For those who made it to church yesterday I'm sure you would agree it was another day to remember for all the right reasons; especially Sunday Morning. We had a really good turn out to the morning service, but were down in numbers on Sunday night.
Sunday morning: This turned out to be one of the most memorable morning services for 2008. I decided to speak at the start of the service before the worship. I felt such an anointing as I brought the message "Seeking the Reality of the Presence of God". This was a follow on to my previous messages: "Seeking a Fresh Visitation from God"; "Seeking the Creative Power of the Holy Spirit"; and "Seeking the Real Fire of God".
The basic thrust of this message was the belief that many attend church expecting the pastor be in his place; expecting the worship leader to be in his place; expecting others to be in their place; expecting church be much the same this week as it was last week; but not really expecting God to be present. There is no expectation of God because there is no seeking after the reality of God's presence.
People have settled for less than the presence of God; they have settled for a "hymn prayer sandwich service" or a more modern service; they have settled for church as it was last week; they have settled for the "same old same old"; rather than seek the reality of God's presence.
My final thoughts were to encourage the church to not be content with less than a fresh visitation from God; to not be content with less than the creative power of the Holy Spirit; to not be content with less than the Real Fire of God; and to not be content with less than the reality of the presence of God.
Sunday night: Continuing with the series "Facing the Giants" I spoke on "Facing the Giant of Anxiety". Here I showed that David had anxious thoughts (Psalm 139:23); that Solomon knew what it was to have an anxious heart (Proverbs 12:25) especially given the fact that he had 600 wives!; and that Paul understood that even Christians would face this giant anxiety and so he encouraged the church to not be anxious about anything (Phil. 4:6).
When Goliath challenged the armies of Israel, David saw what they saw; he heard what they heard; but he did not let the Giant of Anxiety frighten him off, but rather he ran towards the giant and took him out; but he did so in the name of the God of Israel.
We saw that David talked to God; he talked to himself; but he also talked to the giant. My final thoughts were to encourage those present to talk with God; talk with self; and even talk to the giant. "Submit yourself to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you"
Afterwards we spent time praying for and ministering to several people who came forward for prayer, specifically those who felt they were being oppressed by the giant of anxiety. Thanks also to James Scott who shared about his experience and shared a poem he had written out of that experience. It's great to know that James is now a year on in his commitment to Jesus Christ.
Thursday Night Specials: Last Thursday Virtuous Women put on a special event called "Sisterhood". Every report and every comment was nothing short of amazing. Thanks to all of those women who planned and put on this event and for those men who helped prior to and during the event. Well done Virtuous Women.
Next Thursday will be our last for 2008. This is the ADVANCE NIGHT and the focus will be on 'Making the most of your time'. It will commence sharp at 7.45 and will finish at 9 pm.
Riddle/Question: The answer to last week's question is TIME. Well done to all who got it right.
This week's question is: What keeps going up, and although it might stop, it never comes back down?
This week's Bible verse: Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Jack's pat in the back: This week's pat in the back goes to Adder for simply being there for so many others when asked for help. He should definitely have an 'L' in front of Adder, because he is a Ladder!
I am sending a separate email regarding the Saturday Night Christmas Party.
Have a great week. See you soon.
Stay focused; stay strong; and keep being a God-influence.
Pastor Jack
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