coach putting it together and the small group leaders and interns (Colleen, Chris, Jason and Rachel) did a great job of leading and being relational with the students! Thanks for inviting me and letting me be a part of a fantastic night!

    Here are some pics from last night, enjoy!

  • Galatians 5

    “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” v. 1

    Freedom is expensive and many times taken for granted.  Christ died to set us free from sin and from a long list of laws and regulations.  Christ came to set us free – not free to do whatever we want because that would lead us back into slavery to our selfish desires.  Rather, thanks to Christ, we are now free and able to what was impossible before – to live unselfishly.  Those who appeal to their freedom so that they can have their own way or indulge their own desires are falling back into sin.  But it is also wrong to put a burden of law-keeping on Christians.  We must stand against those who would enslave us with rules, methods, or special conditions for being saved or growing in Christ.

    Today think about how you live, are you led more by the Spirit and His desires, or are you led more by your own desires.  There is a battle going on over the way you live and the choices you make will either set you free, or lead you to slavery, or keep you in the slavery of sin.

  • Road Trip

    Last night the family made a trip to Dallas to hang out with Tyler and Jenn.  Tyler serves as our Student Worship Coordinator and Jenn is a first year teacher.  It has been fun getting to know them.  Tyler is doing such a good job at Fusion.

    After the long drive, (I respect what Tyler does even more knowing how far he drives to invest in our students) we had dinner at Royal Thai.  I must say, that the food was amazing!  Probably the best Chicken Fried Rice I have ever eaten.  The place reminded us of our favorite restaurant in Warrensburg called Siam. I ordered the Pad Thai Chicken and Stephanie had the Mongolian Beef.  The food was great, the company was awesome, the boys behaved, and it was fun just to get away and have dinner with family and friends!

    Now we just have to find a Thai food place this good closer to us, any suggestions?

  • 2 Corinthians 4

    “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[e] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” v. 16-18

    The way you live matters! People watch the way we handle difficulties.  I know this first hand because of the encouraging words people have shared with me over the last couple of month.  My wife and I have a deep faith in Christ.  It is that very Faith in Christ that has gotten us through some very scary and difficult times concerning our youngest son Jackson.  We could have easily blamed God or turned our back on Him.  Instead, we prayerfully sought Him out and asked Him to give us the strength we need for each day . . . and He has!

    This passage talks about that very thing, when trouble comes your way, don’t spend all your time focusing on the trouble, seek the Face of God and you will see that challenge in a new light and have a better perspective on how to handle it and get through it.  You will also experience the peace of God.  Remember, you are not a lone! God cares so deeply for you, and He is only one prayer away!  Will you seek Him today and trust Him for a better tomorrow?

  • Bust a Move – Jackson Style

    Jackson has been working on his dance skilz.  We happened to catch a short clip on video of it this weekend.  Here is his debut, enjoy!!!

  • 1 Corinthians 15:33

    “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for ‘bad company corrupts good character.’” v. 33

    Paul addresses the debate about the Resurrection of the dead, claiming that the Resurrection has to happen or the faith we proclaim is a false faith.  In doing this he makes this statement about the people and environments we allow ourselves to be a part of.  These people and places have an affect on us.  They can be places of encouragement, inspiration, and accountability, or they can be places of trouble, selfishness, and disobedience.

    The fact is this, the people and places we spend our time influence what we do, say, and believe.  How are the people around you and the places you spend your time impacting you, your witness, and the Kingdom?

  • 32 oh man!!!! (not old man)

    Yep, its official . . . today I turn 32!  Hard to believe I know!  So I thought I would do 32 random facts about me:

    1. My wife is my best friend!
    2. I love my boys and they teach me so much about life and God!
    3. I have never craved Ice Cream.  I will eat it but don’t really like it that much!
    4. I like warm weather!
    5. It excites me to see people come to know Christ and then experience Him regularly!
    6. I love working with teenagers, and Believe God can do great things through them!
    7. I have a black belt in Taekwondo, so you better watch out!
    8. I use to play the drums and thought I was going to be a band teacher!
    9. Football is my favorite sport!  However I like playing Volleyball and Softball also!
    10. I don’t understand soccer but am learning it because of Josiah!
    11. Ephesians 3:20 is one of my many favorite verses in the Bible along with James 1:22, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 12:1-2, Psalm 37:4
    12. Romans 8 has become my new favorite passage of Scripture and the book of James kicks my butt, but is still my favorite!
    13. I like to play racing games at the arcade (Dave and Busters)  My wife tries to win but . . .
    14. I like riding dirt bikes and look forward to doing that with my boys!
    15. Stephanie says I am no fun to play Volleyball with because I am so good and competitive! (that’s the way I interpreted it)
    16. I like to watch baseball at the field not on TV. Go Cardinals!
    17. I still watch Wrestling on TV! (sad i know)
    18. LOST and The Office are our favorite TV shows with Friday Night Lights and American Idol being close behind!
    19. If I had a million dollars . . . don’t have the first clue how I would spend it.  Would definitely pay off debt, save, and make sure my family is taken care of!
    20. My first car was a red Firebird!
    21. My first job as a teenager was as a Painter, Mowing Yards, Mechanic, and working at McDonald’s!
    22. If I had more time I would, read more, write more, spend more time with family and friends!
    23. One of my favorite memories as a kid was going to Disney World and riding dirt bikes with my dad and brother!
    24. Jamaica still holds a special place in my heart!  Have been there for 4 mission trips and Honeymoon!
    25. Blue is my favorite color!
    26. I have become a Mizzou football fan and will always like the KC Chiefs!
    27. Springfield MO has the best Chinese Restaurants.
    28. I like to be on the water! (wave runners are my favorite, but boats are cool also)
    29. Stephanie and I went on a 7 day cruise on our honeymoon!
    30. I drive a jeep and wish I had the money to deck it out more than just the tires!
    31. I use to Golf, it’s been awhile but want to play again soon!
    32. I love my life! Everyday is a gift and an opportunity to experience God through the challenges and victories that each day brings!

    Wow, I made it.  I got stuck at about number 8 but was able to pull it through!