Last weekend at Grace Church was Welcome Weekend! It has become a neat little tradition where we invite our friends to join us at church, bring in a guest speaker, and cast the net for the Spirit of God to draw men, women, and children to Himself! And it was a fabulous weekend.
For the third consecutive year we invited Clayton King to join us as the guest speaker. This year, his wife Sharie came too and they shared how to tell a better story with our lives. Clayton & Sharie have become good friends of ours and I have personally learned so much from them, their ministry, and their commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. After a full weekend learning from the Kings, it’s time to download what I learned so it can move from my head to paper and hopefully by God’s Spirit into my heart and life.
So, in no particular order here are the top 5 things I heard this weekend:
1.“Believers are God’s possession but the lost are God’s priority.” – Clayton King. This weekend served as a reminder that God’s mission on this planet is to seek and save the lost. He is still changing lives, and if people are God’s priority they should be our priority too. Too many times I can be guilty of making the church about my priorities, my preferences, and me. Time to grow up and be about God’s movement.
2. “If you’re not dead, God’s not done.” – Clayton King. Maybe we should have this painted somewhere so when we get up in the morning we realize that God’s plan and purpose in our lives is active… today! No matter your age, responsibility, title, or role: If you’re breathing today, He’s using you today.
3. “2 of my 5!” – Grace Church Attenders & Members. We don’t often use this language up front because it’s not a game and we don’t treat people like numbers. But a few years ago we strongly urged our church to prayerfully consider 5 people who they could invest in, build a relationship with, and share the gospel with. On Welcome Weekend, I met a lot of people’s “5’s”. Some of our people were in tears as someone they love responded to the invitation to give their life to Jesus! That never gets old!
4. “Don’t let your relationship with Jesus become professional, keep it personal.” – Sharie King. What a great reminder to those of us in ministry. It’s too easy to allow time in the Word to be for the next lesson, study, or sermon rather than for your heart. For those of us who serve the church we need this reminder every day. You can’t pass what you don’t possess.
5. “When Jesus enters into our lives it moves us from broken to beautiful in order to tell a better story.” – Clayton & Sharie King. This is it. The point of the messages on Sunday and what we saw the Spirit of God do this weekend at Grace Church. Jesus entered into people’s lives and the power of the gospel was evident. Now by His grace and His power they will have a better story to tell, rather than about their brokenness… it’ll be about His beauty!
There was a ton more I heard and saw, but these were the things that gripped my heart and mind. What a remarkable weekend. It never gets old to hear the story of Jesus and His love for people. It doesn’t have to be a church-wide emphasis like what took place this weekend, it can be a one-on-one conversation at the coffee shop. No matter where I never tire of seeing Jesus changes lives!
Keep on running!
Pastor Nick