Immortal, Invisible - “Something Greater”

The following is a blog from a very good friend of mine, Laura Story. You may know her from the popular worship song, Indescribable. She wrote that a few years ago and Chris Tomlin made it famous.


“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever.

They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
- Revelations 4: 6-11 (NIV)

There is something mysterious about worship. Even as I child, I remember singing songs like, “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” and “I Surrender All,” and feeling all warm inside. Whether it’s the thunderous voice of a hundred-person choir or “Amazing Grace” being played by a single violin, there is a tenderness that cannot be explained with words. It’s the feeling of being part of something greater than myself. And in the book of Revelation, John gives us a hint of what that “something greater” might be. There are many theories suggesting how the book of Revelation should be interpreted. Some think that John, the self-professed author, is speaking strictly about the end times. Others view the book as a panorama of historical events throughout the life of the church. But either way you slice it, God gave John a vision and what he saw was magnificent. It was so magnificent that John was in too much shock to even stand! The Lord spoke with a voice like a trumpet, and there were angels and other creatures consumed with worshipping the One who sat on the throne. They were bowing low in awe of their Radiant King, singing “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power…”

Though this may not sound like normal worship services at your church or mine, we still may see small glimpses. Here on earth, we will only experience a taste of this splendor. But it is enough; it’s enough to remind us that this life is about something greater than ourselves. When we sing praises to our Lord, we join in the chorus that creation has been singing from the beginning of time. And it is the same anthem that we as believers will be singing for all eternity.

God, may I savor each moment in your presence as a glimpse of the glory that is to come. May I never grow weary of singing Your praise.

Prayer for a Pastor

Well, it has been a few weeks since I last left a post on my blog. Sometimes life gets in the way! But today I wanted to post a special prayer request for a pastor whom I've never met, but have followed for sometime because of his great passion and skills as a communicator. His name is Matt Chandler and he is Lead Pastor of The Village Church in Denton, TX. He is 35 and his church has grown from a few hundred to several thousand in a few short years. His church blog says that he suffered a seizure earlier in the week and it was found that he has a tumor on the front of his brain. He will undergo surgery this Friday morning to remove it! So pray for Matt, his family, the Village Church, the surgeons and all touched by his ministry. We know that God is sovereign and is with Matt. So we trust Him. The body of Christ is an army of saints who prays for each other, whether we know each other or not! So let's join together to pray for Matt during this very difficult time! Grace and Peace!

Spiritual Growth

I often wonder if we get things confused sometimes about who really is at work when it comes to growing as a follower of Christ. I think we often have the idea that if we do something, then God will do something. In other words, because we read our Bibles, we'll grow or if we pray, we'll grow. But is it really left to us to grow spiritually on our own? Philippians 2:12 says "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," as if it's left to us to somehow grow and mature spiritually. It is true that we need to be people of the Book, God's Word, and seek to let it permeate our hearts and minds. And we need to talk daily with God through prayer. He uses those things as a means to grow us and to reveal more of himself to us. But the next verse in Philippians 2:13 also says, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
In other words, apart from God working in us and moving in us and shaping our lives, we wouldn't even have the desire for maturity, much less a spiritual hunger for the things of God. God does his work in us to create the desire to want to know him. He initiates and then we follow. He does his work so that we that we can then work. He works and we work, in that order. So today, thank God that he is so gracious to work in you and me so that we can grow in him to be the person he wants us to be! It's really all about him! And then, as a good soldier, discipline yourself for battle. As an athlete trains to be the best, train yourself to be all that God wants you to be. Work hard, sweat, be disciplined, stay at it and watch as God works in you to make you conformed to the image of His Son.

Happenings!

I'm very excited about some happenings going on within our Crosspoint community these days!! We have a couple of new small groups with some great leaders that have just formed and many new people in these groups! Small groups are where it's at! Secondly, we're having a Tailgate Party Sunday, October 11 that is going to be awesome! We'll have a shortened version of our worship gathering and then we're moving outside to the courtyard parking area in front of Ardrey Kell and tailgating complete with bouncies for the kids, cornhole games, football and frisbee throwing, grilling and the company of lots of people as we sit out around the back of our cars and have a great time together! This is a first for us and maybe for a church in Charlotte on a Sunday morning, but it should be fun! I've never had a hotdog at 10:30 in the morning but I'm sure it will be just as good as one eaten at noon! Can't wait to see how well everyone decorates their cars and trucks like a real game, too. Also, our Kids ministry is going to rock this October as they prepare 100 boxes to be sent to Operation Christmas Child. They'll be spending the entire service on October 25th to put the goodies in the shoeboxes that will be sent to kids all over the world! Very cool. Lastly, we're planning our first ever overseas missions trip to Kenya for next Summer. Over twenty people showed up at our Info Meeting or expressed an interest in going! We'll probably be partnering with another church in the area which will draw two churches together for a global outreach that is going to be awesome! It's exciting to be a part of Crosspoint these days as we seek to love God, love others and serve our world!

Small Group

Tonight our small group or Life Community, as we call it at Crosspoint, reconvened after taking most of the summer off! And it was like we had never missed a week. Some things just fit like an old glove. I think that's a good description? Yes, it is. When you can share openly and honestly with the group you've come to know and pray with and laugh with and even cry with, you know it fits well! Tonight we shared stories of our summer vacations! Each went to a different place and had a different experience but each was similar in so many ways because they were about family and memories and rest. But the one link we keep coming back to in our group are our teens. We all have kids in their teens and we share that one bond that unites us in so many ways! It's powerful, encouraging and freeing. We know what each is facing and feeling and we are together in this. That's the power of a small group! It's where we share life together! If you're not in a small group, get in one today! Learn what it's like to be cared for by others. Find out what it means to truly carry one another's burdens. You'll be so glad you did!

People

We like to think that we do church well. I think we do for the most part. We have a welcoming entrance and a up and coming Kids Program and awesome volunteers and quality musicians who lead us in worship each week and hopefully there are engaging messages on life and what it means to follow Christ. But we can have the best show in town and still miss out on what the church is about. It's about people. It's about relentlessly pursuing people who walk through our door each week. It's about getting up close and personal with these people by learning their names and finding out where they're from and what issues are going on in their lives and why they came to our church. It's about loving them, no matter how messy it may be. It's about staying after them and challenging them to not only want to pursue Christ themselves, but to push them to see the church as a healthy functioning community that needs each other. That's why church attendance is so important because it spurs us on and encourages us and reminds us that no one is in this race alone. That's why it's so necessary to find small groups called life communities for everyone because we believe they are so vital in giving us a place to be safe and belong, to laugh and cry together, to share the load that comes with living life. So sure, we strive each week to do church really well from the front and every area that requires planning and execution. But if we fail to be about the one thing that gives a church its life, the relentless pursuing of people as we relentlessly pursue God, then we are nothing better than a big show each week. God help us to never lose sight of why we open the doors each week!

Movies in the Park @ Ballantyne

This coming Friday night is our last Movies in the Park @ Ballantyne for the summer. There's something about this event that is so refreshing and fun and rewarding! It always draws people out each month that we've never seen before. It seems like it's a new crowd each time. The whole idea of doing a free movie for the community is a blast to me. I think it's great that we as a church can provide the event and the popcorn and the drinks, if only for the purpose of meeting new people and letting them know we care. Over the past couple of years a few folks who attended the movie decided to give Crosspoint a try and a few of them have stayed. Now that's really cool! I think the people who attend are truly appreciative of our efforts and what we're trying to do for the community! So, if you're in the area of Ballantyne and south Charlotte and are looking for a family event, then come on out by dark this Friday night and take in Madagascar Two with the kiddos and have a great night together! We look forward to seeing you there!