God Our Generosity

Nov 24

It’s so easy to get stuck in a routine. While structure and stability are important to have, as a body of believers we can easily get caught in the normal motions of things in a service. Today was all about making sure we stayed in the structure, but experience a newness and fresh wind of God in our time of gathering together.

In my heart, I knew the sermon today would be challenging, so I wanted to make sure we left also encouraged and most of all, speaking of the encounters we had with God. As I arrived to open the building, I turned on worship and began praying over the rooms as the teams were on their way. It was important to set an atmosphere of faith before we got into our “routine” of setting up.

One by one, the servants and saints trickled in, eager as always to lend that helping hand of service in bringing things in to set up. Stephanie led the teams in direction and we were off to get things done. One of the things I am very proud of as a church is the involvement of the younger generation. Almost half of our set up team is under 20 years old. Their heart for God and His bride are incredible.

The time of prayer at 9:15 was part of a “routine”, but it was nothing ordinary today. God’s presence was very much there as we sought Him in reverence. We prayed for family members far from God and then I brought a challenge on staying in unity as we gathered together. When we stand together as one, seeking the Lord and His presence, we are sure to meet Him in His Glory.

The sounds of clapping were at an all time high as we sang to “He Has Made Me Glad”. It was a genuine joy that filled the room and we certainly entered His courts with praise and thanksgiving. The tone was set and we were experiencing His goodness in a tangible way.

I felt to take a moment before the sermon to challenge everyone in how we approach church. I read over I Chronicles 16:1-12 and how the Israelites sought the presence of the Lord. A lot of Christians come to church, dragging themselves in, tired, worn out, and exhausted from the week. While we certainly can come to the well to satisfy our thirst and renew our strength, when it becomes a pattern in life rather than a one off experience, we are missing out on so much God has to offer.

What if rather than limping in, we follow the command of I Chronicles 16:11, “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually” all throughout the week and get strengthened so we can come into His presence on Sundays with something to offer Him?

In the room next door, the children continued to learn their way through the Bible and were taught from the Book of Ruth. There is a sincere preciousness of the children of this Church. They are hungry for God, desire to know more about Him, and are eager to come ready on Sunday, having studied their Bibles and who God is during the week with their family. We are building a church for families to grow together.

I was eager to teach what God had deposited in me earlier in the week. I taught from John 3:16 as we learned more about God and His character. He is a generous God and we are called to reflect that generosity in our life, as fruit of the love He has given and developed in us by His Spirit. You can listen to that sermon here.

Already encountering His presence and goodness, we were eager to enter into worship. The sound of the voices today was something special. Again, it was about unity. One voice, one heart, one purpose - to glorify and honor our King!

On Saturday as I was putting together the worship set, I felt we needed to take a moment before the last song to set our heart and mind at rest. We can do so much striving in our worship. While it’s good to pursue God, doing so from a place of rest and already knowing we are loved is something we need to work on as a Western Church.

As we held the communion elements in our hands, we sang the song “Make Me a Bethany”, finding a rest and peace in Him. As we were worshiping, I felt a strong sense we needed to pray for heaviness to be lifted. I called people forward after the song was done to receive prayer and deliverance if they were experiencing an abnormal heaviness. Many people come forward and we spent the remaining time before cleaning things up in prayer for each other.

Our desire this day was to meet God and experience a newness and freshness from Him. As His Word declares in Jeremiah 29:12-13, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Today we found God.