| SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2007 - THE WARM GLOW OF PEACE |
Peace - the 2nd week of Advent's theme, is such an elusive thing in our society. In the past week, we have had:
When He returns, His kingdom will know no end and the lion and the lamb will lay down together - peace at last. But for now, while mankind struggles for control of his own destiny, struggling with the Almighty, there is little peace to be found. Peace though, doesn't have to evade us. Our topic on Sunday was about the peace that comes when we see that God still has a plan and is actively working in the hearts and lives of those all around us. We took time to look at all the different stories that converged at the birth of Christ, and we asked the question, "Do you think that, besides being a good Story Teller, God had any other reason for telling us all the stories surrounding Christ's birth? After all, in our "get to the point" world, would the birth of Christ been just as well with a summation - "Christ was born to Mary and Joseph" - and then move on?" Well, I really think that God told us all the stories to show us the importance and power of knowing other people's stories, to show us that God works all the time, in people I am not even aware of, and to show us that we NEED to connect with others so that we can see God's movement more clearly. You see, I know God is working in my life, but there are times when He seems far away. It is at those times ESPECIALLY when I need to connect with God's people (the CHURCH) and see that "Hey, God's still working." When I know God is on the scene and working, even when things are going chaotically wrong, it brings PEACE. He is here - He is working. I can relax and rest, have some peace. There is such power in a community that shares their stories with each other, and it is a MAJOR missing ingredient in the lives of so many at the Journey. I pray that this changes soon - for my part, I plan on leading people to a better way than only having vertical growth (toward God), but rather where people have horizontal growth as well (together in community). It was a GREAT day here at The Journey. The praise band was awesome - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was fantastic. Great job all the way around, although I felt there was some nervous quietness during the message as we talked about connecting. Church, we need to connect and grow in this whole process of journeying - and that includes together. Our attendance was 132, and God is good.
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