Brad Wilkerson // COC Metro

One Year Later

Memorial Day weekend means a lot of different things for people.  For some it is a time to get together with family, cook out and spend time together.  For some it is a long weekend spent at the local lake or at your local pool.  For others it is three days to get away and go somewhere not too far from home to get some R & R.  However, for us, Memorial Day weekend will never be the same.  This thought really came through to us this year.  You see, Memorial Day, 2007 was the weekend that my father-in-law suffered a stroke and later passed away on June 4^th.  The thought we talked about a lot this weekend was, “Wow, has it already been a year?”  This whole thought goes back to what I was talking about Saturday night when I was talking about the Family Room in the Home Repo series.  We blinked and one year passed.  The business of cleaning out his house, getting the yard and pool under control, cleaning out his tool shop, cleaning out the barn, the well house, and finally putting his house up for sale were all daunting tasks.  However, in the busyness of doing all that stuff we didn’t realize how quickly time was passing.  Memorial Day will always be a day of remembrance for us not with just thoughts of those who died fighting for my freedom but also with thoughts of the passing of my father-in-law, William Thomas Coulter.  I thank God for this good man who gave me my beautiful wife.  He was a good man, a good Dad, and a good Grandpa.  Thanks for your prayers this week, especially for Sarah, as she is reminded of that path she journeyed down just one year ago.  Thank God for that peace that passes all our understanding.

Don’t Blink…take time to love on your family this week.  Life goes faster than you think!

God bless you all. 

In The Presence Of Greatness

Thursday of last week I had the awesome privilege to play golf with a couple of buddies of mine at the Tournament Players Course at the Four Seasons Resort in Las Colinas.  After finishing our round (I shot 75 by the way) we were sitting in our carts on the side of the 18th green figuring up our scores.  As we were sitting there two carts came towards us from the driving range area headed to the first tee.  As I glanced over to look at the men in the first cart I was awestruck when I realized it was Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith.  Now seeing these guys really got my adrenaline flowing as I realized that those two teamed up for not one but three Super Bowl Championships.  Not only that, Smith holds the record for the most rushing yards in NFL history.  Wow…for just a moment this 38 year old man turned into a 14 year old boy again with dreams of making it big someday!  The little boy in me wanted to run over and beg for their autographs but the mature all grown up man in me said no, “Act like your come here often and let them have their privacy.” So what I did was drive over toward them so I could get close enough for them to make eye contact with me and wave at them.  I really wanted to stop and share with them that if they could do anything to help the Cowboys of today win the big game I would appreciate it since my 8 year son has never seen a Super Bowl Championship around these parts!

Why do I share this story with you?  Well it is quite simple.  I found myself that day in a situation that revealed a huge lesson for me.  We live in a world full of idolatry.  I found myself forgetting about every blessing that had come my way that day and all I could focus on was those two guys who are simply human beings just like me.  Oh they might have scored a few touchdowns and won a few big games but that is all it was…games.  In comparison, how do I approach my worship of God when I enter COC on Saturday nights?  Do I say, wow…I am in the presence of greatness and I get to worship the creator of not only me but of everything I see (even Troy and Emmitt).  Let’s be careful to watch what we worship.  Jesus said, “If I be lifted up…I will draw all men unto me.” Let’s make sure we are not putting anything or any other person before Him.  May we enter His presence with more awe than we would be seeing Troy Aikman or Emmitt Smith passing by us.

The Lord God shall be worshipped and obeyed…the Lord God alone!

Take Time This Week To Rest/Relax/Reflect

Wow, Saturday night was awesome as we entered into the Master Bathroom in our Home Repo Series.  The atmosphere was great as we set the mood for a night of restful and relaxed worship.  From the candles to the chocolate covered strawberries it was all part of an awesome evening.  Thanks to the creative team for doing such a unique job of setting the mood.

As we discussed during the sermon I challenge you to put into practice the art of resting, relaxing, and reflecting on God’s goodness to you.  Take time out of your busy schedule to enjoy life and all that goes with it.  Christ came to give us life and give it to us in abundance.  May this week be a time of not just demands and deadlines but a week of lifelong memories with our spouses, kiddos, and our friends!  Take time to stop and smell the roses!

Continue to pray and invite people to be added to the COC TEAM.  Have a great week and I’ll see you Saturday, May 17th at Savannah Elementary School.  Set up starts at 2:30 p.m. and Worship begins at 5 p.m.

One Amazing Young Lady

As most of you know by now, one of COC’s dear families, the Rich's, were involved in an auto accident on Friday afternoon.  One of the blessings in this trial for them is that no one was seriously injured.  However, Megan, the Rich’s daughter, did suffer a couple of pretty bad cuts to her head that required over 30 stitches.  Megan is quite a kid.  As I held her hand in the ER room at the hospital on Friday night, I told her I would tell everyone in Celebration City that she would miss them on Saturday night.  She said to me, “You don’t have to do that, I will be there.” Little did she know that when she said that she would soon be transported to Cook’s Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth.  Megan had some spine compressions that the Dr.’s wanted to keep an eye on and wanted to make sure that she could eat solid food before they would let her go home.  So Saturday night after COC several of us went to see her at Cook’s.  Shannon, her Mom, told me that one of Megan’s most depressing moments through all of this was that she was going to have to miss church Saturday night.  Wow, what a kid!  Megan teaches us all a great lesson about life.  God and church should be a huge priority to us all.  Not only does she love the Lord with everything she has but she loves the COC as well.  In her trial she has taught me so much.  She has taught me what a true commitment to Christ is.  I also am amazed at what a wonderful job Randy and Shannon have done in raising such a fine young lady.  Megan, we love you and we wish you a quick recovery.  One more thing, I can’t wait to see you back at COC this coming Saturday.  Your beautiful, smiling face was missed.  WE ALL LOVE YOU…GET WELL SOON!

Thanks so much to Dr. Gary Pinion for that challenging message this past Saturday on making sure we have a church house not a jail house when it comes to our worship.  I look forward this coming week to Part 5 of the Home Repo as we look at The Master Bathroom.  See you there.

Continue to pray and invite people to be added to the COC TEAM.  Have a great week and I’ll see you Saturday, May 10th at Savannah Elementary School.  Set up starts at 2:30 p.m. and Worship begins at 5 p.m.

This coming weekend is Mother’s Day…don’t forget your Mom!

God bless and we love you all!