02.25
Thankful; Gratitude in Your Hearts. Those are the words that jumped out at me today. I talk about Defiant Gratitude all the time; but today, I don’t need defiance to be grateful.
Today is our last Rooted reading and I’m grateful for all that’s happened during this study. You’ve taken this study seriously. Thank you! You’ve had fun with it. Thank you! Our Connection Group Leaders have worked hard at facilitating their lessons and leading by example. Thank you! Several of you have memorized scripture. Thank you! Chris Sanders has led a team of prayer warriors. Thank you! Our Pipeline & Kids Rock leaders have given us engaging family devotions. Thank you! Our Creative Arts team has engaged our hearts, eyes, and ears. Thank you! The staff did an awesome job planning and implementing Rooted (this is all homegrown – even the graphics). Thank you! The bloggers have hung in there, allowing God to use them in ways they don’t even know. Thank you! Our West Cobb Wednesday teams are amazing. Thank you! Our men’s and women’s groups are seeing exciting life change. Thank you! You took time out of your busy schedules to complete the Rooted survey (hint, hint, hint). Thank you! You have embraced this study more than I could hope. Thank you!
As a pastor, it’s exciting to have a church that’s serious about Growing with God. Several of you have mentioned that we should continue with the format. So, we’re going to try your suggestion – on a smaller scale. Here’s what we’ll do…
- I’m going to blog at least once a week, maybe more. The first blog will post by Monday morning. In that blog, I’ll give you the topic for next Sunday’s sermon and five passages that you can read throughout the week.
- I’ll give a verse of scripture from the week’s reading that you can memorize.
- I’ll also write lessons for our ABS Groups that will mirror the Sunday sermon. We’ll continue this format through the next series. Then I’ll take May – July off, allowing the groups to explore their own topics.
If you’re going to follow the blog, I HIGHLY recommend that you ’subscribe’ to it. If you don’t know what it means to subscribe, we’ll have an explanation on the HELP Page by Monday.
In the meantime, you’ll find the Rooted survey by clicking HERE.
In Today’s Comments, I’d like for you to share how God has shaped you through Rooted…
THANK YOU!
No thank you Ken, thank you for being true to yourself and the word of God. Thank you Ken, for providing this resource, this vehicle, this experience it has brought me closer to understanding myself and my relationship with others and my place in God’s kingdom on earth. “To have no opinion of ourselves, and to think all was well and highly of others, is great wisdom and perfection.Thomas a Kempis”. I have been asking myself why do Christians struggle with and have a problem with self-denial. Jesus said “if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. I am coming to believe the difficulty is due primarily to the fact that we have failed to understand Jesus’ teaching that the way to self-fulfillment is through self-denial. George Matheson set into the hymnody of the church this wonderful paradox of fulfillment through self-denial: make me captive, Lord, and then I shall be free; force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be. I sink in life arms when by myself I stand; imprisoned me with in Thine arms, and strong shall be my hand.
Thank you Ken.
“that you may know how to answer everyone” jumped out for me. In order for Ken and the senior staff to know how to proceed with a future Rooted-like series, we need to fill out the online survey so that Ken may know how to account for everyone’s recommendations in the next series.
Personally, I would like to hear many more people’s SOAP’ing insights. If you’ve been reading mine, you know it’s ok to sound stupid. If you’ve been reading Tom’s, you know it’s ok to share life’s difficulties. If you’ve been reading Ken’s, you know how important is to be real and genuine. When someone says “How are you?”, sometimes you’re not “Fine”. It’s ok not to be “Fine”. It’s ok to have failed. Maybe someone needs to hear your heart so that they can find the soul at WCC who knows exactly what they’re going through and make that connection. If you need me to shutup so that there’s room on the blog for you, I will stop. Trust is in short supply out there. But it shouldn’t be such a rare commodity in a community of believers. I’ve enjoyed hearing everyone’s stories and thoughts. Consider adding your own to the next round. Thanks again Ken and everyone at WCC for Rooted!!!
“Blessing” is the singular word I can use to sum up this series and the past few months. God has revealed Himself to me by delivering an unexplainable peace in the midst of Cindy’s health challenges. Actually, I’m not so sure if it’s His revealing Himself to me, but more of Him taking my blinders off and giving me the chance of a new perspective.
God has been moving within me to work with others that are in need. I kept making excuses to not do it. God, through Ken’s sermons in Rooted has taught me that what God needs for me is more important than what I want for myself. I now see that what I want is what God needs from me. What an awesome feeling it is to have a greater purpose in life.
I recently joined the Street Reach program that God has been gently nudging me towards. I am not afraid to say that it was the most important and moving experience I have ever had in my life (next to accepting God in my life). Being able to serve those less fortunate than I is very humbling. We worry so often about so many trivial things; do I have to wear those pants again this week, guess its a ham sandwich again today, wonder when I can buy a new car; and these people have to worry about when they will eat! How to stay warm! I saw people elated, ELATED over a pair of socks! They were joyous in having a simple conversation and having a hand-shack from someone who will pray with them. Just having someone who cares enough to look them in the eye and say “Hey, how are you doing today?” moves the world for them.
God has ROOTED Himself deep within my humbleness to move me into the Street Reach program every week. ROOTED me in my faith and direction God wants me to move towards. ROOTED my every day life so that I may come closer to knowing what it is to always have God beside me holding my hand and sharing His warm, tender love with me and my family.
I am ROOTED in Gods love! Thank you Ken, for watering this tree and letting its roots grow!