Most of us are familiar with the powerful story of the Apostle Paul’s conversion.  He is on the road to Damascus in route to persecute more followers of Jesus when he is surprised by a bright light and an unfamiliar voice.  He is blinded and was led to Damascus where he stayed for 3 days without sight, food or water.

Enter the forgotten hero!
Ananias is mentioned simply as a disciple of Jesus and God speaks to him in a vision.  Acts 9:10-12
Ananias responded in obedience to what would have been the more modern equivalent of making a visit to ”Adolph Hitler” for the purpose of laying on hands and giving sight back.  Ananias was skeptical but made the walk and carried out his small part in the miraculous transformation of a former 1st Century terrorist.
Ananias played a small but vital part in the sovereign plan of God to use the Apostle Paul to spread the Gospel!
Ananias has been called one of the forgotten heroes of the faith.  
Forgotten heroes are those that play seemingly small roles in Kingdom Advancement but in reality their roles are indispensable in the Kingdom of God!  
Who are the Ananias’s of our day?
  • Those that setup and breakdown in a church plant.
  • Those that hold and take care of babies so young couples can hear the gospel.
  • Those that quietly serve the sick, hospitalized and troubled behind the scenes.
  • Those that serve and teach our children on Sundays in an age appropriate setting where they can hear the gospel.
  • Those that help and serve the poor in a community but never get notoriety nor want it.
  • Those that love on our teenagers weekly in our student worship environment.
  • Those that count money, stuff envelopes and lick stamps.
  • Those that pull trailers, swing hammers and replace broken things.
  • Those that run sound, cameras and edit video.
I could go on and on and on…….
I am thankful for the forgotten heroes in my life and in the life of Church at the Grove!  We could not do it without you!
Are you willing to be a forgotten hero?
 

I am so thankful for the people that God has put in place to lead CATGrove forward in our mission to lead people to follow Jesus and Make Disciples!

We have launched another campus in Social Circle!
This past Sunday we launched our Social Circle Campus with 95 people in attendance at Social Circle Middle School!  Wow! Praise God for His faithfulness in seeing this dream become a reality.
I am so thankful for all the people that have invested so much energy and time making this campus in Social Circle possible. Nathan’s strong leadership has been a blessing in making this launch possible.  I am thankful for all of the leaders and volunteers that have invested so much time and effort to get us going in Social Circle.
I am so excited about our new teaching series “PLUNGE” that began this past Sunday!  We will address each one of our “ministry filters” or “core values” over these six weeks.
Here are our ministry filters:
Biblical Faith
Persuasive Compassion
Missional Responsibility
Authentic Relationships
Intentional Simplicity
Faithful Stewardship
This past Sunday:  The Word of God is a revelation of Himself and when we see Him as He is, we are transformed.  
Join us as we journey through the Bible at www.youversion.com Essential 100 Bible reading plan!  Go here to see it: http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/the-essential-100/settings
Martin Luther said, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.”
Let’s commit to reading and applying God’s Word on a daily basis.
I am so excited about what God is doing in and through Church at the Grove!  Please continue to invest your life into the lives of others in our community!  Let’s continue to move forward with the mission God has set forth for us.
I love you and I am praying for you.
 

Everybody’s Welcome, Nobody’s Perfect, Anythings Possible

Everybody’s Welcome
Jesus was the perfect example/model of compassion for others. Jesus accepted and demonstrated love toward the unacceptable and unlovable of His day. Everybody was welcome to come to Him. He encountered prostitutes, Samaritans, tax collectors, gentiles, lepers or sinners of all kinds. In Matthew 9 we see that Jesus saw these people as sheep scattered without a shepherd and he had compassion on them.

My prayer is that Church at the Grove will be a community that has the same heart for people that Jesus demonstrated in the scriptures. We welcome people to journey with us even if they don’t agree with all we believe. We have created an environment where people can explore faith and their own pace hopefully experiencing the unconditional love of Jesus as they participate in our community of faith.

Nobody’s Perfect
We are all in need of forgiveness. Paul tells the Romans that “we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. One of the core values we aspire to is “authentic relationships”. Because we are ALL in need of forgiveness there is no sense of spiritual superiority. We dream of a community at Church at the Grove where there is no need for hiding, no need for wearing masks, no need to impress anyone because we are all saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Anything’s Possible
Jesus believed in people like the fisherman Peter. Although he was impulsive, haughty and often would stick his foot right in his mouth, Jesus saw something in this uneducated fisherman that led Him to invest into Peter’s life in such a way that the world would ultimately be impacted by Peter’s leadership. Peter was the most significant leader during the birth of the early church.

God has called us at Church at the Grove to invest into the lives of people with the attitude and belief that “anything is possible”. We are to see people through the eyes of Jesus and roll up our sleeves and do whatever it takes to get the gospel into the lives of those “least likely to go to church”.

That is why we stepped out on faith over 5 years ago to launch a gathering in Walnut Grove AND that is why we take another step of faith today to launch a gathering in Social Circle. This is an outpost on the landscape of our mission field where the Word of God can be taught and the gospel proclaimed. Let’s go! May God bless our obedience to Him and draw people to Himself as we lift up the name of Jesus Christ!

Keep praying, Keep investing, Keep Inviting!

Russ

 

Mid-Week Video Email 11.17.11 from Church at the Grove on Vimeo.

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