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On Sunday March 15^th 26 churches from the greater Madison area gathered together under one umbrella to seek the face of our God and give him glory for all that he has done.

It was an amazing event filled with awesome worship and passion & thanksgiving. It was wonderful to watch the “Body of Christ” function in unity as one family.

As parents you and I know the beautiful joy that explodes in our heart when we watch our children having fun together & getting along. I think our heavenly Father is the same.

I am absolutely convinced that as we began the process of planning this event and working together as churches it brought a smile to the Father’s Face!

And then to watch as the night unfolded had to be an amazing sight in the heavenlies.

I mean think about it, as He looked down from heaven through the roof of Lake City Church and gazed upon his kids singing, dancing, hugging, laughing & worshipping together it had to make his day a bit brighter.

As a pastor, I couldn’t be prouder of the believers in this city. I know of churches that changed things that were on their calendars just so their members could participate.

MBC had the privilege of being one of the three worship teams that led during the evening and they did a great job, but so did the other two teams.

I love seeing each worship team being authentic to who they were and not trying to outdo the others. And I especially enjoyed watching the teams gather at the end and asking each other for the music of some of the songs they played.

It is awesome to live in a city that is striving towards unity because that’s where God’s blessing rest!

(Psalms 133:1-3)  How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Herman that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.

If you missed the event… hang around, we will definitely do it again!

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This Sunday we will celebrate our 7^th Anniversary as a church 

Birthdays are significant because they help us pause, reflect & celebrate the growth, development & success of the previous 12 months.

God has been so good to this church since we started our 1^st service. We’ve watched hundreds of people come to Christ, singles meet their spouses and marry, other’s meet and make new best friends and we have watched countless lives be transformed into brightly burning examples of Jesus’ love. 

Vickie & I are having the time of our life. Who would have ever thought that planting a new church at our age could be such a kick?

But just because God has blessed our church, doesn’t mean we can relax!

(Luke 12:48) “To who much is given, much will be required.”

MBC has been given much… therefore God is expecting a lot out of this church. We need to be good stewards.

We have a job to do in this city.

He has called us to be salt & light both individually & corporately. 

Any time you do something significant for God it always includes more than just one person, it is generally a collaboration between lives and callings.

God designed it that way to create unity in the body and so that no one can get the big head.

God has a plan for us in this city! 

God is longing to build a church that will be strong, stable & powerful enough to overcome the power of the enemy & the pressures of hell.

There are people in the city that are counting on it.

Listen to Jesus’ heart about people who are struggling…

(Matthew 9:36-38) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

That’s why we’re here, because people are being harassed by the devil and are helpless to do anything about it.

They need caring people like you, who will help them find the answers to life’s most difficult questions.

3 Things to remember as we move forward;

1. God “has and will” remain faithful!

2. Enjoy the journey – Have a blast!

3. Take Personal Responsibility for doing your part!

I love to watch God do His thing!

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The phrase, “The sky is falling,” has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

I was watching the Dave Ramsey Show on the Fox Business Channel last night and was refreshed to hear someone in the media acknowledge that though we are experiencing some down days economically things are not as bad as though they appear.

As you listen to the Mainstream & even some Conservative Media Outlets you would think that everyone is going to lose their jobs and no one will keep their homes.

Now even though most of us have taken a hit (at least on paper) on our 401K’s, very few people around us (if any) have lost their home or job.

If you have been impacted by the economic difficulties I am certainly not trying to make light of your situation… Let’s trust God together and watch Him turn it around.

But for 99% of us, the truth is we have seen very little (if any) impact on our personal income & housing. But a recent National Poll suggests that 68% of ALL Americans are scared to death of losing everything.

I think all of us need to push-back from the crazy input of negativity that we allow ourselves to be exposed to and shut the TV Off.

The Apostle Paul in writing to the Philippian church had some great advice that we all need to listen to…

(Philippians 4:8) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

I encourage you to read the children’s story “Chicken Little” and notice the frenzy that he had all his friends in over nothing and see if there aren’t some similarities to what’s going on in our Country. 

Remember… things are not as bad as they appear!

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If you are like me, you get tired of hearing the craziness & the bad news that’s being communicated in our media today.

Everywhere you turn it seems there is nothing but bad news being talked about! At the coffee shops, the malls & even the locker room, talk seems to be fixated on how bad things are.

Now I am not suggesting that there is not reason for concern or issues that need to be fixed. Make no mistake about it… we as a Country need to realize that terrible mismanagement in fiscal responsibility has been happening for some time.  

And we as individuals need to be aware of what is happening so we can exercise wisdom in our own personal decisions and spending. As well as pray for our leaders.

But if we’re not careful, we can be obsessed with the news and end up filled with worry, fear and cynicism.

May I remind you that Philippians 4:19 says; And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Notice it doesn’t say… “as long as the economic conditions are healthy.”

Often in difficult circumstances we get our eyes off God and on the wrong stuff.

• Peter experienced it in the boat!
• The Israelites experienced in the wilderness!
• The 12 spies experienced it with the BAD REPORT!

And we are not immune from it!

As we navigate as a church through these tough times let me encourage you to embrace God’s perspective instead of the nightly news!

Here are 7 things you can do to walk in faith and not fear!

1. Turn the Negative News Off (Numbers 13:31-33)
2. Resist the spirit of Fear (2 Timothy 1:7)
3. Put your hope in God (Psalms 42:5)
4. Renew your mind with God’s Word (Romans 12:2)
5. Cast your care on Him because he cares about you (Psalm 55:22)
6. Speak out of your mouth… God’s promises (Proverbs 18:21)
7. Obey the bible (Matthew 7:23-25)

(Psalms 37:25) I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

I am praying for you!

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