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DO YOU REALLY KNOW THE POWER OF THE CROSS?

A lot of us who call ourselves Christians do not yet understand what an amazing God we truly serve. Also, we do not quite get the full significance of the cross. Oh, yes ... we understand that we are saved by what God did for us through Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. But even before time began, God had ordained that the cross would be so significant to us that there would be no life without it. Not only does the cross hold us together as the body of Christ, but it quite literally holds our bodies together too.

Not quite sure what I am talking about? Of course, not. You could not possibly know unless someone shows you. Check out this short video of a message preached by Brother Louie Giglio in Texas. It has a surprise that will bring chills to your body and tears to your eyes. We promise, it is worth the time that it takes to watch it!!!

Blessings!

DO YOU LOVE THEM ENOUGH TO TELL THEM? ...

We put this video online as our "headliner" because it really says who we are. We do church outside the walls. We take Christ where people live, celebrate, and mourn. We're not very big on religion, but we believe absolutely that Jesus is Lord, that He established the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, and that He is returning (SOON) to reign as King! We live for a relationship with Him and to tell others about Him!

In this video, Bro Jaybird stops during a motorcycle ride at what is an all-too-common sight along the highways of South Carolina and our nation. Unexpected, sudden tragedy ends lives and changes families forever. Are you prepared for the unexpected? Do you know where your soul -- the real you -- will spend eternity after your body dies? It is possible to know. You can actually be sure by establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ and joining the Kingdom of Heaven through Him.

There is Good News! God doesn't have anything against you! No matter what you have done in your life, your sins have all been forgiven. Jesus has already paid the price. What God did at Calvary on the cross through Jesus Christ took care of all the sins of the world. And it was for all people everywhere. That includes you! You cannot add to it or take away from it. But you can enjoy the benefits starting right now! Here's how...

BELIEVE!

That's it! Just believe! Believe so firmly that you would stake your life on it. After all, that's is what's at stake. Your life ...

You don't have to face in any special direction. You don't have to bow a certain way and repeat special prayers or chants. You don't have to burn incense or pay homage to plastic cats either. Those are all religious practices. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a religion. It is a relationship between man and God. This relationship was made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. You can have a personal relationship with God too.

Believe that God loves you. Accept what He did for you through Jesus as a gift. Know that God is good. Get rid of the sin and evil in your life by telling God about it. And ask Jesus to be a permenant part of your life today.

If you have done this, you belong to the Kingdom of Heaven too. You are a child of God because of Jesus Christ. That is good news so share it with others. Telll somebody. Let others know you have made this important decision. In fact, contact Bro Jaybird and tell him you saw his highway to heaven video online. Blessings!

ARE YOU A "PC CHURCH" OR A "MAC CHURCH"? ...

Check out the videos below. They are parodies of those "PC / Mac" commercials on TV. They say a lot about many churches today. They also say a lot about who we are at Suburban Baptist Church, and how we feel about what a church should be. We're not a "normal church," but lately, we have been praising God for that ...

AN OLD VISION THAT SEEMS BRAND NEW ...

If any of the things below frustrate you a little when you think of church, join the club! They are all things that have frustrated most of our brothers and sisters here at Suburban too! Take a look ...

• Church programs.
• Strategic plans.
• Policies and procedures manuals.
• Business meetings ... minutes ... majority rule ... Roberts Rules of Order.
• Church statistics.
• Worship agendas.
• Futuring committees.
• Big money for new building projects.
• Saving "the saved" each Sunday ... and "preaching to the choir!"
• Having the best sound system and entertainment set up in the community.
• Marketing plans ... advertising on TV and radio ... billboards too!

"Whatever happened to the Holy Spirit?" we have asked ourselves? "What became of Jesus building His church upon that rock of faith?" (Matt 16:18)

Our vision for church is to get things back as close to the First Century church as possible. While we cannot do things exactly like they did it (... the world has changed a lot), we will do what we can to make sure that church tradition and religious practices do not get in the way of worshipping in truth and spirit (John 4:23-24)!

DUMP THE "iPOD" AND BREAK OUT THE "jPOD" ...

The differences even carry over to the music at Suburban. We don't fight about styles because nobody can even define the music we do sometimes (it is a mix of so many different things ... like the church itself). Anyway, the video below is cool, and It did inspire us to add a U2 video at the bottom of this page. Enjoy!

BECOMING THE LAST CHURCH YOU WOULD WANT TO JOIN ...

The truth is, most of our church family did not start here. Suburban was not the first church they attended. In fact, it's the last one most of us would have ever wanted to be part of ... but here we are. Our faith at Suburban is traditional, but mostly ... we don't seem to fit the mold a "traditional church." For us ...

• It is no longer enough to plan church services on Sunday mornings. We need to get outside the walls to serve homeless, hungry, and hurting people on Sundays too!
• It's not enough to be an "entertainment center" for the community. We need to be a city of refuge for the cast-aways -- those Jesus would have called "the least of these."
• It's not enough to recruit nice people from neighboring churches to become new members at our church. We need to go to the "least of these" and touch them and love them and tell them that Jesus loves them too, and He came especially for them.
• It's not important for us to build a big church. We need to build big men and women in the eyes of God.
• It's not enough to focus on church growth. We need to learn and teach Kingdom living so that we can grow disciples!!!
• It's not enough to have a large crowd of people in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. We need to have a large team of ministers out in the world throughout the week!!!.

AND THIS HELPS EXPLAIN WHY WE ARE LIKE WE ARE ...

Today's church has to function in a world that is changing faster than a "futuring committee" can dream. The only way to do this is for the church to STOP LEADING (I told you we are different) -- and START FOLLOWING. The people of Suburban have made that commitment. We are followers of Jesus Christ. We will trust Him to build His own church!!!

Take a look at the video below. It was NOT produced here at Suburban, but it reflects what we know about the things that are happening in the world around us. It is this same world that we are committed to love in the name of Jesus!

SHIFT really does happen, and we believe there must be a paradigm shift in the church too. At Suburban, we're not into building big buildings or getting the next dozen into the sanctuary on Sunday. We have shifted our thinking to reaching those children in Third World countries who are getting computers. We may never actually meet them, but we know that if we focus on growing discipleship rather than growing membership, we will learn what "Kingdom living" really means!

LATELY, WE HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO A LITTLE U2 OURSELVES ...

If you made it this far, you probably heard the "Mac Christian" saying he had some U2 on his iPod. We don't know what song he was listening to, but we would just about guarantee it was "Yahweh!" Listen to that song below. It expresses the name and character of Our Father very well ...

IF YOU GET IT ...

If you know that Jesus is truly a King, and you understand that He will return soon to sit on His throne, then you surely recognize that the real role of the church is to be prepared to live in His Kingdom. And we are to invite others and help prepare them too. That's what Jesus taught us and what He sent His disciples to do.

If that makes sense to you, you probably also recognize that religious traditions and practices almost always run contrary to the reality of living out your faith as a member of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

And, if you do not have a church, Suburban may be right for you. Look around this site and check us out.

• It really does not matter where you live.
• Yes, we are physically located in South Carolina, but through the Internet, we have a global minstry.
• We want to love you, and we want to feel your love through Jesus Christ too.

Let us hear from you! May God richly bless you!