I wanted to create a page for you, the congregation to have a place to share your personal vision stories with the rest of the church and the church staff and leadership. Some of the things I have asked myself regarding our vision of being “The family resource center where Christ and Community Connect” are: What does it look like with Christ really connects with Community? What did it “look like” when Christ connected with me? What did it “look like” when Christ connected with you? What does it look like, feel like, sound like … what kinds of things happen when we encounter Jesus and recognize Him as Christ – the Son of God – our personal Savior?
I know personally, when Christ first connected with me, I was compelled and motivated to change the way I lived my life to a way that brought honor and glory to him. As Christ continues to connect with me in my personal prayer life, worship life, Bible reading time and through his community of believers, I am still touched by his presence, by his love, and moved spiritually (to the depths of who I am) to honor him and glorify him – by becoming more and more like him.
More specifically for me, that meant cleaning up my language and my thought life. Having Jesus in my heart and life also helped me with my attitude towards others and my attitude about myself. Jesus has helped me see people through his compassionate eyes and on many occasions has given me the ability to have mercy and sympathy towards others where I otherwise wouldn’t have. The continual connection with Christ in my life has taught me (among other things) to make wise choices about relationships, about finances, about alcohol, about issues of integrity, and he has given me moral clarity in all areas of my life.
Use this page, use this post to answer some of these questions for yourself and for our church community. Share your thoughts here. Use this page to share personal stories from your own life about what it looked like, felt like, sounded like, etc… when Christ has connected with you. Use this space to share stories of other people who have helped Christ make that connection with you, or with others in the community that God has called us to.
–Brian
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackIt always amazes me, those “God Moments” that happen in life. I have been struggling with a business decision for weeks, if it would be worth all the effort it would take, if it had even a slim chance of working.
A couple of weeks ago I attended the leadership conference put on by the Willow Creek Association. There were many great speakers but 2 in particular struck me, rather their stories amazed me. The parallels in the two had to do with raising millions of dollars to fund their programs, something they believed in immensely. To look at the programs you wouldn’t think people would donate that amount of money to them.
I was working at my desk one day last week, when I decided to take a break. I went over to a comfortable chair and tried to clear my mind for a couple of minutes, when my mind drifted back to the conference, and I heard God say “ you do the work and I will open their hearts” I just sat there. The answer to my business decision I had been struggling with for weeks. They had just done the work and God supplied the resources, they had been, simply put, obedient.
I have been thinking this week, how many times have I not been “simply obedient” how many times have I been to busy to hear Him? I am sure the answer is too many. I will try harder to be still and listen and be “simply obedient”.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Brian Quade for creating this page and telling us about it on the New Horizons bulletin board at http://www.abfnh.com (yes, also a shameless plug with heartfelt thanks to Kevin Bell for setting up the board for our Sunday School class).
As I work my way out of the vision stage of life and into the dream stage we read about in Joel 2:28, I do have a dream I would like to share. It is my dream that we would see a Great Awakening in our generation. I am excited about our leaders encouraging us to develop community within our body. I can so easily be tempted to say “it’s me and Jesus, I don’t need you” when the scripture so clearly teaches me otherwise. We all, at times, get frustrated with each other and want to take our ball and bat and go home, but this is not our calling. Mark Buchanan puts it so well in his book The Holy Wild:
On Sundays, you make a choice whether you will go to church. But every day, you make a choice whether you will be the church – working out your salvation with fear and trembling, contributing to the health of the whole body, being salt and light, letting no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, having clean hands and a pure heart, loving the least of these. God has not left us to our own devices about this: He freely gives His own wisdom
and strength and presence to carry out His intention.
Amen, brother Buchanan! I have always thought it was kind of silly for churches to hold revival meetings. We can not make a Great Awakening in our generation, only God can soften the heart of stone and He will do it on His schedule, not ours. That said, when God does move, will you and I be in a position to be part of what He is doing or so involved in our own agendas that it passes us by. My Creator, Saviour and coming King does not require my assistance to bring about His intentions but in His endless mercy and grace allows me a part. We don’t have to serve, we get to serve.
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