Prayer

We've started a new thing at the Foundry. If you show up at 5pm, instead of 7pm, you get to pray the Bible with us! Yesterday was the innagural PTB walk around the chapel for the Foundry, and almost immediately we could see that God blesses this. I guess there is something to praying His words back to Him! We had visions of what God wanted to use the Foundry for, and some of the obstacles we face, and then prayed about those as well. Seriously, come check it out. Its worth the extra time.

When we got started with worship at 7pm, we could already feel God's presence in the room. We were few in number, but it was a solid time of worshipping the King of Kings! We then spent some time praying for the transitions that the Bangor corps is going through. We prayed blessings for the Burrs as they take their new appointments in Rhode Island. Then we spent a bit of time praying for the corps, soldiers, and programs, as this change is taking place. Some powerful words spoken there, for sure. And then finally, we prayed for our new leaders, the Lyles. That their transition would be smooth and strong, that they would come in with boldness for the Lord, and that He would be their covering. And since its always good to end with some worship, that's what we did. So we praise God for how He has worked through the Burrs in Bangor, and we anxiously await what He will do through the Lyles as well.

Missing

We've hit a bit of a slump in attendance over the last few weeks. We pressed on, despite being a few, and wound up having a pretty powerful time with God. Not really what I had planned, but certainly what God had in mind for the night. In the middle of trying to press on, Doug had a word about the people missing from the community. So we spent some time praying about what we need to do, repenting for lack of effort, and asking for energy and favor to bring people in that really need the encounter with God. We realized that God has been faithful, every single week, to show up and move in power. There is no lack of His presence at the Foundry! So really, we're missing out by not showing up, and not encouraging others to show up. So if you are someone who should be there, and we've not really pursued you, we're sorry about that! And we'll be picking you up, or doing whatever it takes to get you there for this Sunday!

After we felt some release in the prayer time (well, release for the moment, its an ongoing battle) we spent some time talking about the body, and the gifts each of us have been given. Its amazing to see how God brings people together to learn from each other, and even brings people with complementary gifts to work together for others. God has something planned for this time, and its got a unique opportunity, to really be a blank slate where we can just allow God to move. We got to see a glimpse of that this past Sunday, and we're excited for more.

good food

Have you ever seen one of those movies (you know like, the after-school specials, or a lifetime one) where there is this dysfunctional family? Like, the young adult daughter who has been really rebellious, and the teenage son who has been out partying and failing classes? The picture I had Sunday morning was of the dinner at the end of the movie. The one with the whole family sitting around, and everything is forgiven. Sure, it took a whole 2 hours of plot to get the family at the table, but eventually, they all came home, sat down, and realized they were loved. And the past had been forgiven. Its a cheesy picture, but the kingdom of God is sort of like that, right? The banquet table is used throughout scripture as a metaphor for the kingdom, and its a pretty good one. And in Luke 14, Jesus talks about it. A king issues an invitation, letting people know they are invited to this party. And a bunch of people accept it. Then on the day of the party, another invitation goes out, just letting people know when the party would start (I guess it would be hard to time out dinner when you are cooking over a fire, instead of a microwave). A ton of people decided at that point they couldn't go. And the excuses they give are really lame. Who, in ancient Israel, bought land without looking at it first? Wouldn't have happened. So the king is really insulted, and has his servants go out and invite the homeless and beggars, and people of lower social standing. Great parable.

Ok, so I know we're really like the beggars and homeless, people who weren't worthy of the invitation, but got it anyway, but I was thinking that some of us, if we know Jesus, might also be a bit like the group that got the first invitation. We've accepted. We know Him, and we receive His forgiveness and grace. But how often are we turning down the second invitation, to just come and sit with Him, and share a meal? Spend some time in His presence? I know we get busy. And forgetful. And sometimes, just don't feel like it. But those are pretty lame excuses to not share a meal with the King.

This week, accept the invitation to sit at the banquet table, and enjoy His presence. Know that He loves you with the love of a Father. Be blessed. Let Him pour your cup to overflowing.

why are you here?

For a few weeks now, some of us have been focused on that question. Why do we do the things we do? Why do we go to church? Is it for family expectations, to see friends, because its expected? Or because we really just want to worship? In 1 Kings 19, Elijah had a meeting with God in a cave. God asked him one question two times. Seemed pretty important, I'd guess. "Why are you here?"

I've been thinking about the connection between that question, and our expectations. We expect things from the people we have solid relationships with. They will show up when they say they will. They will treat me with respect, and in love. They will speak to me honestly. Jesus talks a little bit about this in Matthew 7:9-11. If you ask your dad for some bread, is he going to give you a stone? Would he give you a snake instead of the fish you asked for? (paraphrased terribly by me.) I think sometimes we get distracted by those other reasons to go to church... the friends and family, or just out of a sense of duty, because we don't really expect God to be there. Maybe we've felt disappointed by people in the church, and so we've lowered our expectations. But God doesn't disappoint! He does meet with us when we seek Him. He does answer our prayers when we pray (you can check out Jeremiah 29:12 about that one. And a bunch of other places as well). And He has things to say to you. New, fresh things. So why are you here?

listening prayer and tacos

Two weeks ago we had a really small crowd, which gave us an opportunity to do some listening prayer for each other. Pretty simple, but powerful.

This past weekend, we had a small fellowship night. Community is one of the main purposes of The Foundry, and personally, one of my favorite things to do in community is eat together. So we did. Nick and I decided to share one of our favorite meals with the group, tacos. Nothing super fancy, but it did the trick. People had a chance to relax and get to know each other a little better. For instance, I make my salsa a little too hot. I wasn't complaining though, I'll enjoy the leftovers for a while. :)

breaking chains

I've been a follower of Jesus for a long time, but something that didn't really click for me for years was the connection between confession and freedom. Pretty odd, since those go hand in hand, but I just really didn't get it. There was something about confession that seemed so down and hard, and it didn't really gel with my idea of freedom. But after some digging in the Word, I realized I was wrong. Shocker, I know. They do go hand in hand. Because confession and repentance breaks the chains of sin! And furthermore, if I confess, say, to another person, then I no longer care about hiding my sin, because I've already told people! Its good stuff. So we gave it a try. And handed out some broken chain links to symbolize what happened in the spirit. I can't speak for anyone else, but I for one felt some serious freedom.

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.