“Shout to the Lord” Bright City – St Peter’s Brighton
We sang this in the auditorium three weeks ago. I was tearful! Beyond glad to be together again, overwhelmed at God’s faithfulness. Yet the emotion so close to the surface revealed there may still be a thread of fragility to our new reality, but how good to return to corporate worship!
Prophetic Focus – Back Together
“Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life,
in which you’ll serve as holy priests, offering Christ-approved lives up to God”.
1 Peter 2 v 5 (The Message Bible)
Driving through the countryside this Summer I noticed miles of dry stone walls. God gave me this word:
“LIVING STONES – be built together like a drystone wall – stones all uniquely shaped, each having a specific purpose, carefully placed.
The WALL stands strong if the stones OVERLAP –
Moss covered alongside brand new stone, sharp with smooth, all supporting each other”.
OVERLAP – is a key word and spoke to me of shared living aka church family life, having these characteristics:
Celebration, Worship
Hospitality, Generosity
Vulnerability, Confession
Sacrifice, Service
“The WALL has taken a hard hit. Some OVERLAP has been lost. There has been dislodging,
gaps appearing and tremors felt from the impact of the season. The WALL didn’t fall but it was hard hit and unlike Lego Bricks won’t just snap back into place in neat rows. We’ve all shifted fractionally or massively. Our shared family living was shaken.Yet God is saying, whatever the movement or shape change there is very much
“a place” for everyone.
No stone is rejected or lost”
The second part of the word was that if we earnestly turn to the Holy Spirit:
He will reveal solutions,
Bring hope and healing.
He is doing the realigning, re-designing so we don’t have to strive
Prayer Focus
Take time to identify and acknowledge any impact that you are aware of from the “hard hit”. It’s ok to be not fully ok just yet. Ask Father God to help with your recovery.
Ask God if there is any re-positioning or re-aligning you may need.
What aspects of Shared Living aka Church Family Life do I need to engage with?
Pray into what “Overlap” looks like for you. Know where you fit.
“Hand over our fixing to God” Mark Birch-Machin
This was said in the context of how we like to fix ourselves and others with our own ideas.
Pray for an increased dependency on Holy Spirit for revelation, guidance and solutions for our day-to-day living.
Pray fervently for those we share life with. Ask for God’s ongoing help to love and serve them.
Pray for all “New Stones” who have come to faith and joined the church in recent months. We may not be able to name everyone and likely haven’t met them all in person. Yet we can pray that they are welcomed into the family.
29 Sep 2021
