God Is at Work Through OneU
5 CommentsHere’s a great report from Kate McMahon and Chavia Groveman!
Kate: Our God is mighty to save and continues to show His mercy through loving and saving sinners!
Sometime in the spring a friend asked me to start meeting with a girl from her home church who had grown up in a Christian family but did not know the Lord. I met Esther soon thereafter, and we got together all through the spring. She even invited a friend of hers to join our Bible study in April.
We continued through the summer and this fall started going through How Good Is Good Enough?
together. Chavia was able to join us a few times, and the girls really enjoyed getting to know her. Our last two Bible studies [late September] felt particularly led by the Lord and empowered by His Spirit. Everyone came away excited about what we were learning, even though the conversations were very weighty and revealing.
The girls acknowledged that they did not yet know the Lord, but were aware of their need for a Savior. We talked through the barriers holding them back, and I encouraged them to take a sheet and put it by their bed. On the sheet I asked them to write out any evidences of God showing up in their lives. Chavia and I committed to pray for them and specifically that God would reveal Himself to them in an undeniable way. He did.
Chavia: After I met Esther, we pretty much hit it off right away. She loves sports, and so I was able to connect with her through softball.
Recently, Kate was having lunch with Esther, and so I asked her if she would want to hang out and go to The Gathering that night. [The Gathering is a Christian campus outreach affiliated with McLean Bible Church.] She agreed, and so that night we hung out just talking and talking for several hours in the STAMP [the Student Union at the University of Maryland] while we were waiting for the meeting to start. She ended up pouring out her heart, and told me that the thing that was keeping her from trusting Jesus as her Lord and Savior was her past sins. I reminded her of how when you put your trust in Jesus, He covers you with His righteousness, and forgives you of your sin. I really felt the Spirit the whole time we were talking.
When we got to The Gathering, there was a verse that they put on the screen from Ezekiel 36:25-27. It talks about how the Lord cleanses us from all our sins, and gives us a new heart of flesh taking out our heart of stone. I felt the Lord wanted me to read it to Esther after the service. The message that night was all about the Lord’s specific love for each of us, and the pastor spoke to people who were holding back from accepting Jesus because of their sins. At the end he took communion, and gave the explanation of how only people who are Christians could partake. I leaned over and asked Esther what she was thinking. She said she thought we should go up there, and asked me if I could pray with her. As I led her through the sinner’s prayer, she cried and cried!
Afterward, she was so happy, and kept talking about the new peace in her heart. I shared Ezekiel 36 with her again, and she told me that verse had really spoken to her when she saw it on the screen. All in all, it was an awesome night, and I really wish that Kate could have been there, since she’s been investing in Esther’s life since last spring. :)
But, as Kate and I were talking this morning, we were able to rejoice in the truth that it is not the sower or the reaper who gets the glory, but the Lord who is mighty to save! He is truly in the midst of this campus, and we are excited to see what else He is going to do!
October 9 2009 at 5:22 pm
More About Self-Control
0 CommentsHere are more responses I received when I e-mailed church members last week asking how they were being affected by our recent messages from Proverbs. People responded to three questions (names have been removed from the responses): 1) Where is God calling you to exercise self-control? What do you feel he’s calling you to say “no” to?
2) Express how God has been speaking to you. 3) What do you think he’s calling you to do instead with your time? Is there an attitude, activity or behavior you’d like to “put on”? (see Ephesians 4: 24)
Thanks to everyone who responded! I hope you’re encouraged (as I was) to see how God is at work.
1) My tongue and my reckless words!
2) Proverbs 12:18 was read and I was convicted of how my reckless words said in anger contributed to a conflict with my daughter.
3) Encourage my daughter with Scripture for where God is at work in her life and hold my tongue.1) Media. E-mail, Facebook, and text messaging I need to put down…
2) I believe that God has been reminding me that I have an eternal purpose. It is eye-opening to think how much I lose when I waste my time with media. I make God so small and not important and NOT the main focus in my heart.
3) I think he is calling me to spend time with people in person and pursue their hearts.1) Playing on the computer, sweets, doing my work, etc.
2) God has spoken to me about being a sluggard. Since my bout with Lyme’s disease, I’ve gotten used to being lazy. Now that I’m better, though, I need to start working.
3) I’d like to serve more.1) No to martha-isms - distractions of the home.
2) Conviction that my heart and mind are not fully engaged in my quiet times.
3) Be still.1) Show kindness in my interactions with my children and husband, and not be so quick to anger.
2) Show love, patience; enjoy time now because children grow up quickly.
3) Spend more time in prayer for my family, also, quality time in God’s Word.1) No to the busy schedules. Slow down and spend more time for the Lord.
2) God gave me a very specific command about a week a go: he said: “Worship me!” I have been, and the Holy Spirit has renewed my heart.
3) To praise him, to be humble before him, adore him for the wonders he does in our life. Soak in the Spirit.1) Food as an idol and web-surfing during my time at home with my kids during the day.
2) I am sensing that God wants to deepen my relationships with my children individually through my prayer time with HImself.
3) Praying for and with my children as their needs are brought to my attention.1) No to: negative thought patterns that lead to dissatisfaction with the life God has chosen for me.
2) Especially thru Ben Wikner’s class on The Book of Ruth (“He is actively plotting for my good”) and Charles Spurgeon’s books: The Suffering Lettersand The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith
(I’ve had severe, long-term health problems for almost 20 years).
3) Spend more time in His presence: the Word, worship, prayer, service to others and biblical fellowship1) With my thoughts, I have a tendency to let my mind run with too much concern, worry, lack of faith.
2) Self-control should apply to even how we use our mind.
3) Philippians 4:81) Less time wasted on the computer, be it editing pictures, checking e-mail, or watching movies.
2) I became aware of how I was wasting my time a few weeks ago, and Joshua Harris’ message helped confirm that I was not spending my time wisely. I have had the desire to spend my time better, but have lacked the motivation, even though I know every moment counts.
3) Open the Bible and read, work on cross-centered friendships, and involve others in all that I do.1) I’m a very aggressive and judgmental person. I need to show the same grace Christ has shown me to others.
2) Mainly God has been working on how I need to depend on him and “look before I leap,” so to say. Show compassion and grace for others before judgment. It may take some time, but I’m just going to keep coming before him in prayer and reading his Word.
3) Less “me” time and more time helping others who may need it more then I need my time to relax.1) Free time; spending more time with God rather than personal pleasure.
2) He’s been telling me to spend less time on the computer.
3) Rather than going on the computer for games, bring up the Bible on the computer to study.1) Self-control for me is connected to faith and humility.
2) It takes faith to let go of those not-obviously-sinful impulses to do things which often seem much less interesting.
3) It takes humility to let go of my own ideas and desires because of my overrated view of myself.1) Not eating unhealthy foods or over eating, and having the self-control to exercise.
2) As I pray the Lord’s prayer every day, the Lord has been speaking to me about having “no other Gods before him” and “do not fear.” When I am afraid, I often get a snack. I do not exercise self-control nor trust in the Lord in my eating.
3) I need to be aware of my eating response and pray and/or exercise when I’m aware of my fear.1) Self-control in how I manage to spend my time. God is calling me to say “no” to laziness.
2) God has been speaking to me to take more initiative in planning.
3) Put on more of a servant’s heart to care for everyone I interact with in my life.
October 8 2009 at 3:17 pm
Growing in Self-Control
0 CommentsOn Sunday we asked several church members to share how God has been speaking to them about self-control. This came as a follow-up to some of our recent sermons from Proverbs, especially “Self Control in a Wired World” and “The Sluggard.”
The video includes testimonies from the second service only. Tomorrow we’ll post a clip with testimonies from the first.
April 29 2009 at 10:37 am
‘Making a Very Loud Statement…’
0 CommentsThis clip from Sunday shows Kristin Hoover sharing her salvation story. She’s one of seven teens who were baptized on Sunday (see yesterday’s post).
April 14 2009 at 5:50 pm
‘I Knew I Was Powerless…’
2 CommentsAmanda Darby was baptized in the first service this Sunday (Easter) and was kind enough, in both services, to tell how she came to know Christ. Thank you, Amanda, for faithfully testifying about what God has done in your life and for allowing us to share it here for a wider audience.
April 9 2009 at 4:59 am
Story With Two Happy Endings
1 CommentsI want to highlight another reason why it felt like “German Sunday” here this past weekend. If you’ve been following the blog this week or you attended one of the meetings, this will make sense.
In addition to having Wolfgang Wegert preach, we heard the testimony of a young German man, Patrick Gleichmann. Patrick came to work here in Gaithersburg, was invited to Covenant Life by a co-worker, attended Alpha (now called “Introducing God,” a class that introduces guests to the Christian faith), trusted Christ for his salvation and joined the church. It’s a great story of God’s saving grace. (And that co-worker, by the way, ended up becoming Patrick’s wife!)
The video shows Patrick sharing his testimony and then being baptized. (He was baptized in the first service, but gave his testimony in both services.)