What is your Egypt?
I could not have predicted what happened at Suncrest over the last three weeks. We did a message series called “Hooked” that traced the story of the Exodus in the Old Testamanet and paralleled it to the things that enslave us in our own lives today. Each of us have our “Egypt” (that habit or hurt or hang-up that entangles us) and each of us have a desire to get free from those Egypts.
At the same time, most of us find it very challenging to actually do so. Like the Israelites, a lot of us actually choose to return to the slavery because even though it isn’t pretty, it is predictable. Or we find ourselves wandering when we have have tried to get away from something but haven’t walked into a new life with God (to extend the metaphor…our Promised Land).
The real stories of Kevin/Patti and Cece are what made the difference in this series…connecting with people and stirring them to take steps themselves. Sunday, we also had an element of watching our own “Egypts” dissolve before our eyes and then encountering the power of the cross through communion. After our third service, I spent 35 minutes praying with people who were definitely wrestling with God over a few things. For me, it was a fantastic line of people.
-I hugged a young lady in the first row who has told me for 4 months she felt she needs a relationship with Jesus. We are going to sit down to talk soon.
-A guy came up an introduced himself. He had been turned off to church/God by a legalistic church 16 years ago and found Suncrest through a friend in August. He’s been coming ever since, wrestling through lots of spiritual stuff…and this series was the kicker. He’ll be at our Celebrate Recovery kick-off Monday night.
-A lady who was on her first visit to our church…she ran into a couple of old friends, we prayed together for this challenging season of life she finds herself in.
-One of my favorite elementary kids at Suncrest…she just came up to give me five and say “hi.”
-A couple I married a few years ago and had begun attending our church…then disappeared about 6 months ago. They have been back for 2 weeks and they came at the perfect time with this series. God is at work.
-A lady who has been coming to our church for a few months at the invitation of a friend. I got to talk with her in the fall about some next steps in her life and my heart just goes out to her situation. She just wanted to say she is hanging in there and looks forward to Suncrest every week.
The emails started Monday — I’ll just share a line from one… “Eleven years I have been at Suncrest and I can’t tell you how awesome the service was Sunday.”
God is definitely stirring something as we head into 2008. I’m always thankful for his activity in our church.
.Real.Greg.Lee. 