Bill will begin his sermon this Sunday reminding us about one of the first stories he covered in this series of messages, the story of Caleb -- who points to the toughest mountain on a weathered map with his gnarled, bony finger and says to Joshua “give me that mountain!”
It didn’t matter to Caleb that the mountain held the cities with the highest walls, or the biggest warriors. It didn’t even matter to Caleb that he was considering the launch and leading of a complicated and potentially exhausting military campaign, all while in his eighties. His is an example of mature faith, an example of someone living from the inside out, from the strength and soundness of his in-vironment, rather than drawing hope or strength or support from events and people in the environment around him. He looked at his opponents on that mountain, knew that the One within him was greater, and said “Give me that mountain!”
This Sunday Bill will draw on that story, then make a wonderful statement. “Like old Caleb, we’ve pointed to that empty land next to our church building, and we’ve said, ‘Give me that mountain!’ We’re going to build the largest worship center our 18 or so acres can sustain, so we can reach the most people possible with the love of Christ.” Give me that mountain.
What is our mountain? Do we have ‘our own’ or do we share Neighborhood’s? The answer to this question is easy: ‘yes,’ and ‘yes.’ Yes, we share Neighborhood Church’s mountain because we are part of Neighborhood Church. So what is our part in this process of building a new ministry facility in Redding? We in Weaverville have 2 ways we can contribute, but before I go over those, we need to keep repeating an important distinction: There is no obligation or guilt on The Outpost to financially support this building campaign, but The Outpost is free to take part, and anything we choose to do will be meaningful. Our options?
1) We can Pray.
Everything we do is a waste of time without prayer. To help Neighborhood ‘take the mountain’ through prayer, the church is asking everyone to take a small rock, write a prayer on it (like, ‘Lord, use your people and your resources to transform lives in Redding’), use the rock as a reminder to pray for what’s going on, and then bring the rock to a special celebration in Redding, where it will be collected and kept until the actual construction begins… at which point your “Grace Rock” will be added to the actual foundation of the new church. Cool, huh? I’ll be bringing some rocks next Sunday (Nov. 23rd).
2) We can Give.
On the same weekend that I bring up the “Grace Rocks,” I’ll also bring up the completely optional and 100% guilt-free pledge cards. Read them for more information if you decide to give. Otherwise, just ignore them, but ~ please pray (If you want to know more, please stay after church this Sunday for a brief informational power point presentation).
And finally, Yes – The Outpost also has it’s own ‘mountain’ -- because we have our own unique calling. So what is it? What is our mountain? Our mountain is financial self-sufficiency by this coming June. Our mountain is the growth to sustain it. Our mountain is a facility of our own to hold the growth God will give. And our mountain is positioning ourselves as a church to do all we can to reach the literally thousands of lost and un-churched in our County. Are you ready for this? Are you with me? “Father, give us this mountain!”
Hey, can I use a Washington rock, or do you want to mail me one??? :)
ReplyDeleteYou can use a Washington Rock! I think that might even be more meaningful for the rock to come from where you actually live. That was the original plan... but we didn't know if everyone would be 'vigilant' enough and actually go get one. People are busy... But if you got your own, that would be awesome! Thanks for being my #1 blog responder. You remain the defending champion.
ReplyDeleteJosh