What Could Be

August 25th, 2009

This past Sunday as we continued looking at the prayer of Jesus in John 17 we talked about God’s plan for his followers. One of the things we talked about is how God’s plan points to what “could be” in the world. There is no question that as we look at the world around us it is clear that things are not the way they should be. I firmly believe that God has called the church to be the solution as we point to the life changing power of the Gospel and develop a vision for what “could be” as we live according to God’s plan.

In light of these thoughts I want to share with you some of the things I pray about as I think about Cedarcrest pointing people to what “could be” through the power of God. Some of these things are already beginning to happen at Cedarcrest and some of these prayers are a vision of what I hope for in days to come.

As I look at the future for Cedarcrest, here are some of the things I pray “could be”.

- A place that is grounded in the word of God. I pray that we would not waiver one step from the truth of God’s word and continue to hold up scripture as our true authority.

- A place that is known in our community for our love. I pray that we would be the first phone call people in our community make when a need arises because they know us as a picture of the love of God that will do all we can to address the need.

- A place that exists for those “outside of the walls”. I pray we would be so obsessed with reaching people with the good news of the Gospel that we never become consumed with those who are already coming to Cedarcrest. In case you were wondering, Luke 15 is the driving passion of my life! Look it up.

- A place of Unity. How could I leave this out as we focus on the prayer of Jesus in John 17. We better be about unity since it is what Jesus prayed for His followers!

- A place that keeps the fire marshal busy! I pray that God would move mightly on our behalf and that the life changing power of God would become so contagious at Cedarcrest that we continually run out of space. How exciting would it be if the fire marshal showed up at church and said there are too many people here!

- A place that gives away as much as it spends. Imagine the impact that we could make in the world if for every dollar we spent on ministry at Cedarcrest we gave a dollar away! This is a lofty dream I know, but there is no question the resources are available to do this if we will be obedient stewards of what God has given us.

- A place where selfishness is replaced with service. We can turn our community upside down if we will die to self and live for the benefit of others. I pray that we would be a picture of the Gospel and become a church that serves with no agenda except exposing the love of God.

- A place where men act like men. I stole this from the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 16 and it is a passion of mine. Paul challenges the men of faith to “act like men and be strong”. Imagine what our families would look like if men would take seriously the call to be the spritual leaders of our homes. This fall we are launching men’s mentoring groups and I pray that through these groups more and more men would become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ and start showing the world what biblical manhood looks like!

- A place where people are set free from bondage and addiction. I pray that Cedarcrest Church can become a place of healing and restoration for those who are living in bondage and addiction. This will take a lot of work and resources, but I look forward to the day when our church is known as a place of healing.

- A place where the light of Christ is blinding. I pray that the first thing people say when they talk about Cedarcrest Church is “that group of people is crazy about Jesus”! May we be known as followers of Jesus above all else!

These are just a few of my thoughts about what could be as I pray about the future of Cedarcrest Church. I look forward to sharing more in the future and I pray that God’s plans would be far bigger than anything that I can imagine! I am so excited about the journey we are on!

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