Do you enjoy praying? Do you consider it one of your absolute favorite things to do? Do you enjoy gathering for prayer and worship? Pause before reading on and answer these questions honestly in your own heart.
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The Secret to Passionate Prayer
Prayer has always been an important aspect of my life since I came to Christ in 1989 and throughout my ministry. Before we started Ren in 2003 countless hours were given to bathing the idea in prayer. In 2009 prayer deepened in my own life and began to overflow to the community. What I've observed in my life and the life of the church through the years is that prayer can be a little like the waters of the sea. At times it can be dead and other times there is rapid movement. It's up and down. It's a fight to maintain a strong passionate fiery prayer life. It seems like everything in our flesh, and in this present world and in the invisible demonic realms around us, is fighting to squelch the spirit of prayer within us. I'm feeling that resistance this week.
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Something New
God is doing deep things in my heart in this season. I can feel a beautiful shift happening and an increase of hunger and thirst. I'm eager to go out into the deep waters of God. The picture that came to me recently was that we've been in shallow waters. Refreshing and real and good but shallow. And now God wants us to push out into the deep and envelop us with His glory. The plethora of promises of fullness and greater works and abundance are so alive to me right now. I just sense God drawing us into something greater.
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Refresh - changing!
For some time now I've been unsettled about the format of our mid-week gathering called Refresh.
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How to feel at home
It has been on my heart lately that many people attend Ren but for whatever reason feel on the outside looking on. The visual that comes to mind is a circle within a circle. In the inner circle at Ren there seems to be a depth of connection and care that is spectacular. But for those in that outer circle it's a different experience. I want to say a few things to those in the outer circle.
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Charlottesville
What has been happening in recent days is absolutely appalling but not surprising. I think most of us are aware that racism is alive and well, not just in a small band of white supremacists, but in a significant portion of American society. I'm certain it has sunk into every human heart to some extent which is why we all need to constantly ask God to search our hearts. We should always be on the side of promoting justice and defending those who are being oppressed. It's our calling as followers of Jesus.
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Fostering Hope
Several weeks ago we had special guest Jonathan Reid with us talking about fostering and adoption. I'm sure many of you heard the message but if not you can find it in the stand alone section of our sermon page on our website (look for the graphic of the light bulb).
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Are you new?
In every season at Ren, about ⅓ of the people coming on Sundays are new. They may be brand new as in first timers. Or fairly new as in coming just recently. There are also many who I humorously call “church shoppers”. These are people who are doing the circuit of local churches to find that perfect fit. So they come one week and then we’ll see them again 5 weeks later. This shopping around is normal and I'd do the same thing if I moved to a new city. Finding the right church can be a little overwhelming and it's especially challenging if you are a person who has never been involved in church culture. Here are a few things that I think can help.
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Pastoral Talk
This Sunday, we are going to take a pause in our series on the parables to discuss something on my heart. The complexities of urban living have made it quite challenging to have deep meaningful relationships. I want to share some insight on how we can overcome this.
Small Circles
One of the challenges at Ren during this season is that there are probably 300 adults and 100 children. While it is exciting to see growth and so many people making Ren part of their lives, it also makes it a challenge to know each of these people in a meaningful way. One of the best ways to go deeper is to find one or more smaller circles to be part of. This includes small discussion groups, Sunday ministries, or outreach teams.
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Grateful
This has been an excellent year financially as we've brought in a little more than we've spent each month. Last month particularly was really good. I'm so grateful for the many at Ren who give.
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