A BIG Day @ Grace!

Oh what a BIG...BIG....BIG day it was at Grace Christian Church on June 7th!
Several months ago we began to walk down a path that, if successful, would bring in hundreds of visitors all on one very special occasion. Our theme was "The Power of One". We wanted to convey to our congregation that every one of us can make a difference in this world, even if one person at a time. Well, that week came and it proved to be true.
Here are some of the numbers:
Preschool/Nursery ("Little People" Ministry): 201 children
Kid Nation (Elementary Age): 300+
AMP (Youth) : 650
Adult Service: 2400

All in all we had 680 visitors recorded! That did not take into account however that many cards were filled out for a husband and wife. We also had many visitors that did not fill out a card because their age didn't qualify them for the special drawing we had. (Our estimate with this in mind = 800-900 total visitors.)

LISTEN TO THIS!!!....We also had 82 viewing families watching the "Live Stream" (go to gracesterling.com to check it out) through the internet that day! They watched all over the U.S. including Alaska! Also these other countries were represented: Canada, United Kingdom, India, South Africa, Philippines, Singapore and & Belgium!!!!

Our final attendance numbers were estimated to be at 3400+ for our BIG DAY!

The most important stat of all however is the one that says no less than 300-400 people committed their lives to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! WOW....yeah God!

Thank you to everyone that worked so hard on this project. And thank you God for showing us how we can each make a profound difference in our world!

I'm proud to pastor such an amazing congregation of people...the people of Grace!

Pastor Jerry

The Distance between "Amen" and "In Hand"

So....when you hear a promise from God, what do you do? If you're like most of us you might get excited and "claim it" as your own. For those of you that are pretty dead set against the "name it and claim it" bunch....make sure you quit saying "Amen". It really means, "So be it"...so be it in MY life, in other words. That's dangerously close as you get to name and claim principles if you ask me!

Back to my thoughts... When you look at bible characters throughout history you will find that the promise they received took, at times, many years to come to pass. Encouraging huh!??? Actually it is if you realize that no matter how long it took, God was faithful to the promise. God makes a promise...we await possession. Get this now....What we do in between will often (not always) determine the distance! People often chalk everything up to the sovereignty of God. As though He determines whether we get to enjoy His promises. NOT!!! God doesn't play favorites. God is faithful to His word. There are things we can and must do while waiting....I'll give a few right now and then pick this up in my next blog edition....

1. Never be confused who you enemy is! It's not God!!! John 10:10 "The thief has come to steal kill and destroy, but I (Jesus) have come to give you abundant life." Your enemy is not the preacher, politics or other people. Satan has a plan of destruction for your life...God is always good!

2. Realize that some trial and tests He will deliver you FROM (though not as frequent) and some He will deliver you THROUGH. God has given you authority, faith that moves mountains, the name of Jesus, the sword of the Spirit....offensive and defensive weapons...that are there to fight battles. If you were delivered FROM everything....what is all this equipment for? Read: Isaiah 43:1-2

3. Know that in between ALL sowing and reaping there is time. Genesis 8:22 Seed-Time-Harvest. God's promises almost never have a specified time frame attached. Your obedience is NOW, but His promise may take time.

I'll cover more of these things we need to do on the way from Promise to Possession next time around.

Be blessed....possess the land!

F.alse E.vidence A.ppearing R.eal

What's in a title? Well you've probably heard this before, but with the situation economically and medically in this country and around the world, we better be "sober, vigilant...for our adversary (the devil) is roaming about...seeking whom he may devour". Statistics show us that although 64% of Americans are afraid of loosing their jobs, only 8.2% of them have done so. That with about 135 cases of "swine flu" reported in the United States (as of 5/1/09), it represents 1/1000% of our population, yet people are afraid. F.E.A.R.! False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is a powerful force...just ask the Old Testement charecter, Job. Fear opens the door to the enemy just as faith opens the door to God.

But wait a minute...aren't we the "church", the eklesia, the called out...the separated ones? We are God's people whom He has always provided for! He is El Shaddai, more than enough! He has always met our need because He is Jehovah Jireh. He provides healing for our bodies, for He IS Jehovah Rapha, etc. etc. etc. My Bible says, "If God is for you, who (or what!) can be against you." Is says that although, "in this world you will have tribulation...you can BE OF GOOD CHEER because He has overcome the world"!!! "No weapon formed against you will prosper". "I will say of the Lord that He is my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I will put my trust...NO PLAGUE shall come near my dwelling place!"

You get the picture! Look into the Word of God...build you faith. Listen to the world, feed your fear! Which one do you want producing in your life?

Swine Flu, Recession, Unemployment.....see God in every situation. He WILL provide, He WILL see you through!

Compromise???

The way I see it, compromise only happens when you set aside the truth of the Word or your own personal conviction in order to achieve a goal. If what you're doing does not violate the Bible and it's principles, then it's very possible that the methods are o.k. It's the MESSAGE that is anointed, not necessarily the METHOD. This debate rages on in Christiandom because many people are unable to see things differently than they have ever seen them! This can be sad because there are generations of people to reach that may not fit your particular paradigm that insists "this is how we've always done it...so this is how we have to do it"! Some say we need to think outside of the box. I say, get rid of the box altogether....whoa! Do what God has shown in His Word to do and what He has shown you by His Spirit to do. It's the Message of God's goodness through His Son, Jesus and the Power of God that saves, heals, delivers and sets the captives free. Let's do it!

testimonies are a window!

Your testimony (story) is a window on what God has done in your life and something that no one can take away from you. What God has done in and for you, what He's doing right now...is indisputable though not always explainable! The religious people of the day saw Jesus heal on the sabbath (how dare he!) and perform other miraculous deeds and yet one man's response to their debate was priceless. In effect he said, "Hey, I don't know what you are arguing about, all I know is once I was blind and now I see!" He IS ABLE to do exceeding and abundantly above all that we ask or think.... Try to find someone on a regular basis that you can "open the window" of your life to. Tell em what God has done!

Up From the Grave!!!

There was an old song we sang at the church where I grew up. The chorus went, "...up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph or' His foes. He arose the victor of a dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign...".

Wow! That may be a song, but it's quite accurate. Because of what Jesus did, the sacrifice the Father made...we now reign with Him. I pray that this Easter season is a time of reflection. Think about all He has done for you, the price He paid, the battle He fought, the VICTORY He won! Hallelujah, Christ Arose!

Make it Great!

Today will be a GREAT day!  What do you hear when i say that? Even more important, what do you think? Some hear that and no doubt think, "Yeah, you don't know what I'm going through." Just remember that the promises of scripture should never be made subject to the situations of your life. We MUST take our situations and make them subject to the promise of scripture. Psalm 188:24, "THIS is the day the Lord has made and I WILL rejoice and be glad in it." Make it your choice! No matter what you are experiencing today...and some days ARE difficult...apply God's Word...MAKE IT GREAT!

Acceleration!

God spoke to my heart after a time of prayer and said that though I have taught on the importance and power of Anticipation and Expectation (see Acts 3), we are entering a day of tremendous "Acceleration". When you think about all the years, decades....centuries, that prophets, teachers and Psalmists pointed to the day of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and then in a matter of thirty three years and a few days (50+ from the accession of Jesus to the day of Pentecost) it was all fulfilled....THAT is ACCELERATION!!! Just think of all we have heard about these last days. Yes, evil WILL abound, but His Grace will that much more abound! The "wealth of the sinner laid up for the just", He will "open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings we don't have room enough to receive", and the "glory of the Lord shall be revealed to the whole earth...", and the "whole earth will be filled with His Glory!!!!!!", OH MY! I believe that we have believed, we have trusted, we have declared and we have waited...and now it's time. ACCELERATION of all things. I don't know about you, but I want to be right in the middle of all God is doing and about to do in this earth and through His church. Get ready, get ready, get ready!

Feb 27, 2009

Welcome to my BLOG!!! (what a word!) This is a new way for me to stay in touch and talk about things that are on my mind. I'll try to update this site no less than once per week so check back toward the end of each week and see what's going on...

We have a tremendous team of people all pulling together toward the same goal at Grace and the results have been astounding! Our church has grown by more than 100% since June of 2007 and we are still welcoming new people to the congregation at a fast pace.

Our Children and Youth ministries have probably seen the most significant increase as they have grown by between 150-250% in that same amount of time! The greatest thing in this whole expansion we are in is that MANY people are connecting with God on a personal level for the first time. That's worth gettin excited about! Get involved in one of these areas of ministry...you'll be a blessing and I know you will be blessed.

Next Sunday (March 8th) I begin a series called "Black & White" which will address the subject of relativism and absolutes. I know that sounds pretty deep but really it just deals with the issue of truth and a society that really doesn't adhere to a consistent standard of right and wrong. Even our judicial system in this country used to have as it's foundation, laws that were based in biblical precedent. Now this has been replaced with special legislative mandates which change the rules....at least for now.

Here's a great idea....Invite someone to church. Surveys have shown that when asked, a very large % of people say they never came to church because no one ever invited them! Let's fix that! At Grace, we provide so many avenues of ministry for you to be involved, ministered to and connected with people. Use those same tools to help someone you know.

Well, my maiden voyage in the blogosphere is now over. I'll come back again soon, so you do the same!

Pastor Jerry

Great Quote: "The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change direction. The leader adjust the sails!" John Maxwell