This Week at Twin Cities - January 28, 2010

Hey Everybody,

You are an incredibly generous church! We have now sent $8750 to Haiti relief funds. I ask you to keep praying for the recovery in that devastated nation. May we see God’s people rise up and be His hands and feet during this time of deep tragedy.

You are an incredibly responsive church! Over 300 people made a commitment to begin serving in some capacity utilizing the SHAPE given to them by God. I invite those who weren’t here on Sunday to watch the service online. My son, who is 15, told me that it was very inspiring to him as I talked about how God has made each one of us in a special way. You are uniquely made by Him to serve others! Please be patient as our Ministry Teams contact you, and help them out by returning their calls as soon as possible.

“Create Space” has created quite a stir as I’ve responded to scores of emails about Bible reading, solitude, Small Groups and serving. Someone told me that this series was speaking to people who know God is their answer, but needed some coaching on how to meet with Him. Thank you for your open hearts.

This Sunday we’ll have a time of Communion as we “Create Space to Remember God’s Grace.” I am so excited about the service we’ve planned. We’re actually creating space in the service for you to have a different kind of experience. It’s amazing how variety and doing things differently can give us new perspectives. I hope you’ll come prepared by doing a heart check before you come on Sunday morning. I encourage you to read 1 John 1:5 - 2:2 and ask God to show you the condition of your heart.

Preparing my heart to meet with God,

Pastor Ron

This Week at Twin Cities - January 21, 2010

Hey Everybody,

You are an incredibly generous church! At the end of our time together on Sunday, we gave those who wanted to a chance to give to the Haiti recovery effort, and in a spontaneous flood of generosity you gave $8,400! I am amazed at your willingness to give of yourselves to help others. If you want to give to Haiti through us, make sure to designate that in your offerings this week.

The giving we did on Sunday is just another example of what we can do together. Pastor John talked about making room to include God’s family this week. How’s it going? Did you find your way to a Small Group yet? Are you making sure Sunday morning church is a sacred commitment for you and your family? God made us to be part of a family, a building, and a body. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about how important you are to our body being complete, and so I want to encourage you to understand that truth. Our body is not complete without you, but that’s still not enough.

There’s another way of looking at how valuable we are to the local body God has attached us to. The example I want to use is this: My ear may be attached to my body, but if my ear refuses to do what it’s made to do, then I can’t hear. My ear must engage in serving the rest of the members of my body or it will just atrophy and decay, and the rest of my body will suffer. The ear is useless unless it serves its purpose.

We’re going to talk about that whole principle on Sunday as we talk about Create Space: Making Room to Serve God’s Body.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Ron

This Week at Twin Cities - January 14, 2010

Hey Everybody,

Wow, the response to Sunday was great as we talked about “Creating Space to Hear God’s Voice.” So, I’ve got to ask, “How is it going? Are you reading and journaling? Did you grab some time for stillness and silence this week?” Why don’t you drop me an email letting me know about your experience?

At the Small Group I attended on Monday, the leader brought this quote that fit so well with our series I thought I would share it with you. Henri Nouwen says that in the spiritual life the word discipline means “the effort to create some space in which God can act.”

That’s what we’re talking about in this series – creating space to be in God’s presence. Here’s a quote from an email I received this week: 

Dear Pastor Ron, A passage in the reading today struck me – “Many people say, ‘Who will show us better times?’ Let the smile of Your face shine on us, Lord.” -Psalm 4:6 NLT. I love the image of God smiling down on me as I refocus my thoughts toward Him and not on the outside “Who.” Have a joy filled day.

I hadn’t seen that when I did the reading for the day, and I was so encouraged to go back and read this nugget that had been shown to me by someone else. That’s one of the reasons God wants us to be part of a local outpost or in community and fellowship with Followers of Jesus. We can all gain from each other’s knowledge and insight. The synergy and encouragement we experience when we do life together is pretty amazing. In fact, that’s what we’re talking about this week – Creating Space to Include God’s People. I hope you’ll be there.

Wanting to connect with you,


Pastor Ron

This Week at Twin Cities - January 7, 2010

Hey Everybody,

I was enthused by your response on Sunday as we began another year of Bible reading. A majority of you agreed to begin reading the Bible regularly so that you could know Him better. I prayed for your resolve today.

I want to tell you about a recent experience when God spoke to me through His word. In the days preceding my recent trip to Uganda, I had many things to check off a very long to-do list. I was going to be gone for 11 days, which meant I had a whole pile of personal, family and work things to take care of. I was running at a pretty fast pace. Kimberly even had to pack for me as I ran full speed until I left for the airport that morning at 5:30.

I sat down in my assigned seat ready to leave, already missing my family and feeling a sense of worry that was exacerbated by my fatigue. As the plane was about to taxi to the runway and depart, I opened my Bible and journal to begin chronicling God’s movement in me and through me on the adventure ahead. I had a mixture of fear and anticipation as I sat there that morning.

The reading for the day (using our reading plan) was Psalm 121. I love how God was so personal that His word would speak clearly to me that morning, encouraging me to trust Him with my family, our church, the unknowns ahead of me, the message I still had to prepare for the Sunday in Uganda, and my concerns over my health. I don’t have space to put the Psalm here. I want to suggest that you read it yourself and let God speak to you about what you need from Him today.

I want to encourage you to be in church this Sunday. We have a great experience planned that I believe will inspire and challenge us to do whatever it takes to create space for God.

Creating space to hear God’s voice,

Pastor Ron