Greetings on this Your Thursday Blast for January 5, 2011. This is your First of many blasts this year. 2012 is going to be a great year. Last week I posted on face book 20 Extreme words that I believe we will see this Year, Pull up my site on face book or go to MVCCav on You tube and play it if you haven’t look at it already. Yes, 2012 will be a year of Extremes. I choose to take the positive spin on the word and look to the God of Extremes in the positive. Extreme Faith, Grace, Mercy, Provision, and the Presence of God! Make a choice to make it a great year.
We started the year with our Sacred Assembly, a time of worship, prayer, fasting, and pressing in to what the Lord is saying to the Church and us individually. Sunday evening our topic was “Repentance”, as the congregation humbled ourselves and sought God’s Repentance. Monday evening our topic was “The Holy Spirit”, a time of soaking in the presence of God and allowing Him to speak, fill, refill, renew, restructure, and remodel us. On Tuesday evening our topic was “Giving, Blessing and being a Blessing”. This is a message I want all to hear. We are attempting to make the audio version on Cd available for all. We will have it available on the Web site as well as the other messages soon. On Wednesday our topic was “Miracles”, what a glorious presence of God that filled the airwaves with Faith, Hope and Salvation. Many were touched, strengthened and set free by the Power of God. I just spoke with one family that said “we came to do business with God and it was accomplished”. I heard this over and over throughout the week. In the midst of the greatness, the Lord specifically told me to begin a Wednesday a.m. prayer time each week with the emphasis of teaching Men to Pray. We had 7 men show up this last Wednesday and we prayed for an hour, following Jesus example of, “Could you not tarry for an hour”. What the Lord spoke to me was, “the fastest way to get a man on his feet is to first get a man on his knees”. So each Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m. -8:00 a.m. come and join us for a time of prayer.
The food ministry of Mountain View Christian Center continues to grow as do the needs. The Mvcc food bank team just shared with me the amount of people that relied upon our assistance this last year that either attended our Monthly food distribution or our Big events, like the fish give a ways are you ready for this. In the year of 2011: 39,745 people came for assistance , we gave away 754,000 pounds of food, these are staggering numbers but shows the real need people are in. We see on a weekly basis families that come through the doors of the church, they have a job but not enough hours are given to them, professional people who drive nice cars that HAD a decent job but with cut backs are scrapping by, make a house payment or eat. We are able to help all regardless of race, religion, color or creed, or social economic status, NO Strings attached!. Love God, Serve People. The amount of support our ministry is receiving is nothing short of Miraculous. Thank you to our Donors, both private and Corporate. Yes, we are making a difference. If you would like to volunteer your time with the food ministry please call the office and talk to Chris Bean.
I was reading this last week and saw something I had never noticed in scripture. In the Book of Hosea the prophet is speaking the Word of the Lord and equates God to a Moth, and then a few verses later he equates God to a Lion. Hosea 5:12-14 The Lord was speaking to Israel to get their attention because of their rebellion. I have been trying to wrap my mind around the correlation between God and a Moth. This is what I come up with. When we as God’s children and the church are beginning to stray in our thoughts, attitudes or actions the gentleness of the Holy Spirit deals with us as a moth, that furry creature that would not hurt us only get our attention. The times around the camp fire, when the moths are everywhere but will not hurt us. They might find a place to nest in our wool sweaters, but they will not bite. They do get our attention but because of their persistence. God waits so patiently for us when we begin to stray but eventually we either grow cold to the moth or swat it away. If we swat it away or ignore it He then sends the Lion notice the verse in Hosea. I don’t know about you but I am often hard headed and at times don’t pay attention to the moth, but when the Lion shows himself I am more prone to listen and quick to repent. In the scripture Israel eventually is brought to a place of restoration. What will it take for you a Moth or a Lion to get your attention?
This weekend at Mountain View I will be preaching on Genesis 12-26 and focus on Isaac. Be sure to Read these portions of scripture to make yourself familiar with the message. We are faced with choices all the time; we will make good ones and bad ones. What do we do if we make a bad decision? Come Sunday and find out. This Sunday we are also starting fresh with several New Sunday School classes and teachers. Pastor Steve and Susan Isaac as well as Mat & Janin Wright are starting a new Class. Pastor Steve and Susan will focus on renewing & reconnecting our relationship with God, Mat and Janin will focus on the Young Professionals and finding God in the midst of Life, we are working on some new classes for our kids as well, stay tuned. This is Home group week so get ready to be invited to a home group near you. Also we are having a Baptism service after second service. If you have not been baptized or have a desire to follow the Lord In Baptism there will be a short informational meeting in room 17 between 1st and second service. Come experience Jesus this weekend at Mountain View Christian Center, when you come don’t forget to invite a friend to come with you.
We Love You,
Pastor Jim & Joy
No comments:
Post a Comment