What Really Matters
Last Sunday, I went to church by myself. Justin and the boys were out of town on a guys weekend and it was my turn to volunteer in the nursery. Do you know how long its been since I have driven myself to church? Ha! It was weird. But so good and so easy.
Our pastor is one of the reasons that we love our church so much. I feel like he has been such a shephard of my faith. Challenging me, teaching me, guiding me, holding me accountable. He is not one to take the easy road or easy message. This Sunday was no exception. The study was on a continuation of our walk through the Gospel of John. Here is are the verses from The Message (love this Bible version!)
42Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). He immediately led him to Jesus.
So what's the point, right? (that was actually the title of the sermon) The point is that as soon as Andrew heard Jesus the first thing he did was run and get his brother Simon to tell him about Jesus. Here's the link to the message What's the Point
As believers, our ultimate commission is to tell The Good News. To our neighbors, our family, our friends, the world. How often we volunteer for missions and then miss the coworker sitting in the cubicle beside us at work. I have struggled with this simple message so many times. I have felt God just lob the opportunity out in front of me .. and I choke! He asked the questions, "Do you have family that you spend every Christmas with that don't know Jesus" I don't but I have friends. Friends I love with all my heart. Friends I would do anything for that don't know Jesus. And I am ashamed to say that while I continue to pray for them, I often left opportunities pass me by to share my heart and to share the love of our Father.
I felt convicted by this message. I think a lot of people did because at the end, he challenged us to sit in the quiet at the end of the sermon and choose 2 people that God placed on heart that we are going to pray for and that we are going to pray that God presents us with the opportunity to share his Good News this season. And when it happens, we are going to step up to the plate. There were a lot of tears in that place.
God clearly impressed upon my heart the names of those pray for. He also impressed upon me to post this message. Because often time I get caught up in using this to talk about my boys or our life and I miss THE MOST IMPORTANT part of my life. My relationship with Him. That if there is someone out there who reads this blog and doesn't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, that they may be encourage by what they read here. That they may see the JOY that He brings into life and the JOY He can bring to your life.
When our sanctuary was being remodeled and built, the members of the church met and wrote the names of the unsaved loved ones in their life on the concrete foundation. Read just one of the stories from The Foundation of Prayer that came in an email this week:
Rene Rivera, our Men's Ministry Coordinator, introduced me to his brother-in-law Brian at the Men: Pray gathering on Sep 25. Brian had accepted Christ as his Savior about a month earlier and was now praying for his marriage to be restored! Even as a new believer, he knows it starts with him being the spiritual leader.
At the conclusion of the prayer time, Brian noticed men writing names on the floor of the Worship Center on either side of the platform. Rene told how church members had written thousands of names on the foundation during the renovation in 2008. He explained that carpet was removed from those two places so people could continue to write names on our ongoing Foundation of Prayer.
Then, Rene walked Brian to the spot in the Worship Center where his name was written years before. Rene told him, "Under this carpet, in this aisle, your name is written on the foundation of this building. Eleanor and I wrote your name here over two years ago with the faith that you would come into a relationship with Christ. And God did it."
Stunned, amazed, and thankful, Brian asked if he could write his wife's name on the floor. And he did without hesitation.
"To God be the glory! I am so humbled about what He has done," Rene says. "Eleanor and I were just praying and being faithful and hopeful that God would bring Brian to Himself. What a privilege to show Brian where his name was written. Now, I know his name is written in the Book of Life."
So I am praying for my people, I am writing their names on the Foundation of Prayer and I am trying to step up to the challenge of sharing my faith with my friends and loved ones. Will you pray for me too?
Love,
The Riley's
Our pastor is one of the reasons that we love our church so much. I feel like he has been such a shephard of my faith. Challenging me, teaching me, guiding me, holding me accountable. He is not one to take the easy road or easy message. This Sunday was no exception. The study was on a continuation of our walk through the Gospel of John. Here is are the verses from The Message (love this Bible version!)
42Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). He immediately led him to Jesus.
So what's the point, right? (that was actually the title of the sermon) The point is that as soon as Andrew heard Jesus the first thing he did was run and get his brother Simon to tell him about Jesus. Here's the link to the message What's the Point
As believers, our ultimate commission is to tell The Good News. To our neighbors, our family, our friends, the world. How often we volunteer for missions and then miss the coworker sitting in the cubicle beside us at work. I have struggled with this simple message so many times. I have felt God just lob the opportunity out in front of me .. and I choke! He asked the questions, "Do you have family that you spend every Christmas with that don't know Jesus" I don't but I have friends. Friends I love with all my heart. Friends I would do anything for that don't know Jesus. And I am ashamed to say that while I continue to pray for them, I often left opportunities pass me by to share my heart and to share the love of our Father.
I felt convicted by this message. I think a lot of people did because at the end, he challenged us to sit in the quiet at the end of the sermon and choose 2 people that God placed on heart that we are going to pray for and that we are going to pray that God presents us with the opportunity to share his Good News this season. And when it happens, we are going to step up to the plate. There were a lot of tears in that place.
God clearly impressed upon my heart the names of those pray for. He also impressed upon me to post this message. Because often time I get caught up in using this to talk about my boys or our life and I miss THE MOST IMPORTANT part of my life. My relationship with Him. That if there is someone out there who reads this blog and doesn't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, that they may be encourage by what they read here. That they may see the JOY that He brings into life and the JOY He can bring to your life.
When our sanctuary was being remodeled and built, the members of the church met and wrote the names of the unsaved loved ones in their life on the concrete foundation. Read just one of the stories from The Foundation of Prayer that came in an email this week:
Rene Rivera, our Men's Ministry Coordinator, introduced me to his brother-in-law Brian at the Men: Pray gathering on Sep 25. Brian had accepted Christ as his Savior about a month earlier and was now praying for his marriage to be restored! Even as a new believer, he knows it starts with him being the spiritual leader.
At the conclusion of the prayer time, Brian noticed men writing names on the floor of the Worship Center on either side of the platform. Rene told how church members had written thousands of names on the foundation during the renovation in 2008. He explained that carpet was removed from those two places so people could continue to write names on our ongoing Foundation of Prayer.
Then, Rene walked Brian to the spot in the Worship Center where his name was written years before. Rene told him, "Under this carpet, in this aisle, your name is written on the foundation of this building. Eleanor and I wrote your name here over two years ago with the faith that you would come into a relationship with Christ. And God did it."
Stunned, amazed, and thankful, Brian asked if he could write his wife's name on the floor. And he did without hesitation.
"To God be the glory! I am so humbled about what He has done," Rene says. "Eleanor and I were just praying and being faithful and hopeful that God would bring Brian to Himself. What a privilege to show Brian where his name was written. Now, I know his name is written in the Book of Life."
So I am praying for my people, I am writing their names on the Foundation of Prayer and I am trying to step up to the challenge of sharing my faith with my friends and loved ones. Will you pray for me too?
Love,
The Riley's