Names

Have you ever stopped to think about the names you have? Not your given name or your last name, but the names you pick up from friends, family, maybe even society? Some of them are pretty ugly names. And most of them hurt. And I think our tendancy is to walk around with those names, allowing them to define who we are. We may not even be aware of it. Just thinking for a few minutes can bring up some pretty painful names I've been given. Failure. Lazy. Ugly. Worthless. Unlovable. What is important to realize is that those names don't define me. They aren't my identity. My indentity is in Christ! It is Him who gives me my worth. And trades those names for the ones He gives me. Check out the first few verses of Isaiah 61 for some amazing examples of how He does this with the broken. Beauty for ashes. Gladness for mourning. He restores us and renews us. And can take away those names that have been given to us.

This week we spent some time sharing about ourselves. It wasn't easy. But it was pretty powerful. We shared those old names, the hurtful ones. And then as a body, we prayed for new names. The challenge is in receiving those names, putting down the ashes and putting on the beauty.

Presence

Have you ever stopped to just rest for a moment? Have you felt your heart still racing while you are trying to rest? Or your mind going in a thousand different directions, thinking about the next step, when you know you should be sitting still? Its really tough to find actual rest. Finding it and going directly into the presence of God can be even more complicated. But after learning last week about being able to go right into His presence because of the blood of Jesus, we decided to give it a try. It was fruitful. A lot of us really encountered Jesus in a new or fresh way. Its amazing what God can do when you just spend time with Him. Worship was freeing after that.

Easter

God showed up again! Got to LOVE it when He does that.

So Easter. Forgiveness. Atonement for sins. The final sacrifice. Incredible stuff. We talked about the Day of Atonement, and the ritual sacrifice made on that day, year after year. And how you couldn't just go into the presence of God, because you'd die. And how in Hebrews 10, it clears all of that up. By what Jesus did on the cross. You should check it out. Compare Leviticus 16 with Hebrews 10, and you'll see some amazing things that God did. What we really focused on was forgiveness. And how we can now enter the Most Holy place, since we have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Beautiful stuff. And we really did it. People encountered God. Walked right up into His presence, and experienced forgiveness. And love. And grace.

If you are in the area, you should join us next week!

Encouragement

Sunday's message was about encouragement, and the kind of community we are praying for at The Foundry.

I've known a few people that really have the gift of encouragement, and one thing is for sure. People LOVE to be around them. They just build you up, and its great to spend time with them, because you are going to walk away feeling pretty good! They aren't fake about it, and after some time being encouraged, you realize that they were speaking on God's behalf about you. Its really cool.

One thing I noticed a few years back was that these same people are also ones that can correct you. And you take it. If other people tried to say the same things, you'd scoff, and get upset, and possibly walk away from the relationship. But not with these guys. I really believe its because you know that they love you. And since they spend so much time encouraging you, you don't feel like they are always just negative. You can see a little more clearly. And so you take the correction. Its good stuff. And the kind of community I'm dreaming of.

My vision for The Foundry is that people can come as they are, and be loved. And be real. No more hiding behind this perfect, but incredibly false life. Since we aren't shooting each other first, hopefully people will feel more free to open up about who they really are, and the things they struggle with. Because that's when you start to find freedom and healing. No more hiding. But I think its going to start with encouragement. So that's what we did. We broke up into small groups, and prayed for specific ways to encourage each other. And then we spoke up about it. And you could see how it affected people. It was beautiful.

Beginnings

This past Sunday night was the first meeting of The Foundry. I guess i can take credit with the naming of this new community. well, maybe for throwing the idea out there, we voted on it.

It is my hope for this meeting/community/worship gathering will indeed be a Foundry.

found·ry /ˈfaʊndri/
–noun, plural -ries.
1. an establishment for producing castings in molten metal.
2. the act or process of founding

I like definition # 2 (the process of founding) it gives us a 2 fold meaning.

found-ing
-noun
1. the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
2. To melt (metal) and pour into a mold.

This is something new and fresh for the Bangor Corps and for most of us attending. The goal isn't just to start something new though. The goal is to be melted, and molded, and through that process purified. As a result of us being molded and purified we're able to then accomplish the purpose God has for us. It's a great process because it's cyclical, in that once we're molded and have accomplished our purpose for a time we can be re-melted and molded again into something different.

It's my prayer that we'll all continue to grow and be melted and molded and purified over and over again.

May God Bless The Foundry.