Best of 2012 at The Paradox
Tis the season for "best of" lists, so here is the Top 10 most popular blog posts and sermons downloaded. Top 10 Blog Posts1. CHRISTIANS, CHURCH & COMFORT :: PART 1Pastor Jim's wife, Heather, wrote about how mission, and not comfort, should be the Church's focus after visiting Restore Church in Detroit, a church plant The Paradox supports: "Here comes my first default to comfort. What is a pregnant lady to do without a bathroom? What if I pee my pants? For real y’all…"2. HOW JESUS CHANGED ME - LACEYLacey shares her story of suffering from sexual abuse and her response to it. She looked to Jesus for answers to her suffering and got something far better.3. REDEMPTION GROUP PSALMS - MADELEINEMadeleine shares her Psalm (audio & written) from the Redemption Group celebration. "Then the ground beneath me began to shake, my enemy cowered and ran and your mighty hands held me close while in one sweep you ripped my walls up from their foundation and ground my bricks into powder."4. CHRISTIANS, CHURCH & COMFORT :: PART 2Part 2 of Pastor Jim's wife, Heather's, blog on Christians and their pursuit of comfort, specifically in the church.5. SEARCH PARTYLacey writes again, this time on her struggle to find identity in everything else - future mom, wife, employee - but the Gospel of Jesus. "So I’m an empty-wombed-soon-to-be-unemployed-sucky-wife. …and I’d be damned if Jesus let me stay that way."6. IMAGES - BAPTISMS JUNE/2012Pictures from one of our baptism services outside the Van Cliburn Hall in Downtown Fort Worth.7. HOW JESUS CHANGED ME - MARIO & CANDICEJesus stirred up Mario and Candice’s marriage through the Sex, Singleness, and Marriage series. They were convicted by the Spirit and began to confess and repent to God and one another. While walking in repentance they created a biblical vision for their marriage.8. SATISFIED & SINGLE"I easily believe God is withholding marriage from me for fill-in-the blank reason: not spiritually mature enough, not satisfied enough in my relationship with God, I still need to learn some lesson before He will gift me with a husband. Then the “spiritual” lies give way to worldly lies: I’m not attractive enough; I’m too independent; I’m not “girly” enough; I’m too intimidating, and if I “dumb down”, slim down, bat my eyelashes more often, and keep my mouth shut then I’ll be what some guy wants. "9. IMAGES - BAPTISMS SEPTEMBER/2012Pictures from our September baptisms.10. THOUGHTS ON A FORT WORTH STREET PREACHERPastor Jim shares some thoughts: "We sit in our comfortable chairs at our comfortable church drinking coffee to make us comfortable to listen to our comfortable pastor preach to us a comfortable sermon so we can feel more comfortable getting back in our comfortable cars driving back to our comfortable house to live our comfortable lives absent of anything uncomfortable – like sharing the Gospel with a family member, friend, co-worker, or neighbor."Top 10 Sermon Downloads1. It's All About Jesus2. Sex: God, Gift, or Gross?3. Singleness/Dating4. Love Never Ends5. Women & Marriage6. Selfish/Servant Lovers7. The Foolishness of the Cross8. Jesus Revealed9. Risk & Ambition for God's Glory10. Christians in Diapers