our church is amazing. can i say that? i love our church! this past Sunday was just another great service filled with worship, healing, conviction, and grace. it's been nice because my cousin blia, her husband luke, and their 2 daughters: natalie & madeline, have been attending for the last couple of weeks too.
i have to say our worship pastors are awesome! joel hanson (from former group PFR) is back at Open Door and leading worship with us 3 times a month. if you get on myspace, one of his songs "New Way to Live" is up and you can listen to it whether you're a myspace member or not. johan and i love this song. his cd is supposed to be coming out sometime in june. as for stefan he is working more with the youth and the next generation program, so he leads worship once a month. johan and i were really excited to hear that elizabeth hunnicutt, a worship leader from Upper Room whom we borrow sometimes for worship, will be coming out with a new cd at the end of this month and she'll be having a concert at Open Door! she is such a talented musician and song writer, so we are going to try to attend her concert.
as for our pastors, they are all fantastic! steve wiens, pastor dave, pastor keith, jen lindwall, etc are all amazing. steve wiens taught this past Sunday about drinking the cup that's set before you. in John 21:18-20 when peter found out from Jesus about the manner in which he'd die (crucifixion), he wondered aloud "what about John?" Jesus replied to peter that "regardless of what happens to John, what does that have to do with you? you still must follow Me." of course this is all paraphrasing, but it reminded me how often we worry and try to escape our lives instead of living it.
are you ready to drink from the cup?
i know for myself im always looking at other people's lives and seeing how easy it is for them. i wonder when ill ever be able to catch a break like them or receive the blessings they receive. when it comes to my future, i tell people, "i know God will provide for me. I know He'll open a door for me." but i dont think i truly believe it. steve wiens gave this passage from 2 cor. 9:8 that says: God's grace abounds to you! in every good work that you do, His grace abounds to you.
my heart was wrenched in a knot as tears welled up in my eyes when i read/heard that verse. i knew deep down that i fail Him a lot....and it was obvious what kind of consequences my actions warranted, but it became even more clear by His Spirit yesterday that His love never fails me.
God is so good guys.
Be blessed this week!
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