How to Grow as a “Great” Church!
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”[28] When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied.[29] Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; [30] and their sight was restored.” Matthew 9:27-30
Recently I came across a quote from 20th century pastor and writer AW Tozer that said, “A local church will only be as great as it’s conception of God.” Almost immediately the passage above came to my mind and as I’ve been thinking about it more, I’ve been humbled by the faith of these two men. Even though they were physically blind, they had eyes of faith that gave them an enormous (and accurate) view of God. They believed that Jesus could restore their sight, and what they believed overlapped with reality. Jesus could and did restore their sight and he said it was directly in response to their view of him (i.e. their faith).
As I’ve been thinking about and praying for our church, my prayer has been that God might help us see Him more accurately. My hope and prayer is that though we are a small church that we would have a big/high view of God. One way that we can increase our conception of God in this our through reading and studying God’s word, which is His revelation to us about Himself. Another way is through prayer, both asking for help to know Him better (see Ephesians 1:17) and also by seeing His responses to our prayers.
Please join me in seeking God to grow our faith (personally and as a church) and to bring our understanding of Him more in line with how great He really is.
Pray on!
–Rich
Announcements:
• Man Up! is tonight (Wednesday) at 6pm at Drew’s house. It’ll be a great time of eating pizza, sharing life, and praying together!
• *Canned Food Drive – Just an FYI, but this Sunday is the last day to pitch in as a church family with Robin’s company’s (Sunrise Community Health) canned food drive. Please bring cans to the Men’s night tonight or to our Sunday morning service this weekend. This will be a great way to team up with Robin to meet needs and be a blessing to lower income families in Northern Colorado. (If you have questions please email Robin directly at: rsengupta.sunrise@nocoha.org).
• Sunday Service (9am Coffee, 9:15 Worship) – Don’t forget that this Sunday we are at our NEW LOCATION at Leman Academy (19560 Stroh Road). And remember our saying as we continue to pioneer this new facility, “Blessed are the flexible.” You all did a great job going barefoot (or in socks) for Jesus last Sunday! It’s possible we’ll need to meet in their cafeteria this Sunday, but we’ll see when we get there. Hope to see you there!
• Ongoing Prayer Request – Please continue to pray for my neighbor Rick as he is still in critical condition in the hospital. As of several days ago, some specifics that you can pray for include his lungs (he has some lung collapse and pneumonia), an aneurysm at the site of his repaired artery, and a blood clot beneath his sternum from his recent emergency surgery. Last I heard (only family is able to visit currently) is that if he made progress in these areas, they would again try to reduce his sedation. I believe the fact that he is still alive is only by the hand of God. In light of the verses above, let’s keep praying that God not only sustains him, but brings about his recovery!