Daily Devotions

Today's Bible reading: Leviticus 1—12; Acts 16

Scripture:

Acts 16:10 “After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Observation:

Paul had a vision that invited him to bring the gospel to Macedonia. So he travels to Philippi and as his time in Philippi unfolds we see the conversion of Lydia and her household; the deliverance of the demonized fortune telling slave girl; Paul and Silas imprisoned, and the conversion of the jailor and his household. This was the beginning of the community of believers in Philippi which we follow in the letter Paul later wrote to them.

Application:

When God is opening doors, it is amazing how every contact & relationship reveals that the Holy Spirit is at work bringing people to faith. I am experiencing a little of this right now as I see God working in bringing people to himself in different pockets of my life and around the fellowship at Sonrise. This reminds me to follow Paul’s example by…
• Watching out for the Lydia’s; those who are seeking God and practicing their devotion with all the information they have had.
• Keep open to those ‘out of place’ people who sometimes are disturbing, and need discernment to address their needs.
• And always ready to rejoice in my trials and not be surprised by the people God brings into my life through the variety of circumstances that may happen.
He is always working!

Hello Sonrise!

COUPLES NIGHT OUT was an outstanding event this past Monday. We had a lot of fun and the faith component was incredibly strong.

The next two Sundays, February 12 & 19, we will focus on providing an opportunity for us all to connect with some folks who are part of Sonrise that we may not be acquainted with. So as you come into the lobby we will be asking everyone to put on a name tag. Then in the middle of our worship service we will be taking a refreshment break for a few minutes to allow you to connect with others.

LENT is a season of preparation for Easter that has long been practiced by liturgical churches for 40 days beginning on Ashe Wednesday (February 22, 2012) and leading up to the Celebration of Easter (Good Friday on April 6, 2012 and Resurrection Sunday on April 8). Lent is traditionally focused on setting aside extra time for prayer and Bible reading, practicing self-denial through fasting from something, giving a special offering or act of love and through finding a way to share the good news with someone. We will put forward some of our ideas and challenge to the church family over the next couple of Sundays. This will include planning our Easter Weekend outreach with the Good Friday Family Festival and our Sunday Celebration Services.

We will invite our LifeTeams to set aside a night of communion and prayer and we will be planning one or two church wide prayer times. In addition we will start an Easter 2012 Blog on our website. We will invite you to determine to give up something for Lent, to read through a bible reading plan based on our Life Journal and to participate in works of love during this season.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Stan