Worship yesterday at the First Mount Zion Church was one of the best times in praise to the Lord in a very long time. I do not attribute it to anything that I have done save our time in prayer before worship begins. A few weeks ago, I began something that I should have done a long time ago, I walk into the sanctuary before our Sunday School begins and I am at the altar in prayer, so that when the congregation walks in, the first thing that they see is their Pastor on his knees talking to the Lord. What I have discovered is that since I made this move, the spiritual atmosphere of our church has gone up tremendously.
We worshipped yesterday in a way that made the moment of preaching easier than it had been in a long time. Praise & Worship was off the chain! The moment of collective prayer was stirring and spirit-filled! God Be Praised!!!
Something outstanding happened before I preached, the Chairman of Trustee Ministry, John Rich, made an announcement that one of our members, Kareem Ali and his wife Josephine, prepared a dinner for our church in appreciation for the Pastor and First Lady for all of the hard work that we have done with the relocation project. I must admit, that I went in! Sometimes we as Pastors, who don't have a large congregation, feel somewhat unappreciated for work that you put in. I want to state up front, that nothing I do as a Pastor, is done for the approval of man, but rather for the glorification of God. But the human side of all of us would love for people to recognize our efforts to make things better for the church. And to receive an act of love from members really make me feel like things are starting to turn around for the better. I truly have only the Lord to thank for that.
We continued our series on the book of Ezra, with an exposition on chapter 3:8-13, which I labeled Doing A Good Work. For here are the returnees to Jerusalem, as they get back to the exact place where the first temple stood, and they built an altar so that they could worship God before the work began. They began the work on laying the foundation for the temple and in the process, they realized that what they were doing, was a good work for the Master. As our church prepares to relocate and restore a temple for the Lord, it is important for us to understand that whatever we are doing for the Master, it is a good work. I will post the outline tomorrow.
4 comments:
Praise the Lord Lance. Thank God for a little sunshine every now and then.
Stick with it brother.
Praying for you.
Tony R.
Everyone needs to be feel appreciated, I realize you know that you are beloved here in the internet blogging world but appreciation is good at home too.
Keep running doc,
Owens
1 Corinthians 15:58 (Amplified Bible) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].
Sola Scriptura,
Ron
Our God is no unjust to forget your labor of love that you've shown to the saints! When no one else will God will pat you on the back in due time. Stay in the fight.
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