First, I have to say thank you.
Thank you to everyone for working it this weekend to make our environment a safe one. As you know, there has been a dramatic spike in the COVID19 cases here in Gilmer County in the last week or so, due primarily to church people gathering without practicing good social distancing protocols. We don’t want to be a headline, and we don’t want to contribute to the pandemic. Thank you for loving your neighbor enough to be safe and courteous in many ways.
If you haven’t yet, you can reserve your seat for this upcoming Sunday right here:
21 Days of Prayer
Who doesn’t need prayer today?
I am so proud of our team for putting this together on such short notice. We all feel really compelled to just pray together during this difficult time, so we have created a bunch of ways for us to do that. Are you in?
Our first 24-hour prayer service is this Tuesday night at 7pm. I really hope you will be with us for that first hour to kick it off right. EVERYONE is welcome to join us. (of course, we will be keeping our safe protocols in place, so you can feel secure that we are doing everything we can to mitigate our risks.)
Get all the details at the above link.
What Is God’s Plan?
This past Sunday’s message was really different. We’ve been diving deep into Romans, but it felt really good to step back and have another good look at the big picture.
What, if anything, stood out to you about Sunday’s message?
In talking about God’s Plan, we all know that His plan is all about HIS KINGDOM, not ours.
I really spent a lot of time talking about our focus. I said we get all wrapped up in the “little k” kingdom, and not so much the “Capital K” KINGDOM. What does this mean?
Why do you think we get our focus so far off so easily?
What effect do you think this has on us? On our lives? On this kingdom?
We may not know each of the steps in God’s great plan… But we DO know where it is all going, don’t we? Here is how Paul describes it for us:
And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Ephesians 1:10 NLT
So, what does this mean?
There is good news for us in this plan… Here is what Paul says about it next:
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
Ephesians 1:11 NLT
How does that make you feel?
Maybe a better question is, how should that make us feel?
Now, let’s think about that statement in Ephesians 1 for just a second… His great plan is to bring everything… Everything… Under the authority of Christ… God makes everything work out according to this plan. Right?
So.. What part of this plan is Jesus actually working on right now, according to what He says in John 14?
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
-Jesus, John 14:1-3 NLT
So.. You might say that Jesus is building the infrastructure to handle the plan… He is preparing his Father’s home to accommodate us.
So, wait a minute… If he is off preparing for our arrival, then who is in charge of actually working this plan here?
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Seriously? Is this really his plan?
And here we are getting all caught up in the little k kingdom, and COMPLETELY MISSING the BIG K picture?
Is it possible that we are living out our lives, and completely missing the whole purpose he has us here for?