We've heard about some of the great things that people have been doing with their "generosity stimulous package" that they received during the launch of Smile On Another. Check out some of the responses to the Smile On Another posting here...

This weekend (January 3 & 4), we're announcing the totals of our Smile On Another campaign that we started back in the beginning of December. We can't wait to find out what kind of harvest we'll see come in to benefit Champions Foundation.

Plan to be at services this weekend for the exciting announcement! Service times...

Where’s God when life stinks?

a. Holding the dead fish.
b. On vacation, indifferent to my circumstances.
c. Encouraging me to keep going.
d. Right there with me… lighting a Glade scented candle.

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

Life Lesson #6: The Presence Of Problems Doesn't Indicate The Absence Of God.

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way," (James 1:2-4).

Every problem you face has a question attached to it... which makes it a test. Think about it like this: if you answer the question properly, you advance. That's why the Bible describes testing as an opportunity.

Students don't look forward to testing -especially surprise tests. When there are a bunch of problems laid out in front of you, there is a question that is waiting to be answered. The question might be, "Are you doing the right thing for the right reason?" or, "How do you handle offense?"

Sometimes during a season of testing, you might fell like God is silent. Just remember that in school and in life, the teacher rarely talks during a test. In times of testing, God may be quiet, but He’s never absent.

As you were deciding between icicle and regular lights in the store aisle, some guy shoved in front of you and took both boxes… and they were the last ones. You…

a. Angrily chase him through the store, threatening to run him over with your cart.
b. Wait until he’s not looking, tip over the giant inflatable Santa Clause so it pins him to the
ground, then take the lights from his cart and run.
c. Shrug your shoulders and wish him Merry Christmas anyway.
d. Decide you don’t need string lights because the glow of love and Christmas joy from inside
your home will light up your neighborhood.

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

Life Lesson #5: You Do Yourself A Favor When You Forgive Others.

Ebenezer Scrooge went through life holding a grudge against the people in his life who had wronged him. He was angry at people and at God. Sometimes people find it hard to forgive because they define forgiveness as opening themselves to being hurt again. They think that forgiving someone who hurt you means that you need to trust them again. Scripture does not teach us to trust people who are not trustworthy, but God does teach us to forgive everyone. Unforgiveness hurts us more than the person we’re holding a grudge against.

Sometimes, we find it hard to forgive because we think that by forgiving, we are doing the other person a favor -and in our minds, they don't deserve to be forgiven. But, we need to remember that whether or not they "deserve" our forgiveness is not the point. By choosing to forgive, we keep unforgiveness from eating away at us.

I would be happy if…

a. I don’t believe in “happy.”
b. I looked like my favorite celebrity and had a trillion dollars.
c. I’m pretty happy now.
d. Happy is my middle name (and “supremely ecstatic” is my first name).

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

Life Lesson #4: It Takes Courage To Be Happy.

“I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am,” (Philippians 4:11b-13).

How happy are you right now on a scale of 1 to 10? If you answered between 1 and 9, what is holding you back from a 10?

The natural response is to evaluate your happiness based on your circumstances. You might say, "I'm happy because I just met this great guy/girl," or "because I just got a raise," or "because we just moved to a new home." The problem with this approach is that happiness based on circumstances is short-lived and will leave you unhappy most of the time.

Maybe you've assumed that anyone who is happy is automatically happy -that they don't have to work at it. Maybe you've convinced yourself that happiness is for people who don't have any problems and get all the breaks in life. The reality is that happy people don't always feel happy and they have problems just like everyone else. It takes courage to transcend circumstances choose to be happy.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." - Matthew 1:18-23 (NIV)

Join us this weekend at Champions Centre for one of four Family Christmas Services. Christmastime is our opportunity to celebrate “God with us,” so invite family and friends and we’ll see you this weekend. View service times…

When I think of change…

a. I want more of it… in my pocketbook.
b. I don’t want things to change. Let’s keep everything just like it is now.
c. I have some changes I’d like to make in my life.
d. World peace… Unicorns and leprechauns dancing on a rainbow… painting public sidewalks bright, joyous colors…. Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote becoming best friends…

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

Life Lesson #3: It’s only when we exercise our right to choose that we can experience the joy of change.

“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live,” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

How would you complete this sentence? “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if…” (and don't make your response something that is dependant on another person).

God gave us an incredible gift: the ability to make choices. What would you see as a wonderful change in your life? Many of the things that we would like to see as a positive changes in our lives are initiated by the choices we have the ability to make.

As long as we keep making the same kind of choices, we’ll always get the same kind of results. This was true for Ebenezer Scrooge, and it's true for us as well. When our choices change, so will our future.

Looking for more insight from the life lessons of Mr. Scrooge? Join us this weekend at Champions Centre...

You bring your Christmas tree home, only to find it crawling with ants and a bird's nest in the branches, so you…

a. Light the whole tree on fire and throw it in your neighbor’s yard.
b. Storm back to the tree farm, demanding a refund.
c. Use it as an opportunity to teach the kids about wildlife and nature.
d. Make a jelly sandwich for the ants, and set the bird free in a glorious meadow, whilst humming a happy Christmas carol.

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

Life Lesson #2: We cannot always control what happens, but we can control our response to what happens.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness,” (Matthew 6:22).

Ebenezer Scrooge really terrible things happen to him early in his life. They were issues beyond his control -circumstances he never asked for or expected. Ebenezer assumed that there was only one way to respond: bitter anger. He saw all of life through the lens of injustice and pain.

Right now, we are facing things in our lives that are beyond our control, but we don't have to view life in the same way as Ebenezer Scrooge. We can respond to life's adversity with prayer, faith and confidence in God’s goodness. We can choose to respond to hardship in a way that is constructive and beneficial. We can know that our God identifies with us in challenging times and that He's here to help (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Looking for more insight from the life lessons of Mr. Scrooge? Join us this weekend at Champions Centre...

When you think of the past, you...

a. Wish you could still be in it.
b. Have regrets.
c. Are thankful for the good times and look forward to the future.
d. Don’t even remember what you had for breakfast this morning.

If you chose "a" or "b," you may have a serious case of humbugitis. The cure, you ask? A good, solid dose of life lessons from our fictional friend, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Life Lesson #1: When we focus on the past, we miss the precious present.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing,” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

Ebenezer Scrooge made the mistake of focusing on his past, and sometimes we can be guilty of the very same thing. The next time you're driving, take a second to notice the ratio between the size of the rear-view mirror and the windshield. There's a reason that the rear-view mirror is smaller than the windshield. If you were to drive forward while only watching the mirror, the results would be disastrous.

In your car and in life, it’s not good to give the past more than just a glance. Are you spending so much of your life looking at the past that you’ve become a present-day Scrooge? The Bible warns us about this in Philippians 3:13 and Ecclesiastes 7:10. Make a decision to open your heart and life to what’s ahead of you.

Looking for more insight from the life lessons of Mr. Scrooge? Join us this weekend at Champions Centre...

Right now, our society is facing major economic challenges that are hitting close to home. Although budgets may be tight, our desires to be generous and make a difference have not diminished. We know that God's people want to help people in need, but may be struggling to figure out how to do that while their own funds might be more limited this year than in the past. The Champions Centre team decided to take this challenge head-on.

Every year, Champions Centre gives generously to people in need and partners financially with organizations that are making a difference in our local and global communities. This Christmas, we did things a little differently... Actually, it's quite the opposite of "little." We made Champions Centre history.

During weekend services on November 22 and 23, Pastor Kevin Gerald launched the Smile On Another campaign. He asked that one member of each household stand and receive an envelope and in each one was an amount of cash, or "seed money" as Pastor Kevin called it. He challenged each person to take their "seed money" and find a creative way to multiply it, then bring it back to services on December 20 and 21. All funds received will be directed to Champions Foundation and be used to resource its many local and international initiatives. In one weekend, Champions Centre invested approximately $30,000 cash in good faith to its members and attendees.

We're already hearing great stories about how people are multiplying their "seed money" for Champions Foundation, and we've been impressed with the resourcefulness and ingenuity of ideas. So, the question is... What are you doing with your Smile On Another "seed money?"

Leave a comment to let others know what you're doing and help jumpstart their own creativity for how they can multiply their "seed money."

Oh, and by the way... If you missed services on the 22nd and 23rd, but still want to participate in the Smile On Another campaign, it's not too late! You can start with your own amount of "seed money" and use your imagination and unique skills to multiply it and bring it with you to services on December 20 and 21.