Sunday morning and evening were simply amazing - and the heart of God was present. As a pastor of over 28 years and many Christmas services - I was overwhelmed with the heart and the passion shown by so many on our teams and the people (who due to space) had to navigate their way to our overflow tent. Thanks to those of LFC who came early to sit in the tent so others could sit in the sanctuary. You really showed a great deal of selfless love for others. But this heart started way back in our planning, rehearsals and our dress rehearsal. Everything ran so smooth and the hearts of each one were unified from the start. I am so honored to pastor a church that has a "Let's Go For It" attitude.I was so proud of our 3 dancers who closed out the AM services with their incredible rendition of "O Come Let Us Adore Him" and our children's choir and bible readers too. During the PM Services, our 11 dancers were very moving. Our choir and worship band were in rare form tackling five very difficult tunes and Tommy Walker's Emmanuel. Since Emmanuel was our theme from Christmas Eve, this song along with Hillsong's Emmanuel and other songs woven through our six drama actors (in period costume) share about meeting the Savior in the manger and moving us toward a heart of worship. What an awesome team. These wonderful servants along with so many others were used greatly to touch lives. A woman from Santa Barbara could not believe what LFC was able to produce on Christmas Eve. She was (in her own words) "blown away." You see, she had been to churches with larger sanctuaries and more than twice the attendance numbers but had not seen a production like this. Today, a woman who came to the office said: "You have no idea how much the services on Sunday touched my son", and another woman whose husband does not attend church with her stated, "my husband really go the message of Christmas today, it made sense to him." YES! People were preaching and sharing the news of Christmas the best they knew how. Greeting, serving, cookies and hot beverages, singing and music, dancing and drama, the message and all of it coming together to adore the Lord and share the truth of the Gospel. And it made sense to at least 15 people in our AM Services who gave their lives to Jesus - the light of the world. I am sure others did so during our evening time as the Lord's presence and grace were so evident in the moments we had together. There is always something special about Christmas Eve. I think without a doubt this was one of the best if not the best LFC had ever done. But that is not all, we had 1,546 people attend our Sunday services. This of course is a record high for LFC for one Sunday. I know we could be allowing more people to attend our church on any given Sunday if we had more room - now and more service options. We are praying and seeking God on what is the best thing for us to do. I do apologize to those who utilized our overflow tent during the AM services - we had some sound interference issues and some light image problems and some found it full during our early PM service too - so we moved quickly for more chairs (wow an overflow for the overflow) But with the sanctuary full , people needed to have a place to go and be a part of the service. We will be looking at additional options for Easter and I am hopeful by next Christmas we will have our additional sanctuary and facility space. I sure thank the set up teams and technical teams for all they had to do to make it all happen. team was stretched in many areas....the fellowship, cookies and coffee and hot cider afterwards, the candle lights during the closing songs. I am so proud of a church that is not willing to rest on what we have already done. Let's not give up as we move into 2007. There were three words that hit my heart as I prayed for 2007 and I would like to share them with you.
Revelation, Renewal and Redemption.
May God give us fresh Revelation of Himself and His Word in 2007, As we seek His face may we sense His glory and may we hear from Him. As we read His word and hopefully journal each day, may we get fresh revelation from his truth.
Proverbs 29:18Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. (NIV)
Galatians 1:12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.(NIV)- May God provide us with a new heart and a renewed vision and desire to serve Him – Renewal. May He restore unto each of us the joy of our salvation.May He remind us of why we reach out like we do and renew our passion to be selfless, loving and giving.
Titus 3:5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (NIV) - May God empower us with fresh and creative ways to present to Gospel and wonderful opportunities to share our faith. May many be saved in 2007. – Redemption May God allow LFC to be used to bring many to repentance and to experience redemption. Ephesians 1:7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. (NIV)
Luke 19:10Jesus came in human form to seek out and redeem the ones that were lost. (paraphrase) May these be three areas in which God moves through your life in 2007 and the corporate life of LFC. Let's go for it. Be open to His revelation to us, His renewing power in us and His redeeming work through us.
May it be so Lord in each of us, but most of all in me.
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