I know its worth it

I must admit to being brought to tears last night as one of our members shared their experience of our 'Deliberately Different' Harvest service last Sunday.

It was the intensity of his voice, it was the emotion on his face, it was the passion in his eyes, it was the excitement of seeing God at work and of prayers being answered.

'I was concerned about what we were going to do, BUT.... they came, MY FAMILY CAME!'

These are moments we are created for, moments when it all makes sense and the struggles that we endure suddenly seem worthwhile, when prayers are answered and God is at work. We give Him all the praise and honour and glory that is due His mighty name!

This was the situation, one lady was telling me how sad she was to have missed the event and reassuring me that it wasn't because of worry or of offense (to which I was relieved!) while at that very moment another person came along to share as well.

It went something like this, 'I was quite concerned about some of the things that we were doing and didn't like the idea at all... BUT, they came, MY FAMILY CAME!'

If this is the only reason why we are doing what we are doing then it is enough for me, healing families, seeing prayers answered, seeing the kingdom of God touching down in the centre of our church. It is all too much for me, and brings me to tears, to my knees every time I think about it...

I wonder if anyone else has testimony to share about last weekend or about what they are seeing or feeling that God is doing within or outside the church?! Please feel free to add your comments to this blog...

Love to all, please keep on praying, keep on pressing in to God, keep on walking and talking with Him that He will guide. He knows the way.

My love and prayers are for you all, for your protection, for your growth, for your encouragement and enlightenment... be bold, be strong!!

Murray

Exciting Times

Who's Bringing who?

So, the first Mum has her own two, the next has her one, but the next one wanted to come so much that she rounded up a couple of kids from the street and brought them!! How cool is that..

The next Mum starts asking about coming on Sundays because her little boy is desperate to come. Where is my passion for coming to church? Causes me to examine my motivation, attendance out of duty, need, expectation or out of reverence to God and a desire to join with a local expression of His people to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, putting my own needs and wants to the side and joining the throng to worship God as He is the only one worthy of my praise...

Did the kids bring the Mums, or did the Mums pick up random children on the way just so they could come!! Brilliant!!

Let us keep our perspective of why we do what we do. Examine our hearts for correct motivation, be honest, throw the dirt out before God's throne and ask Him to clean you from the inside out. Ask for prayer, for renewal, for healing and cleansing, church is a great place for that; there are always people waiting and wanting to pray for you, without judging you.

My deepest moments with God have been through my innermost groanings and tears reminding me of my need of Him and He reminding me of His presence and closeness. God is in control, we can trust Him, even enough to let go of our own situations. That is how much He loves us!

Please pray for our individual passion to be reignited, for these ladies, that they will find God and Jesus will set their hearts free, and that this will be only the beginning of God working in them, their families and our neighbourhood!

Pictures to follow.... Do you fancy comin down on Tuesdays? What's stopping you? There is so much doing on.. and so many other possibilities... give it a go, you never know what may happen.

God bless you today,

Love in Jesus name,

Murray

Deliberately Different Day After

So here I am, the day after the Harvest themed 'messy church' or 'deliberately different' styled service as we have come to know it. The phone hasn't rung, the emails haven't come, so can we call that a positive outcome?

So what was 'deliberately different' about that then?
We had a great time praising and worshipping God through expressing ourselves and our praise in a way that we would normally only use in Sunday school, or at home in our spare time!

So what did we actually achieve, and why?
The whole concept and purpose of the 'deliberately different' styled services in so that people who have never (or hardly ever) had access to or entered into a church building or service don't feel threatened or alienated by what we normally do would feel free to come and join in.

We achieved an atmosphere of warmth, openness, acceptance and love for everyone. There was no-one left out or on the side, everyone could engage in the way, or to the extent that they felt comfortable with, and even in sung worship there was the ability to join in or not, stand or sit...

We had 5 parents, 7 kids and a friend of the church all enjoying being with us and fully involved in the different activities we were doing. For a first time in the church it was remarkable, and it was great that they felt so at home with us, that is a tribute to how well we did as a church!!

So, well done everyone for all that you did, it couldn't have been done without all the effort and hard work that each person invested in the different parts that made up the whole.

In Summary:
It was great to see everyone working together
It was great to see the positive interaction of everyone with all that we have prepared
It was great to see young and old working side by side
It was great to see some of what was created

Hope you are all as encouraged as I am!!

Looking forward to more, onward and upward!!

Just keep praying...

Love to all,

Murray