CreativePastors Blog & Podcast

Ed's Latest Series & Special Offer!

In today's world of "image is everything," so many people base their fashion – and their lives – on what they think others want to see. At the same time, so many people today are fashion unconscious. Some are stuck in the 80s. Others overly accessorize to the point of being humorous. And still others seemingly don't care at all what their fashion says about them. In this new series, Ed takes a look at some of the crazy fashion statements that people make, both in a physical and spiritual sense. And he helps us to ultimately see that for our fashion to really communicate anything at all, it must be first grounded in the Master Designer.

Fashion Police is available on CD, DVD, as well as downloadable MP3s, transcripts and mindmaps.

Remember, for just a few more days you can get Ed Young’s Pronoun DVD series FREE with the purchase of any of our other message series on DVD. This is a limited time offer, so get your free copy while supplies last. They, you, us, it—find out why these little pronouns matter so much from God’s perspective.

Flavour Magazine - The Latest Edition is Hot Off the Press!

  This quarterly magazine from the Fellowship Church Flavour Ministry highlights articles by everyday women for everyday women. Discover what Flavour is all about in this creatively-designed, full-color magazine of inspirational stories and motivational thoughts for women who change the world. In this special double issue  created especially for the Speak ‘09 Conference, you’ll find how women young and old, single and married are discovering their unique Flavour and making a difference in the church and the world around them. It includes fun and thought-provoking articles from Lisa Young, renowned artist and cancer survivor Olivia Bennett, and many other leading women from Fellowship Church. You’ll want to get several copies of this incredible magazine and share them with your best girlfriends.

Flavour Your Day - Available for Pre-Order!

 Especially created for women of Flavour. this beautifully illustrated, full-color coffee table book, Flavour Your Day, combines inspirational thoughts from Lisa Young with original artwork from Olivia Bennett. This book is a celebration of new and exciting opportunities for women to change the world. Each of you, as women, has something unique to present to the people in your life. That’s what “Flavour” is all about. Your unique Flavour comes directly from God, and He is enabling you today to bring your inner potential to the outside world. Flavour is all about influence; it’s about change. It is the power you have to change the world in positive and life-giving ways. That’s what the Bible is all about. And that’s what your role as a woman who loves and serves the Lord should be about.

As you read and enjoy the inspirational thoughts and art in this book, my prayer is that you will allow Christ to Flavour Your Day with the possibility, peace, purpose, priority, promise, power and passion that can only come from Him. Each day is a day that the Lord has made, and He alone can make today and everyday count. Discover your unique Flavour and use it today to make a difference.  –Lisa Young

Flavour Your Day is available now for pre-order on CreativePastors.com, or you may purchase a copy at the Speak Conference. All online pre-orders will ship the first week in May.

Easter Pre-Release 2009

Easter is an exciting time! As the Church, this is one of our greatest opportunities to tell the life-changing story of the resurrection to people who are searching for answers. It's our time to answer their question, as my friends in Australia say, "What's the skinny on the gimmie?" It's our shot to tell people what they need to know, and what they need to do.

But Easter is also one of the most difficult messages you can preach. Because people know the story, we have to figure out how to put unique angles on the same message.

This Easter weekend, I'm going to be talking about what it means to live a seamless life through Christ's perfection. It's a fusion of sermons and thoughts from God and from other speakers I've heard and talked to over the years. The whole thing is built around a clothing website I saw that allows you to zoom in and zoom out on their products. And the phrase I'm going back to over and over is "top to bottom; bottom to top".

I hope this pre-release Easter sermon will help you as you prepare to reach so many people with the message of the resurrection. Feel free to use it and change it to fit you. Remember, despite what some say, there are very few original ideas. Creativity is all about taking what's out there and shaping it and molding it to fit your style. So take this message and make it yours!

Happy Easter,

 

The Latest Elevate Series Center Stage is Now Available!

Get the latest curriculum release from Elevate and teach your kids what worship is all about! It’s not just about going to church and singing praise songs. It’s an all-encompassing thing that happens everyday and in every part of our lives. You can teach your preschoolers and K-5th graders not only why we worship, but also how praying, giving, serving, obeying, loving others, and dealing with good and bad times are all acts of worship.

Elevate Center Stage: K-5

Living a life of worship
Follow along on tour with world famous worship band Cloud 9 as they teach an up and coming artist what worship is all about. Get an all-exclusive look at behind the scenes footage of the band as they crisscross the world to make God's Name famous. In this new Elevate series Cloud 9 will show us how to make worship a part of our everyday lives.

Elevate Jr. Center Stage: 3-5 years

What it means to Worship God
Hop on board the tour bus for Center Stage Jr.! Your children will join lead singer Pearl, her band, and their bus driver Enzo as they discover what it means to worship God. As the band prepares for each concert, Enzo teaches them about worship from eight different Biblical examples. Your children will participate in learning from these examples, as well as see how they can worship God every day in their own lives.

Revised Christmas Message

» Revised Christmas Message

Updated Pre-Release Sermon Notes Available

As I've been studying over the past several days, my Christmas message entitled "Step Into Christmas" has gone through several "steps" itself. Because of that, we're making available several documents that include all the steps or stages of the message.

The first step was the original version of the transcript and mindmap that we made available earlier this week. That was the first draft of the sermon.

The second step involved handwritten notes on the transcript pages. We've scanned those notes and have made them available as a separate file. This zip file also includes a document that highlights key phrases from the message. The notes and key phrases have been made available as a separate resource called "Notes."

The third step is the "final" version of the transcript and mindmap. Obviously, I'll continue to tweak this throughout the coming days, but this is the version I'll be working from as I deliver the Christmas messages beginning Saturday evening.

Don't worry. If you've already purchased the first draft of the transcript and/or mindmap, you can go to the Downloads area of your account on CreativePastors and re-download the newest version at no additional cost. The newest version of both the transcript and mindmap includes the first draft and final draft together in one file.

Again, God's best to you and your church this Christmas. I'll continue praying over the coming days that many thousands will take a step of faith toward the Savior.

Step Into Christmas: Pre-Release Sermon

Christmas Message Pre-Release
Transcript and Mindmap available

You can’t talk about the Christmas story without talking about the Easter story. In reality, it’s all one message. Christ was born to die. He was destined to step into time and space as a baby so He could walk that long road to the cross as a man.

That’s why I’m so excited about this and every Christmas. I’m also thrilled to make available this special pre-release of my Christmas message this year. It’s not just the story of Christ’s journey on this earth. It’s the story of everyone’s journey to, or away from, the Savior. We all have a monumental choice to make—to take a step toward Jesus or away from Him. The wise men made that step; the shepherds made that step; Mary and Joseph made that step. And men, women and children throughout history have been making that step.

The journey continues this Christmas. We have the awesome privilege to walk alongside many hundreds and thousands of people as they are presented with an opportunity to make an eternal step towards the Savior; so that He, in turn, can step into and change their lives forever. God’s best to you this Christmas as you share the only real and lasting message of hope in very uncertain times.

Merry Christmas,
Ed

New Elevate Series Coming Soon

The newest Elevate and Elevate Jr. series, Dr. Tomorrow’s Robot Repair Shop, will be ready to ship mid-December.

Dr. Tomorrow’s Robot Repair Shop

Is your robot causing you problems? Well tune in to Dr. Tomorrow’s Robot Repair Shop to learn how to fix those faulty robot parts. While you are here, you’ll learn how to associate a part of your body with a Biblical truth.

In this new Elevate series, Dr. Tomorrow teaches us how parts of our bodies can remind us about living like God wants us to.

Each episode will feature a robot part that relates to a part of our body and how we should use each part to work properly. Your children will learn lessons on how to love God and others, follow God and make good choices.  Next they will learn to show others God’s love by serving them. They will also learn to listen to God, use their words to encourage others, and see people as God sees them.  Then they will learn to put Godly things in their minds and work with others at church.

Each week is a different part and a different lesson. You won’t want to miss a single one!

Dr. Tomorrow’s Robot Repair Shop Jr.

Join Dr. Tomorrow, his trusty assistants Newton and Pixie at Dr. Tomorrow’s Robot Repair Shop. Each week, you and your children will add another part to a robot that will tell other’s about Jesus as you learn from the stories of Jesus’ life. With each lesson your children will hear stories from Jesus life and learn how these stories apply to their everyday life.

Leaving Lust Vegas

Every man, and woman, struggles with it. The lure of lust spares no one. It destroys marriage, wrecks relationships, objectifies individuals, and leads ultimately to spiritual ruin. With such a powerful hold on humanity, how do we defeat this enemy? How do we leave behind something that resides primarily in our minds? How do we Leave Lust Vegas? That’s the challenge of Ed Young’s new series, as he teaches Christ-followers how to leave whatever Vegas they find themselves in because of lust.

The business of lust is everywhere; it has become a mainstream commodity in our culture. But the real lure of lust is not outside of us; it is inside. The battle we face as Christian leaders is the battle for the hearts, souls and minds of men and women trapped in the darkness of their own sin. This series will not only give practical strategies on how to leave Lust Vegas. It will also talk about the incredible destination that awaits those who are freed from the stranglehold of sexual sin: pure love and real desire, abundant life and authentic joy. We cannot defeat lust with shame and guilt but rather with the Life and Light that Christ offers. Stay tuned to CreativePastors.com over the next several weeks and follow along with Ed in this powerful series, Leaving Lust Vegas.

Are You Politicked?

Politicked?
Cast Your Vote. Raise Your Voice.
New Series, Beginning October 10-11

Are you politicked? Well, Ed Young is, and he’s going to do something about it. Ed begins a new series this weekend entitled “Politicked” that cuts to the heart of what is happening on the American landscape today. Have you wondered lately what the church’s role should be in the political arena? Do you as a pastor have some things you’d like to say about where our country is headed, but you’re not sure if you should? Then you don’t want to miss this series.

People are scared, angry, confused and many feel deceived by their leaders. In this series, Ed helps answer these pressing questions and more: What does the future hold? What’s our role in this election? What’s God’s mandate when it comes to government? Who can we trust? Better yet, who would Jesus vote for?

In this controversial series, Ed Young looks at the uncertainty we all face when it comes to faith and politics. And as he sifts through the political rhetoric and reveals at our responsibility, he gets to the truth behind, or above, it all.

Due to the very timely nature of this series, we will be making sermon materials available on a weekly basis following each weekend message, beginning with the first message entitled “Avalanche.” Materials available in download form include transcripts, outlines, mindmaps, and MP3s. And, as always, you can follow along with this series on our weekly podcast. Check back each week as Ed challenges each of us to cast our votes and raise our voices.