Hebrews
12:1 says "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..."
Here are our plans - but God always has the last word.....
Tomorrow we ask Abraham to join us in the race of life to give us insight about our life
with God. Abraham is often called “The
Father of Faith” because he was called out from a totally pagan society into a
relationship with God.
He is a perfect example of what it means to live a
growing, maturing life of faith. Like us, he wasn't a perfect man. Many times,
he failed to follow, trust, or wait upon God. However, the Father dealt kindly
with Abraham and kept the many promises made to His servant.
We begin with a foot stomping - hand clapping song of worship in praise to our Risen Savior!
We enter into a time of greeting one another with a warm welcome and opening prayer. Then the worship of song continues as we offer a sacrifice of praise to our great God!
We now turn to the Word of the Lord as we learn the lessons from the life of Abraham.
But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me
since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of
Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my
household will be my heir.” Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man
will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.”
He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if
indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring
be.”
Genesis 15:2-6
Following the ministry of the Word we prepare our hearts to share communion together.
Here is a portion of the invitation to to come to the table....
All these people were still living by faith when they
died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed
them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on
earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of
their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would
have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16
Following Communion - we present our offerings to the Lord. My we be found faithful in returning unto the Lord a portion of that which He has given to us. Let us be reminded of a portion of the prayer David offered to the Lord as found in First Chronicles 29
O
our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name, but who am I and who are
my people that we should be permitted to give anything to you? Everything we
have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already! For we are
here for but a moment, strangers in the land as our fathers were before us; our
days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon, without a trace. O Lord our God,
all of this material that we have gathered to build a temple for your holy name
comes from you! It all belongs to you! I
know, my God, that you test men to see if they are good; for you enjoy good
men. I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people
offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
As we give to the Lord we sing in response to the message:
We bring our time to a close as we remember the important opportunities to share and serve together. Then we offer a benevolence offering at the door as we exit!
To God be the Glory! I pray for an unusual outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May we be on one heart and mind as we worship tomorrow!
Tomorrow is a special day for me as I celebrate a milestone in ministry at NRN. I became Lead Pastor of NRN on August 1, 2007 and on Sunday I begin my 8th year of service to the church and people I love!
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