Well, another weekend has come and gone and more often I am finding myself meditating on the word that is brought to us in our Sunday service. I have been completely amazed by how impactful our efforts to include creativity into our messages have been – we are such visual people! The combining of spoken word and visual word has had an amazing effect on our ability to retain the point and it inspires me to work harder so that we can do MORE!
There was a very long season in my ministry (post high school until about a year ago) where I used the excuse of not wanting to quench Holy Spirit for my lack of creative preparation. It was uncomfortable for me and for some other church members to think about the prospect of actually planning anything – wouldn’t that limit Holy Spirit’s freedom to show up and do something else? Well, let me just say that that is a pretty sad excuse to explain away laziness! Actually, I have been so amazed by God – He’s so much bigger than we usually give Him credit for! As we have been faithful to seek the Lord and ask Him to show us what is in His heart… He has! Incredible, huh? God is able to show us what He wants to do before Sunday morning! He has never been up in heaven wringing His hands, wondering what in the heck He was going to do that morning as we gathered for church. The truth is, He knew before we ever began The Rock 18 years ago what He wanted to do in our service yesterday. He’s a pretty smart guy, isn’t He? And more incredible than that, He can give us supernaturally inspired ways to illustrate His Word – because He created us with the need to be visually stimulated. HE made us that way! For us to refuse to respond to God’s creative nature is – in itself – limiting God!
Exodus 25.40 Take care to make them according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.
So… what’s next?
Abs of Steel 
PA,
I am thrilled to see how Gods word comes to life through creativity. I am a right brainer and i have a hard time sometimes grasping the word unless i can see it.
Thank you for using your gifts of creativity for the kingdom.
Sundays service really moved in my spirit to move beyond my comfort zone. Jesus paid such a high price for me not to share the good news to all. My life is so busy with school, kids and work its so easy to forget that while i am studying to be an evangalst, God doesnt want me to wait to share the good news until i have my degree…in fact I really dont think He cares about that degree..He cares about the person who needs Him but doesnt know the way. What is the use of learing all of this stuff…if I am too busy to share the good news.
I was in Henry’s resturaunt today picking up a to go lunch order for a meetng and i noticed a woman sitting at the bar drinking a glass of red wine. She was tipsy and had to be about 65 to 70 years of age. I thought isint that pitiful and woman in a dark bar on a wonderful day like today….its got to be 85 degrees outside and its only 11am. It made me think of myself a few years ago….hopeless and empty and how it was only by mercy and grace that i was not on that bar stool next to her.
THe Lord told me to go and talk to her .I remembered what Pastor Brian taught about the three….
I walked up to her not knowing what to say…or if she would yell at me ot hit me even……a little vioce said “I will give you the words.”
I sat down next to her at the bar and said, “i have a word for you from the Lord” I was smiling brightly with so much love that was coming from the Holy Spirit, she said”well what is it?” she didnt seem to hapy with me. The Holy Spirit said through me ” God says He loves you more than you can ever fathom, He is not mad at you and He will never reject you. He loves you He loves you.”
Tears were welling up in her eyes.
The Holy Spirit said “look her dead in the eyes with the love of Christ” so i did and told her about my drinking in the past and that i loved her all the while looking her dead in the eyes with my arm around her back. I told her that Jesus died to set her free…..
I got up and walked away…….I knew in my heart that a seed had been planted.
.
Thanks for a great word…..I probably would have chickened out if we hadnt learned about the 12 at church on Sunday…
God Bless,
Rochelle
A good friend of mine said, “Why is almost always the wrong question.” To ask God why He does something or why he allowed something to happen is almost always the wrong question. Even Job did not get an answer as to why he was tested. Yet, God does not hold back the answers to “Why are we doing something?” or “Why do we do it that way?” For the person who comes from a more traditional background the lesson is not in learning that God sovereign enough to work His will by shaping our plans, but that God does not need our plans, nor is He bound to them.
God’s only limit is that all of His attributes must exist together in perfect order. God’s wisdom means that God is always pursuing the greatest good by the best means. For me, the lesson has been that His greatest good and His best means are deviations from my plans. Although God’s character never changes, His means of obtaining His goal does.
I’m so glad to see that you are engaging God in the journey of knowing Him in all of His ways! May God bless you and everyone on the team!
n8
Abbye,
That’s a really great word. We get so stuck and rutted.
You know we do limit God, literally. He will almost never make us do anything. His first choice may be to have Neal bring an exciting NOW word. If I refuse, he may have to go to plan B. “Give it to Tex, he’ll do anything I ask.” But then he has to do so many more work arounds to adjust for the what ever it was that would have made my presentation special. He has plans and contingency plans and plans within plans…
If we don’t plan ahead, he has to much more massively assert his will on the situation. If we plan with the guidance of holy spirit, then he has more to work with. We are actually giving benefits for God by planning ahead. Some things God just doesn’t do. He won’t be our prop man. If we need props, He expects us to do the foot work. He’s an idea man. He’ll give you that big idea. You’ve got to make it happen. And don’t forget, He provides resources.
“But what if I mess up with my plan?” As PN often says sometimes even pastors blow it. You plan and do your best. When you get there and He says this isn’t going to work, you have to step out of your plan and step into his. “Nice props, but we’re doing something different.”
Of course I know that I haven’t said anything you didn’t already say. I just like to hear myself talk.
Neal
PS: Beautiful story Rochelle. I hope He’ll convince me to be used that way some day.
I love praying, hearing from God and then taking what His word and making it come to life for our church family. I can think of no other creative team better than you, Jennifer, Carolyn and (our newest CT member) Matthew.
Creatively presenting the Message helps it to stick that it is remembered and applied. Since working with the team more, I am actually able to remember the message long after it has been delivered. This is especially cool since I can now even remember the messages I preached. 🙂
Thanks for being so creative and for sharing your gift with us.