Sit Before You Serve

On August 8th as Immanuel members sat and enjoyed a slice of pie, they selected the following two passages as guiding Scrip-tures for our service for 2011

Galatians 2:20

20 I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh

I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave himself for me.

Philippians 1:3-6

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

4 always in every prayer of mine for you all

making my prayer with joy,

5 because of your partnership in the gospel

from the first day until now.

6 And I am sure of this,

that he who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Question: Where is God calling us as individuals and as a congregation to go and serve?

Answer: Congregation members chose as priorities:

• in our homes

• in our immediate neighborhoods

• in the Immanuel ministry area

What next???? A foundational statement summarizing the Scrip-ture passages is being written. This will be publicized. You, the congregation members, will be asked to sit, pray, ponder pick up pen and pencil and submit one sentence or a short mission goal statements or possible yearlong themes. (Perhaps “pie” will ac-company this!)

After that???? We will . . .

   look at need (while looking at God’s promise to provide)

   look at our resources  (while looking at God’s promises to enable)

   look at our abilities/talents  (and look at God’s promises to empower)

   look again to God’s Word

Ephesians 3: 20 Now to him who is able to do

far more abundantly than all that we ask or
think, according to the power at work within us,

21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.

Then What??? Specifics! You will be asked to suggest and set some specific mission goals, specific mission projects, specific mission tasks, and/or specific mission plans! Some of these specifics will be personal, some specifics will involve your household, some of the specifics will be for the entire congrega-tion, some specifics will involve money, some specifics won’t cost a cent. You will make some specific suggestions, won’t you?

We welcome, anticipate and ex-pect your prayers, suggestions, input, involvement, ownership and efforts as we living out are Chris-tian faith and lives and move for-ward God’s mission.