Life

Ebenezer…What the heck?

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

I have been learning some new (to me) hymns lately.

Now for years I heard my Grandmother tell me I needed to sing more hymns because “the young people needed to learn them”. I will agree that there are some great ones to be learned so my Grandma had a point. Actually, I wish I would have listened a long time ago because there are some hymns that I wish I would have learned a long time ago.

A couple of weeks ago was one of those times but I came across some words in a song that I had no idea what it meant.

As a worship leader it is always great to expand your vocabulary and this was one of those times.

As I was studying what it meant I realized that this could be a teachable moment for myself and the church! I bet most people who have sung this don’t  know what it means either. Ever happened to you?

The song we sang is Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing which has the line “Here I raise mine Ebenezer” in it. When I first read the line I was like….What the heck is that? So I did a little studying!

In 1 Samuel 7:12 it says:

Then Samuel took a stone and called its name Ebenezer for he said, Till now the lord has helped us.

The Hebrew Translation of Ebenezer is “Stone of Help”

The Israelites had finally defeated the Philistines and had taken back the Ark of the Covenant.

Samuel set up a marker stone to identify and remind people of Gods faithfulness.

God  has been faithful in the past, In our present and He will be in our future.

So on that Sunday we passed out rocks. Now if you think they may throw them at you then you might want to rethink it. 🙂

We took our little stone as a reminder of His faithfulness. We all have battles. We’ve been through them, we may be going through them now and they’ll come. We need our Ebenezer. We need our reminder.  When things seem to really suck our first reaction or thought is to quit or give up. What would happen if the first thing we did is remind ourself of Gods faithfulness? Remind ourself that God had been faithful, that He has saved you, that He sent His son to die for you. I guarantee you can think of at least one thing to remind yourself of His faithfulness.

Ebenezer

Its time to raise your Ebenezer! Its time to set a reminder.

Worship leaders its time to expand your vocabulary, its time to get creative. Use rocks if you have too.

Heres the video of it. It was filmed on an iPhone!! Ebenezer Video

J
Ebenezer

Why I love her/She must be crazy/I was a kid

Posted on by Jason Nicholas


I absolutely adore my wife.

Today is 13 years that we have been married. Honestly its crazy to think that. Yes its cliché to even say it but oh so true… why she married me is still a mystery.

I was a punk, I had white hair from bleaching it so much. An eyebrow ring, 5 or 6 earrings and really was not her type. Forget that, I know I wasn’t her type. I was a kid and she was a woman.

How or why or what (besides God) that helped her make the decision to marry me is still crazy.

I know she didn’t know what she was getting into and neither did I. Thankfully she didn’t or she might have said no!

I worked construction, was in a band and helping out at a youth group. She was a college graduate and had good job. Yea…We didn’t really go together. I still can remember what she was wearing on our first date! I know people go crazy talking about love at first sight but this girl had my heart after our first date.

Did she know that marrying me would mean living in Charlotte or in a fishing village in Thailand, or now moving to Metro NYC?

I would say  NO. Actually… I know so because she told me. 🙂

I love that she thinks I’m cheesy, I love that she calls me Jas, I love her smile, I love her laugh, I love her Hazel eyes, I love the way she loves me, I love that she love Jesus, I love that she has stuck with me through the good and the bad, I love that she supports me, I love that she believes in me, I love she is willing to go wherever we feel God is sending us, I love the way she loves our children, I love the fact this blog will embarrass her, I love how creative she is, I love her style, I love she knows me better than I do, I love when she’s stubborn, I love that she is more gorgeous today than when I met her(seriously), I love that she is adventurous, I love she can be a city girl and still love the outdoors, I love that we trust each other, I love to make her laugh, I love to hear her laugh, I love that she loves teeth, I love she is always singing or humming, I love she lets me dream big, I love love to love her.

I know for a fact that I didn’t love her this much when we got married. She had my whole heart then and apparently my heart has gotten bigger because she has even more of it now. I am truly grateful that she chose to spend the rest of her life with me.

I love you Brandi Nicholas. I love you with every part of me.

You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

DatingWedding2013

The Family

These Pictures prove that she has only gotten more beautiful!!

Here we GO!!!

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

I wanted to let everyone know whats going on with the Nicholas Family!!

Well here it is…

At the end of May we will be moving to NY!

I have recently taken a job at First Baptist Church Brewster in Brewster, NY. I have actually been flying back and forth since January but we will be moving up as a family at the end of May. I was hired as the Worship Arts Pastor but have recently been made the Associate Pastor. I am still over the Worship Arts Department but I also oversee Education (small groups, youth, kids ministry)!

The Village of Brewster / The Town of Southeast

The Village of Brewster is 58 miles outside of Times Square in the town of Southeast. It is in the New York City Metro area. The Pastor of First Brewster is actually a southerner too! Rick Julian is his name and he is from Greenville, SC and he spent some summers in Canton, NC which is pretty close to Franklin. Small world…. I am very blessed to work with someone like Rick. He is truly a Pastor and he is unlike anyone I have ever met. His wife’s name is Rachel and they have two kids, Abby and Brooks.

We are very excited about this humongous and scary faith step but we know were headed in the right direction. NY is nothing like NC when it comes to church’s. In case you didn’t know there is not one on every corner in the North. Actually a bible believing, bible teaching church is few and far between. A lot of them are avenues for the Pastor to share their political views or discuss what is going on in the news. The opportunities to reach people here are unbelievable. This area could truly be considered a mission field… Forget that, it is a mission field. 

Did you know that there is around 800 languages spoken in NY?

And,

1 out of every 16 people in the United States lives within a 75 mile radius of Times Square!!

Dang… Thats a lot of people.

One of the things that we loved about the church was that it actually had a variety of people. It really is a church for everyone. From Homeless to the top of the Corporate ladder and everything in between you name it and First Brewster has it. It is a regional church which means some people drive up to 1.5hrs just to come to church!

We are very excited about the ministry possibilities here. They are pretty much endless and I feel God has some really amazing things in store for my family and I. We know God is going to use us to make a difference in the North East!

One thing I would ask of you is this:

PRAY FOR US!!

We would love to have you praying for us! Prayer works and we need it!

A few immediate ones are,

  • Easy Transition for the family
  • Find a house
  • Find the right school for the kids
  • Make good connections

Would you commit to pray for us once a week?

If that’s something you are interested in would you email me at jnicholasfamily@gmail.com and let me know! We will send you more updates and keep you posted with whats going on. I have some really awesome stories I look forward to sharing with you!

Excited about the adventure,

Jason, Brandi, Jonah and Jada

Here is a few video links:

Here is Pastor Rick

Hear is our Easter Egg Hunt from last week!

And Heres one we made for Easter Sunday

Brewsterchurch.com

We’re Not Alone

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

Sometimes encouragement can come from places you never expect. Today it came for me from a song from Phillip Philips. Yes he was the guy that won American Idol last year but I have to say I like this guys music.

Traveling back and forth from “home” can be tough. Today was one of those days. Now I don’t get discouraged easily but I really just missed my family and felt anxious at the moment. I turned on my radio and his song “Home” came on. Here is the chorus….

Settle down, it’ll all be clear
Don’t pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m gonna make this place your home

For me this was good! It was I needed to hear at that very moment. I thanked God right then for the encouragement knowing that God has sent us, He is in control, and I am not alone!

God can speak to you through all sorts of ways. Are we listening? Are we paying attention? Do you realize that you are not alone?

Make it a point this week to be more attentive to hearing from God. We don’t have to be the ones doing all the talking!

J

 

The Waiting Room (You need to check it out!)

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

There are messages that you hear that change everything. The ones that make you think and act. The ones that you listen to more than once. The ones that you tell your friends about! This message was one of those for me. Its called The Waiting Room by Holly Furtick from Elevation Church. It was actually recommended to me by a friend that apparently knows me well!

If you’re in a season, out of a season, maybe chest high deep in a season or maybe the season has hit the fan I would recommend taking the time to check it out!! It will be well worth your time.

Just click on this link! The Waiting Room

Are they real?

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

Yep ….They are

Do you have friends that believe in you? Do you believe in your friends?

If your friend comes to you and shares their heart do you love them even more or throw them to the curb?

I’m blessed to have friends in my life that believe in me.

Friends that I can share anything to and they wont turn their back.

Friends that are Heart & Soul.

We’ve stuck it out through the good and bad. They’ve seen me at my worst and at my best but they love me for who I am.

SO…

To you all that are my Heart & Soul friends…

I love you and thank you. I wouldn’t be where I am with out you.

To those who pretended to be my friend….. Yea, I’m better off without you.

Heart & Soul

J

 

 

Do what you love.

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

I had the privilege to go to TN this weekend to lead worship and I loved it.

Ben Walker, Josh Walker, Tony Mengacci, Kimberly Lackey and myself joined up with Andrew Gouge to play for their 2 morning services.

I am blessed to be able to sing and play with a team like this.

WHAT I KNOW…

*They are Men and Women of integrity who are willing to go after the presence of God without worrying what anybody even thinks of our “style”.

*Their heart isnt to be a rockstar but see people be touched by God.

*They love what they do so much their willing to sacrifice to be a part of it.

*Its not about them its about you.

HERES THE DEAL

We were doing what we love.

Going after God, being led by the Holy Spirit, and leading people into the presence.

If you dont do what you love then what are you doing?

J

 

Christians Are Lame

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

Yes..Its true,

They are…I am…You are. We are lame, somehow, someway and some days.

Were human which means we will do and say dumb things. Were hypocrites in some way or fashion at some point. Some more frequently than others. Some stand out more too.

We act like any other person.

Sometimes we do things in “Jesus’s” name…

Sometimes we say “God told me”…

If were going to say we are followers of Jesus then why don’t we act like it?

When we do things in Jesus’s name is it hurting someone or lifting them up? The Bible isn’t a “Sword” used to destroy fellow brothers and sisters.

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK if you SAY you’re a Christian.

People will never forget what you say. Once it comes out, it can’t go back in.

Be Real…Not lame

Love…Not Hate

We are the church so lets stop giving the church a bad name.

 

J

 

People Matter

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

It’s true! People matter. I’m not even coming from the love people because Jesus would side of things either but, that would be a good point!

How we act, what we say or do or don’t do will be remembered. That’s a guarantee.

We should be known to genuinely care for people. To listen to what people have to say and not always give answers.(We don’t know everything)

People can tell if your really listening and paying attention.
Don’t be the guy or girl that can glaze over and nod while someone is talking to you. Look in their eyes and prove you care! Listen to them, allow them to open up to you and be real. That’s what they want, it’s what you and I want.

Bottom line..
People matter so act like it!
Be real. Cut the crap and be real.

J

Make a Cluster!

Posted on by Jason Nicholas

Make a cluster?

Im talking small groups today and here’s the deal…

Small groups of close people mean you’re a family.

Family will support, love, encourage and even be willing to risk their lives for you. It can be hard but in the end you will be thankful.

Small groups of close people have a connection.

You can be real, open, honest, share your struggles and your joys. You have people to celebrate the victories with you and comfort in the losses.

Small groups of close people stay connected.

90% of people in a small group don’t lose touch with the church or become wishy-washy with their faith. Iron sharpens Iron and your small group will sharpen you!

Small groups of close people are real.

They are real with each other, others and themselves. You can’t hide from people who know you. No fake it till you make it because they know who you are!

FIND A GROUP, MAKE A GROUP, WHATEVER IT TAKES.

DONT GO THROUGH LIFE ALONE…..ITS BORING AND PAINFUL!! 

“We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.”    Sonia Johnson

J