Each year we anticipate and prepare for the Christmas Program sequella…the struggles, the Spiritual attacks, and the challenges that inevitably follow the good things God did at. There’s always the natural low that follows the high; the valley beside every mountain top, and the lie intended to steal every joy.
Consider how you might encourage, challenge, and stay connected to those you helped gather to Encounter. They may need God’s Truth now more than ever. Sometimes it’s sufficient to plainly remind friends and family that Jesus lives in the middle more often than on the mountain. He taught occasionally from the mountainside and sometimes debated the kings and scholars, but he spent most of his time in the valleys, slums, hospitals and living rooms of every day normal people. The key is to faithfully take the ember that Jesus places in our hearts in the momentous times and fan it into flame to warm and brighten the mundane realities. Jesus never promised to extract us from the world, but to strengthen us for the day.
In our sequella, the days following our Encounter, let’s speak encouragement to our own soul and to the souls of others. Let’s pray for those we know were impacted by God and pray for those who were impacted that we don’t know. Let’s build a wall of encouragement and prayer around all who took a step of faith this weekend, and remember those who may be taking their step today or tomorrow…
For those of Vista who were involved in Encounter (off stage, on stage, and everywhere else), I want to say thank you for your gift to the congregation and the community. In your service to Christ you have touched lives, the message has warmed cold hearts, and you have reminded people that God is alive and active through the testimonies shared. Each of you has one or more God experiences that has made His presence real in your life. In this time of sequella remember what God has done in your past and ask him for strength in your present. May God bless each of you this holiday season and once again, thank you for presenting the message of Christ through Encounter.