Posted in Church, Disaster Relief | 1 comment
Generous God, Generous Church
Today was an incredible day at ROCK Church.
- We saw 7 people give their lives to Christ in our services.
- I had the privilege of baptizing 11 people during worship. The atmosphere was electric as our church cheered for each one. That never gets old.
- There is something powerful about a church full of people who are fasting and praying as they draw closer to God. The worship is more intense, the atmosphere is charged and the there is an expectation for God to move. Today was no exception. I can’t wait to see what happens over the next few weeks.
- Here’s a helpful tip. When fasting, don’t watch Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatball with your family. Jennifer and I did that with the boys this afternoon. Let’s be honest for a moment. If a big, juicy bacon double cheeseburger fell out of the sky into your hand, it would be hard to not break your fast. I’m just sayin’…
- I spoke today from Isaiah 58 and challenged ROCK Church to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 58:6-7.
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
- God has blessed us to be a blessing in times of great need. Today, ROCK Church stepped up in a big way. When we gave everyone an opportunity to give to support the relief efforts of Samaritan’s Purse, ROCKERS responded by giving over $4400!
- I also shared that I got permission this week from my physical therapist to go to Haiti. Several people responded that they wanted to be a part of going. You can find out more here.
- Tomorrow night at 7:00pm, we are joining forces with area churches at Lifepoint Church Midtown to pray for Haiti. Pastor Jeff Kapusta has asked me to help lead this time of seeking God and asking for Him to be merciful to the people of Haiti. I am grateful to serve in a city where pastors are not intimidated by each other. It is awesome to hear of pastors getting excited about working together.
- We are also collecting medical supplies to send to Haiti. You can find a complete list of what we are accepting here. We will combine our supplies with Lifepoint’s and send them to C3 Church in Clayton. Pastor Matt Fry at C3 has arranged for a container and shipping to get the supplies to Haiti.
- Tomorrow, our staff and families will be celebrating at the MLK parade. Dr. King’s legacy is too great to just let tomorrow pass without acknowledging his sacrifice and commitment. We’ll be hanging out at 7th & Castle. The parade starts at noon. We’ll get there about 11:45. Let’s celebrate!
- If you have not registered for Unleash 2010, do it now! We have 52 spaces for our Dream Team volunteers. The cost is only $50 and that includes registration, transportation and hotel all for less than the cost of just registration over on the Unleash site. Why so low? Because we want to pour in to you, our incredible volunteers. We want to invest in your life and ministry in a big way. You can find all of the important info and registration info here.
- ROCK Church, thank you for being a generous church. You are generous with your time, talent, money, worship and on and on. It is a great joy to serve as your pastor.
I’m sitting in the Man Cave right now just thinking about how blessed I am. God has been good to our family. Even in the midst of significant health issues, God continues to be faithful. Even when we don’t get what we “want”, He is faithful. Over and over and over and over and over again… He is faithful. Even when we are not.
God, thank you.
Jesus, thank you.
today i thought of how i was feeling last week sad because i have come to realize wow since my car accident i will never run again never be a real playful active mom like the others and im tired of waking up in pain all day all night because i do not want to take the pain meds so i just deal…i am always helping others talking and calming others giving advice and always making sure im doing the right thing. but something happened where last week i have come to concluse i am permanately disabled and need to let my feelings out cry and stop holding them in .. so with that i had my wo is me day and cried. i even kept jonny out of school .. it has been 3 yrs since my accident but i through out my life have been through hard ship financial health wise and even been caretaker of my granmother up to the age of 97 and took care of my dad on his death bed from cancer beat 2 abusive marriages and survived a 4 time rollover car accident and was robbed when i was 3 months pregnat. i look back at my life at who i was and how i rebelled and just cared after all my troubles to have a drink and get on the back of a hog and ride and forget all my issues… now i am 43 and have come to a new and everlasting love with jesus and i remember surrendering my life and sins and asking jesus in my heart as my best friend rose born again wept at her mother in laws wake. rose said steph are you reeady for my world yet i though only for a second i said rose i want my life to change i hate it i want a miricle i want a son i want a husband i want a home i just want to be happy. she said if you change your ways which since a little girl i always was religious always prayed always loved god but then i was bitter from all my hardships. i said rose yes i want help so i prayed the salvatin prayer we helkd hand we cried i hyperventelated and she said your part of us now. i said part of who sisters in christ, from that day forward my life changed i became so strong so possitive so useful. it was amazing how different i became the hard wall was slowly coming down and a new free softer me has evolved. i guess what i am saying is no matter how you have to make your life yours and put food on the table i had to move from ny to here to make it happen and leave my life family and life behind because of my car accident i gained something possitive from a tragedy i gained respect from the lord as i was rolling over and over and glass was everywhere i saw my babies face and my husband face all alone without me to help them without a wife a mother i saw my light of god the white light that you think is only on tv. well its not its reall if you are sick or hurt the light comes you see it and you have a choice to make i never was a bad person but i needed to tune up for good things so i said as i thought i was going to die please god its not my time my rob my baby they cant live without me please dont take me yet i will do what ever you want i will be better. when the truck finnally stopped i crawled out no one knew not even the emt how did i survive this. when i was lying there the emt said i think you might want whats left of your truck because i think this is how you were saved from death. my holy wate bottle mr rosary my pic of jonathan. i said i am holy and spiritual she said you are very lucky i said its not luck its faith. so there you have it my testimonial of how i became a christian and a better human. love life for what ever it may bring you and never question why …i never did question why…..thank you jesus for my life being saved and the birth of my miricla son jonathan which i was told i could not conceive and my home which i now own and my food i am blessed to have where i had to at one point in my life get from a church donation…i love life to its fullest and thanks rock church for i know i fit in at this church without judgement from my past nor my tattoos…god bless and to all who suffer from pain money drugs or other and haiti i rebuke the devil entering your world any further and pary for healing and peace…..stephanie castle hayne