Sunday Thoughts

With the Super Bowl looming, we expected a bigger turn out in the 9 am service and possibly a smaller turn out in the 11 am service. Well, we were right and wrong.
Turns out we had a bigger turn out in the first service than normal and a normal to bigger turn out in the second service, resulting in a 35% increase in attendance this year over last year. Looks to me like you all are inviting people and they're coming! Go figure!

• Larger crowds don't always make for more expressive crowds. Not in this weekends case. FBC Pocatello came to WORSHIP on Sunday, both with the music and the message! It was AWESOME!
• "Everlasting God", by Lincoln Brewster, was a song we did on Thursday for ReNee's funeral. It was a huge moment of worship then, just as it was Sunday. He is THE Everlasting God and we can be thankful everyday that He is with us to guide, give us strength and comfort us.
• What you didn't know was our drummer, Kia, had a major cold thing going on and almost didn't make it. She brought it! Our keyboardist, Javan, was doing some songs he hadn't had the opportunity to really practice with due to his school schedule. He nailed it! COOL!

Pastor Bill EVENTUALLY shared his cookies in both services. What a great visual and great reminder for ALL of us. We have been blessed to be a blessing to others. We haven't been blessed to be greedy. And we don't call it that in the church, 'cause that would be offensive. What's really offensive is that we don't love each other and trust each other enough to say what needs to be said - "HEY! Stop being greedy!" Was that over the top? I can never tell...

If you're in ministry, what has God blessed you with? Are you sharing what you have with those who don't? In your own church, are you sharing what you have with your community, or are you just being greedy?
Face it, if we share with those 'outside' the church, then 'our church' won't be the same anymore and we'll have to 'accommodate' them.

I know, there I go being sarcastic again. Actually I'm not. I am tired of churches being selfish, greedy little stomping grounds where if you're not like us, you're not welcome. Satan loves those churches. Maybe we should all grow up - CHURCHES - and take a hard look at who we are. As Pastor Bill said on Sunday, "You can see the greed in my face. But what about yours?"

We, the church in America, have been greatly blessed. And we are supposed to be a blessing, at least that's how I read the Bible. So what about it? Will you be a blessing? Will you let God do an incredible, mighty work in your heart so that your church can be what He intended it to be? In your own life, will you be a blessing with all that God has blessed you with? Trust me on this - when you bless others with what God has blessed you with, your life will never be the same again. And you won't want it to be, either.

See ya in church.