I love visiting churches, but since I am in Montana, it is hard. My home church Wayman Chapel is 250 miles away and over a mountain pass so I cannot get there that often. So tell me what happened at your church last week. What was the sermon, what did the choir sing etc. I hope this will be a weekly question. It will help me a lot. And I will feel connected to my denomination. Pastor Rob I want to hear about your church also.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Answers

I preached from the Neh. 1, covering the entire first chapter. The focus was on the fact that God calls the RIGHT person to do His work at the RIGHT time. I also touched on the gospel of Luke where Jesus announced His call. Even God calls himself at the RIGHT time. Esther was called to save her people. Our response to that call can be positive or negative but God's will, will be done. After, two visitors former members of the church came forward and indicated that the message had been directed to them because God had been moving them to come back to the church and help in our building program. I know this was true because, I seldom write out a complete sermon. Most of the time, I spend the week in prayer and study to try and focus God's will on me. This week I studied but did not make a decision on what to preach until after entering the pulpit. At the early service, I was led away from Neh 1, but I forced myself to preach from there. Needless to say nothing happened. My people were too nice to say anything, but I was empty. However, at the 11:00AM service, I bounded into the pulpit without a doubt as to what He wanted of me. Praise the Lord! Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Sister Denise, Last Sunday was special because it was our first anniversary. Our church was mothered by a large Assembly in another state, and their pastor brought a crowd to visit us. He preached a message where he told about his burden for our city, and the circumstances that led to our standup. Pastor Chuck also told how God spoke to him about planting the work while he was youth pastor in our mother church. The two men knew nothing of each other's burden for the same city, but one day they found each other out...and the rest is history. Our vision was renewed.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Pastor Rob congratulations on the anniversary of your church. Tell us more about your church. It is amazing what happens when God calls something into being. Pastor Paris preached about that last week.

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

Sis Denise, I've told a bunch already. What do you want to know?

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

OK Denise, here's this week's events. We gen up for Sunday during a Saturday night prayer service. These get better every week. I could feel the atmosphere in the building change, and this morning there was a tremendous annointing for worship. After the first part of the song service a new convert shared a love letter from God he'd gotten off the net. It brought home to him God's love. When a Christian gets a grip on that it's a significant event.

Chuck's sermon was on Ecc 3:1-15 and titled "Time, Change, and Purpose". God doesn't think in terms of time, but rather in terms of purpose. Change is His way of working His purpose in the lives of a person, a church, a nation, and the world.

We need to think like God and look at things with an eternal perspective. How will the things we do effect God's eternal purpose? What's our part in His eternal plan? God measures us by how well we fulfill His purpose for us, and he measures a church the same way.

God also wires us for a purpose. That's why we're different. If you use something for other than its creator's purpose that's abuse (using a coffee cup for a hammer). We abuse our lives when we use them for something other than the creator's purpose, and this happens because we don't SEEK God's purpose for our lives.

To accomplish our purpose God gives us gifts (resources/talents), and as the parable shows we'll be rewarded according to how we use those to accomplish God's purpose.

Finally, God generally, but not always, reveals his purpose one step at a time. Most of us would be overwhelmed if He revealed His purpose for our lives early on. Some of us would be shown our lives will be short because His purpose will be accomplished early. But the critical element is we must be obedient to every order God gives if we're going to accomplish His purpose fully.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

I had to drop a note just to testify how smoothly God moves across time and space.

The heart of my sermon was exactly that described above by Rev. Rob. The only difference was I used I Corinthians 12:1-11 as the backing scripture. The theme was God's Given Gifts and flowed so close to Rev. Rob's description as to be errie.

The only point I covered that he did not mention specifically, although he did allude to it a few times, was wanting to have someone else's gift or talent rather than using and cultivating the one that God has given us.

Now I am wondering... from how many other pulpits did God manifested this topic? The reading I used was from the Revised Common Lectionary, so there is a chance many more did choose it, although the primary reading was John 2:1-12, the reading about Jesus' first miracle.

Is anyone else out there using the Revised Common Lectionary as a preaching guide?

Rev. John

P.S. To my Sister in Montana, from whom I was seperated at birth, I am alive and well...have just come out of two weeks of corporate commitments. Unfortunately the secular job is still a necessity and occasionally it does extract a couple weeks out of my life. Praise the Lord, it normally lets me going about my business with no intrusion.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

Rev. Fisher I was worried about my biological brother. Glad to hear from you. Next Sunday I will be finishing a three part series on the "Miracles of Christ" after that I will return to the lectionary. I like using the lectionary, for it gives me a road map. I also like the feeling that churches around the world are using the same scripture reading. And we are now in the C cycle. Isn't pastor Rob awesome! One day he will admit he is really an AME!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

Dear Rev. Rogers Greetings, Allow me an oppotunity to RAVE. Last week our District(15th)met for our Planning Session in Port Elizabeth. God is really moving in our district.Bishop and Mother Ingram is a breathe of fresh Holy Spirit Air. God's word declares that we will receive the desires of our hearts and this is exactly what we received last week.A new wind filled with the word of God is blowing in our District.Mother Ingram is an outstanding woman of substance.they presented a 7 point plan that is dynamic and powerful.This District i believe is going to rise up on wings like eagles.Many people in our district has been praying for a rivival and one can feel the newness in the air.It has been a long time since we have had a planning meeting that so much teaching on the word has taken place and no fighting and arguments was not the order of the day. I now believe that the church is moving up.It is so exiting and gives one new energy to go out and do what god has called us to do.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2001