For this week’s Pastor’s Corner, dear Immanuel Family, I have a reminder, a recommendation and a couple of requests for you.
Reminder
Prayerwalking! Invite someone this week to prayerwalk your neighborhood with you, following the instructions I provided you early this month. And join us on Saturday at 10am in the parking lot of Coles Elementary to prayerwalk the neighborhoods around our Mission Outpost. We’ll be done by 11am.
“When we live at too fast a pace, we can miss God’s invitations to become part of the story He’s unfolding in people’s lives. Prayerwalking is a way to slow down and begin to naturally pick up on the concerns of God. His heart begins to merge with ours. We allow what causes Him excitement or anguish to affect us in the same way” (Waymakers).
Recommendation
An essential theme these August Sundays has been the call to live and endure by faith. Drawing on Hebrews 11, I leaned back in a chair and defined faith as “resting the full weight of our lives in Jesus,” trusting in the joyful future God is creating for us. Earlier this week, I listened to an encouraging sermon by the Rev. Sam Bush, in which he defined faith as saying “yes” to God’s impossible promises, resulting in a “double laughter – the laughter of human impossibility, and the laughter of surprise when God makes the impossible come true.” I recommend you listen to the entire sermon, “Jesus, the Yes Man.” It’s only 15 minutes and well worth it.
Requests
Please be sure to read the Transition Corner at the end of The Weekly. You’ll read of the ongoing progress in the Readying of Our House. I told my wife, Leslie, how surprised and encouraged I am at some of the unexpected recent developments. Her response, “Well, you did ask Immanuel to pray, and people have been praying!” Amen, and thank you. Keep praying!
You’ll also see in the Readying of Our Welcome and the Readying of Our Outreach that we have some specific needs. Please ask the Lord to meet those needs, and be attentive as to whether you may be the answer to that prayer.
Your Pastor in Christ,
P.S. We’re going to try something new with The Weekly. We’ve noticed that the majority of the printed Weekly’s end up in the recycling bin. Beginning next week, instead of putting The Weekly in the bulletins, we’ll print fewer copies and have them available at the Ushers’ table for those who would like to take a printed copy home. The Weekly will continue to be emailed every Thursday morning, and is available on our website.