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"The Little Red Hen"

One day the little red hen wanted to make some bread. She picked up some grains of wheat.

"Can you help me plant the wheat?" asked the little red hen. "No" said the pig. "I will do it myself" said the hen.

The hen planted the wheat. The little red hen looked at the sun. It was helping the wheat to grow.

One day the little red hen went down to the garden to pick some wheat. The little red hen asked the pig to help. He grunted "No", while rolling in the mud. No one helped the hen.

The hen went to get the wheat from the mill. "Who will help me?" she asked. "Not I" said the old lazy dog.

The very tired hen climbed the hill to the mill.

"Can you please help me carry the flour?" she asked. The cat said, "No, I'm too busy!".

"Who can help me make the bread?" said the little red hen.

The little red hen asked the cat and duck to help her make the bread. The laZy animals didn't help the hen.

"If you will not help me, I will do everything myself." said the hen.

The little red hen was making the bread. The hen baked the bread from the flour. She cooked the bread in her kitchen. he little red hen baked her bread very quickly.

The lazy cat wanted to eat the yummy bread that the hen had made. But, the little red hen ate the bread all by herself. She ate the bread with jam. The little red hen's bread was eXtra yummy.

"The Little Red Hen", from Fairy Tale/Folk Tale

Like the story above, teamwork-participation is necessary in a local church body, which my local church continues to try encouraging. We can't leave all the work up to the pastor or leaders. As a local committed church member-congregation, we need to "help-out"! In the end, only a few or more would receive the "blessings" of the "hard-work" that participates in the teamwork effort in helping through the process of getting a church building

Stand-up and ask God how you can be a blessing to the team!

This page is dedication to the journal timeline of the process of getting a church building for my local church. Below is a timeline that I'll be updating starting from the beginning stages of the church building process:

Timeline

Tuesday, January 20th-"First Church Body Prayer & Fast"
Tuesday, January 27th-"Church Body Prayer & Fast"


*see Bible

Recommended Resources

Local-GoodnewsMorris

Articles

  • Church suspends plans to buy former UBC building Published Wednesday, October 01, 2008 By Tom Larson Sun Tribune

    • "The Morris Community Church�s negotiations to buy the former United Building Center complex as a home for its congregation have fallen through.
    MCC Pastor Pat Franey informed Morris City Manager Blaine Hill and the City Council in a Sept. 29 letter that it would be suspending efforts to finalize a deal. Franey said later that it would delay for six months to a year any attempts to purchase the building.
    Earlier this year, the church successfully petitioned the city to change zoning in the area of the UBC building at West 6th Street and Pacific Avenue to accommodate converting the building for use as a church.
    The 1.3-acre site became available when UBC closed its Morris facility in 2007. Since January 2007, MCC has been negotiating with the building�s owners on a potential contract-for-deed agreement.
    The UBC building owners were firm in their sale price, even after inspections showed that the building�s roof would need much more extensive repairs than MCC representatives initially believed. In addition to a full-price bid for the building, MCC was confronted with roof repair costs that have doubled since negotiations began. There were concerns that, in a building that old, other repair expenses would crop up, Franey said.
    �When it�s an older building, there are always surprises anyway,� Franey said.
    The building�s owners are collecting lease payments from UBC until September 2009, leaving them little incentive to lower the building�s price, Franey said.
    That, combined with the repair costs and the current financial situation in the country, made it prudent to suspend the negotiations, he said.
    �Too many things were stacking up,� Franey said. �We thought the �gotchas� were getting to be too many.�
    Morris Community Church will continue to rent the Morris Area High School auditorium for services, and its building fund grew recently after the August sale of its previous church building on East 6th Street.
    In his email to the council and Hill, Franey thanked the city for its efforts to facilitate a deal, and he did not rule out pursuing the UBC property if future conditions are favorable. The church will continue to explore other options, Franey said.
    �For the sake of Morris, I hope something happens with (the UBC property),� he said. �We�re open to any option.�"
  • Morris Community Church may buy UBC building Morris Sun Tribune Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008

    • "The Morris Community Church is on the verge of buying the former United Building Center complex pending a zoning change by the city.
    The Morris City Council heard a request from the church and opinions from its City Manager and City Attorney Tuesday at its regular meeting.
    There appears to be no opposition from the city regarding the Morris Community Church’s request to operate under a conditional use in what is currently zoned Heavy Industrial.
    Morris Sun Tribune Talk About It Icon Add a comment The one drawback for MCC is that the process could take two months or more, which pushes up against the church’s planned June 1 closing date.
    Since MCC is not yet the owner of the property and can’t petition for the condition use, the proposal must be initiated by the City Council or the city’s Planning Comission. The council approved sending the measure to the Planning Commission to being the condition use process.
    Council member Jeff Miller, who sits on the Planning Commission, said in previous discussions about the vacant UBC building that it wasn’t likely another business could be located there, and that any future industrial business probably would be more interested in locating in the city’s Industrial Park. As such, Miller said he did not anticipate that the Planning Commission would object to an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance to allow the MCC project to move forward.
    Once the Planning Commission makes it decision, it will be required to hold a public hearing on the request. If the amendment is recommended to the council, it would be required to conduct first and second readings of the proposed change over the course of two council meetings. That would take a month. If the council approves the conditional use, it would need to be published and another waiting period ensues. At that point, MCC could apply for a conditional use permit to remodel the building and begin using it for church purposes.
    MCC Pastor Pat Franey said the church intends to buy the 1.3-acre site, remove several outbuildings for parking, and use the main structure for church purposes.
    See Saturday’s Sun Tribune and the paper’s Web site on Friday for more details about the proposal."

    State-GoodnewsMinnesota

    Nation-GoodnewsUSA

    Articles

  • My take: Why my church rebelled against the American Dream "Editor’s Note: David Platt, Ph.D., is the author of the New York Times bestseller Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream and is senior pastor of the 4,000-member Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. By David Platt, Special to CNN religion.blogs.cnn.com


    • "We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with.
    A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts.
    A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.
    But lately I’ve begun to have hope that the situation is changing.
    The 20th-century historian who coined the term “American Dream,” James Truslow Adams, defined it as “a dream… in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”
    But many of us are realizing that Jesus has different priorities. Instead of congratulating us on our self-fulfillment, he confronts us with our inability to accomplish anything of value apart from God. Instead of wanting us to be recognized by others, he beckons us to die to ourselves and seek above all the glory of God.
    In my own faith family, the Church at Brook Hills, we have tried to get out from under the American Dream mindset and start living and serving differently.
    Like many other large American churches, we had a multimillion-dollar campus and plans to make it even larger to house programs that would cater to our own desires. But then we started looking at the world we live in.
    It's a world where 26,000 children die every day of starvation or a preventable disease. A world where billions live in situations of such grinding poverty that an American middle-class neighborhood looks like Beverly Hills by comparison. A world where more than a billion people have never even heard the name Jesus. So we asked ourselves, “What are we spending our time and money on that is less important than meeting these needs?” And that’s when things started to change.
    First we gave away our entire surplus fund - $500,000 - through partnerships with churches in India, where 41 percent of the world’s poor live. Then we trimmed another $1.5 million from our budget and used the savings to build wells, improve education, provide medical care and share the gospel in impoverished places around the world. Literally hundreds of church members have gone overseas temporarily or permanently to serve in such places.
    And it’s not just distant needs we’re trying to meet. It’s also needs near at hand.
    One day I called up the Department of Human Resources in Shelby County, Alabama, where our church is located, and asked, “How many families would you need in order to take care of all the foster and adoption needs that we have in our county?”
    The woman I was talking to laughed.
    I said, “No, really, if a miracle were to take place, how many families would be sufficient to cover all the different needs you have?”
    She replied, “It would be a miracle if we had 150 more families.”
    When I shared this conversation with our church, over 160 families signed up to help with foster care and adoption. We don’t want even one child in our county to be without a loving home. It’s not the way of the American Dream. It doesn’t add to our comfort, prosperity, or ease. But we are discovering the indescribable joy of sacrificial love for others, and along the way we are learning more about the inexpressible wonder of God’s sacrificial love for us.
    Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my country and I couldn’t be more grateful for its hard-won freedoms. The challenge before we American Christians, as I see it, is to use the freedoms, resources, and opportunities at our disposal while making sure not to embrace values and assumptions that contradict what God has said in the Bible.
    I believe God has a dream for people today. It’s just not the same as the American Dream.
    I believe God is saying to us that real success is found in radical sacrifice. That ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of him. That the purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. That meaning is found in community, not individualism. That joy is found in generosity, not materialism. And that Jesus is a reward worth risking everything for.
    Indeed, the gospel compels us to live for the glory of God in a world of urgent spiritual and physical need, and this is a dream worth giving our lives to pursue.
    The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Platt. "
  • "THE CHURCH'S BUILDING AND MAINTENANCE SERVICE" by Ray C. Stedman on the church body
  • One Heart one goal, from Southeast Christian Church in Colorado

    • -Miscellaneous

  • Christianity Today, links to various articles
  • Ministries Today

    • Building Resources

  • Christian Church Building Resources, shopping mall online by praize.com
  • Church Building Resources, from Christanet

    • Extravagant?

  • The Use of Ministry Funds for Buildings by Randy Alcorn

    • "Are buildings a legitimate ministry expense? If so what kinds of buildings, and how many? Some churches have buildings worth little more than a typical private home of one of its members. Others have over a hundred million dollars worth of land and buildings-and some parachurch ministries more still. Can this extensive accumulation of material wealth be justified in the light of world need?
    John White tells a story that reflects my own thoughts about buildings:
    Many years ago I stood one night in the rain, looking wonderingly at the walls of what was then the China Inland Mission headquarters in London. I had read many CIM books . . . and had been thrilled and quickened by the way God had supplied the mission's needs "through prayer to God alone." That night as I looked at the dirty but solid brick wall I reached out my hand to touch it. It seemed like a holy thing. Not that the CIM was anything other than a human organization blessed and used by God. But to me the walls were an awesome and tangible monument to the reality of God's response to faith. It was as though God himself had put them there. "This is what God did," I said, glowing warmly, feeling the solidity of the wet bricks as awe stole over my whole body. "A solid monument to God's response to faith." There are many so-called monuments to faith around the world today. People would like us to believe that God raised them in answer to believing prayer. I don't think so. Many are monuments to human ingenuity, to public-relations know-how and clever advertising, to skill in milking Christian suckers. And since we would not need to depend on public-relations know-how and clever advertising if we truly believed in God, I suppose it is correct to say that the buildings of which I speak are monuments to unbelief rather than monuments to faith. We view them with understandable (but culpable) pride. We have made it. We need nothing. May God have mercy on us!

    Spending money on buildings for ministries is inherently neither right nor wrong. In some cases God is glorified through the financing, construction, and use of a building. In other cases, through massive indebtedness, disunity, extravagance, pride, and facility misuse, God is dishonored. I hear people criticize local churches for their buildings. "If that money was given to the poor, or used for missions, far greater things could be accomplished." This is sometimes true. On the other hand, by providing for a growing congregation's needs, a building can serve purposes of evangelism and edification, broadening and deepening the home base so that much more money, prayer, and personal involvement is ultimately given to missions and to the poor than otherwise would have been.

    I've been on both sides of the building quandary. As a young believer, sitting in a congregation, I was unenthused by building projects. I thought my money could be better placed directly into missions, so I gave almost all of it to parachurch groups. I made much of the fact that the first church had no buildings. I now see this to be a much less relevant argument, since God has put us in a different place and time than the first church, with our own distinct needs and opportunities.
    For fourteen years I was a pastor, and my perspective changed. I saw not only the centrality of the local church, but how buildings can be valuable tools that effectively facilitate ministry. For a church to build makes as much sense as a growing family finding a house adequate for its needs. Over the years, our church buildings have been in constant use. Our twenty-year-old main building is used for worship on Saturday nights and Sundays, and for everything from weddings and funerals to basketball and school recess throughout the week. We've stuck Sunday school classes everywhere, including staff offices and storage rooms. Classrooms built for twenty sometimes house fifty, so we've kept building. Youth groups meet on different nights of the week because there's insufficient room. Every classroom and even a kitchen has been used for our grade school. Without a doubt, this practical facility has greatly enhanced our ministry and our presence in our community.
    Some years ago we built a church office and ministry center. When we moved out of our rented trailers into this office, we found our communication and efficiency greatly enhanced, and we could better meet the needs of our people.
    Yes, we could function without our buildings-just as a family could get by without their house, by using tents or living at the neighbor's. We used rented facilities for the first five years of our church and did fine. Yet we found they prevented us from many significant ministries that our own buildings have allowed. I believe that these practical and nice but nonextravagant buildings have been a wise use of funds and a true investment in eternity.
    On the other hand, we must continually be careful to be sure the construction of a building doesn't detract from our giving to meet needs and evangelize our community and the world. We must consciously battle the rationalizations that turn churches and organizations away from building Christ's kingdom to building their own. Certainly, something is desperately wrong when churches spend more money paying interest on construction loans than world missions. I don't believe any church should spend millions of dollars on buildings without prayerfully considering whether it's time to plant daughter churches. Of course, daughter churches need facilities too, but the freshness and vitality of a new work with new leaders is often a cost-effective alternative to expensive buildings which sometimes involve a loss of focus and in which new church leadership is not effectively developed.
    Rick Warren, pastor of one of the largest churches in America says,

    It is a serious mistake to think that everything the church does-worship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and fellowship-must be done within the four walls of a church building. In fact, I'm convinced that church buildings are a major barrier to exponential growth and that massive building programs are often a waste of money.
    Currently there are several dozen extremely large church buildings being planned and built in America, but I believe they are the last of the dinosaurs. History has proven over and over that future generations never fill the cavernous temples of previous generations. For instance, every time Spurgeon's Tabernacle was rebuilt (three times) it was downsized. The list of empty great cathedrals would be quite long. God wants to do something new in each generation. He blesses anointed people, not buildings.
    We also need to remember that the period of fastest growth for Christianity was during the first 300 years-when there were no church buildings at all. And today all of the rapidly exploding church-planting movements around the world are multiplying without having physical church buildings. Buildings should be tools for ministry, not monuments. I've said repeatedly to our congregation that Saddleback will never build a building that could not be torn down if it prevented us from reaching more people. Churches should focus on building people, not building buildings! That's what being purpose-driven is all about. It's a people-building process. Build your people before your steeple.
    Our resistance to building buildings has been one of Saddleback's values since its inception 21 years ago. One of the goals we set at Saddleback was to prove that you don't need to build a building in order to grow a church. That's why we waited until after our congregation was averaging more than 10,000 in attendance before we built our first building! I think we proved our point. Just because you are growing does not mean you should build a new or larger building....
    We enlisted and connected over 2,000 new people (who were not in any of our existing groups) into new Bible study groups in a single weekend. We would have never even considered numbers like that if we were trying to place them all on our campus. I am absolutely opposed to building ANY size of facility that will only be used once or twice a week. It is poor stewardship of God's money to build a facility just because the pastor wants to speak to everyone at one time.
    In fact, here's a little secret: Only pastors like really huge church services!
    Normal people prefer more moderate-sized services, large enough to make the singing great, but not an overwhelming crowd. That's why I'd rather have a building of 200 and fill it with five services than have a 1,000-seat auditorium that is filled only once a week and then left empty the rest of the week. I encourage you to experiment and look for ways to reach and grow people faster and cheaper, without buildings. Don't let traditional methodology, or brick and mortar, or the lack of it, keep you from focusing on what matters most-changed lives!

    To the extent that a church facility can be attractive and still functional and economical, I favor attractive buildings. I appreciate the desire to create a worshipful atmosphere. But worship doesn't require extravagance. Whether in the church or parachurch ministry, I believe buildings should be built only as necessary, soundly but economically, and in such a way that they allow maximum ministry use, which means much more than one day a week.
    Buildings present a danger of externalizing the church, making us forget that we are God's dwelling place, not the facilities we build. Whenever the church views worship facilities as Israel viewed the temple, she takes a dramatic step backwards.
    Opulent edifices are often monuments to the ego of one man, organization or congregation. Considering the opportunities to invest in eternity, reach the lost, and care for the poor-thereby bringing glory to the only one who deserves it-in my opinion such buildings have no place among God's people. "
  • Church Building Sucks (Filed under: Building Design)May 16, 2007, from Church Marketing Sucks

    • "At last year's Catalyst Conference, Donald Miller talked about church design then and now. He discussed the differences in the geometry and architecture of Renaissance churches compared with contemporary churches. Essentially, with an illiterate society, churches had to present God through symmetry and beauty of design, and with our modern, corporate society, churches tend to look like businesses.
    This is the question I still wrestle with: What should a church look like? Should churches spend millions of dollars building monumental works of art to God? Should churches build hideous boxes with gray folding chairs to save maximum money to give maximum money?"

    Tips in Building from others

  • Build for Less from Christianity Today
  • Church Building Tips, from arks incorporated

    • Testimonies: Already Completed Buildings

  • Faith Presbyterian, in Guam on donations and prayers!
  • Nairobi Central-Adventist Church, using committees

    • E-Mails from Local Church

    From: "Patrick
    To: >Subject: Announcement on Church Building Situation
    Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 10:19:27 -0600

    Dear Church
    I wanted to give an update on the building situation for MCC. (several have asked where we are at with it)This is a LONG email, but the information is important so please take time to read it when convenient. (Thanks :) )

    This is what we know at this point. Here is an outline of the situation.
    1. Update on the Elem School Auditorium and the future.
    2. Latest information on the Rileys Building. >3. Share from Susie
    4. Word on 40 pledges
    5. Moving FORWARD (Contingencies - would we build a building?)
    6. What about the pledges?
    7. Msg at MCC on Feb 29 (notes, some had requested them)

    1. We have 2 more years to rent from the Elementary School so >we are operating under that time frame. After 2 years if we don't >purchase a building (or build one) then we will need to find a >facility to rent. We considered trying to get the Elementary School >Auditorium and some classrooms for "a dollar" from the district >and then take on updates and repairs as needed, but the costs >involved (for example - a four story elevator would probably be required to use >the classroom space, the roof needs work, the heating system >needs replacing and separation from the rest of the building) make that option formidable to say the least!
    2. The offer made to Rileys on their Utilities building (based upon >research of building costs and assessed value) got no response. >Over the past month the bank has been asking for >information for the financing package potentially requested, and >the old MCC building has had interested parties looking but no >offers to date. This is a season, we feel, to wait on the Lord and >to "rally the troops" at MCC for what lies ahead. We haven't >felt a release to raise the offer on the Rileys building at this point.
    3. Susie share (note - we had asked for input that people > might have received in terms of revelation from the Lord) >"Here's my rendition of the McDonalds story/impresson from a few weeks ago: > >The first Tuesday we fasted and prayed as a church for the possible new >building the Lord brought the following story from my childhood to mind, >and seemed to lay it over our present situation: > >No one really remembers how old I was when this story happened, but the >important information was this: I was not tall enough to see over the >counter at McDonalds, and was 'painfully shy' (words borrowed from my >father). > >My family was eating at McDonalds, and I had been promised an ice cream >cone after I finished my meal. When I went to ask for it, my Dad handed me >money and told me I was old enough to order my own. I was not happy about >this, but left to try. I returned to my dad, saying that no one would help >me, and woudn't he just get me one. He informed me that I needed to ASK >for some help. I was supposed to say 'excuse me' and ask for a cone. I >went back up and, in my high whisper-of-a-voice, popped out a few "excuse >me's." This didn't work, so I went back to my dad, thinking he would take >over. He then gave me a short lesson about assertiveness, and said I >needed to make my presence known if I wanted help. He instructed me to >YELL "EXCUSE ME ... CAN I GET AN ICE CREAM CONE?" > >I don't know how many times I went up to the counter - at least three. In >the end, someone noticed this scared little girl and was more than happy to >get me an ice cream cone. I came out of it frazzled, and even a bit >frustrated with my dad, but he was pleased - I had been forced out of my >comfort zone, and had learned a valuable lesson. > >I wasn't sure exactly how this applied at the time. I felt like the part >of my repeatedly wanting my dad to do it for me, and him wanting me to >learn a valuable lesson/life skill was important. The persistence theme >also stood out to me. >It came back to my mind because of common element of being 'ignored' at >first. That's about it. Susie Hanson" > > [possible insights for MCC - take action, don't pull back, what's in > your hand?, and being persistent in prayer]
    4. Word on 40 pledges >Neil meets with someone who came up with an idea that fits for the math, >but it felt like a word of wisdom and one to give people faith. This was >the idea to gather 40 pledges of $20 per week from folks to make up >the cost of a building. Several heard that figure and had faith to say >"yes!". This is why we shared the pledge idea in that way. It also >translates in other ways, such as $87 a month or $1040 per year.
    5. Msg at MCC by Neil "What's in your hand?" >Neil had shared this word with me earlier and it really had a ring to >it, not just a biblical ring (it is scripture) but something that gives one >faith to look around and see what is available in our lives to offer up. >This is a time for us to rally as a body of believers together, and to >see what God does through us and our collective faith!
    6. The future - MOVING FORWARD! >One thing I know at this point, there is no going back. I definitely feel >that we are not to look back or to go back, but to move ahead and >see what doors God opens up. Transition has begun, faith is welling >up in people's hearts, and it would be disheartening to pull back to >where we were 6 months ago. One thing that means is, I think we need to >sell the old building and use it for a downpayment on equity. What if the >Riley's Bldg doesn't work out? Would we buy land and build? That is a >possibility - please pray with and for the leadership, we need to be led of >the Lord!
    7. What about the PLEDGES? >We have started a special account for the building fund. Starting in April, >we are asking everyone who pledged to start giving as God enables them. >Please label them "Bldg Fund" on the check or put them in an envelope so >the guys counting can distinguish them from tithe checks. We will start >growing the fund in anticipation of what is ahead for us in terms of a >building. > >NOTE - >If anyone has ANY questions, please feel free to contact Pat at the >numbers and email listed below! Thanks.
    8. Notes from "What's in your hand?" by Neil T. Feb 29 at MCC > >What is in your hand? > >Intro- The offer we put on the building is held up > >The commitments- well, God is waiting to see how we respond > > > >Two situations where God waited for men to see what was in their hand first before moving in their behalf:
    1) Moses > >Exodus 3:2-4:17 > > There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
    [3] So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up."
    [4] When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" > > And Moses said, "Here I am."
    [5] "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
    [6] Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
    [7] The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
    [8] So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
    [9] And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
    [10] So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
    [11] But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
    [12] And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
    [16] "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. [17] And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--a land flowing with milk and honey.' > > [18] "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.' [19] But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. [20] So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. > > [4:1] Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?"

    [2] Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" > > "A staff," he replied. > > [3] The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." > > Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. [4] Then the Lord said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. [5] "This," said the Lord, "is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you." > > [6] Then the Lord said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. > > [7] "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. > > [8] Then the Lord said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. [9] But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." > > [10] Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." > > [11] The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? [12] Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." > > [13] But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." > > [14] Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. [15] You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. [16] He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. [17] But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it." > > > > -God is not asking someone else to do it and would be unpleased if we mentioned it to him > > -"What is in our hand?" was the question > > > >2) The feeding of the 5000 > >Matthew 14:12-21 > > John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. > > [13] When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. [14] When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. > > [15] As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." > > [16] Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." > > [17] "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. > > [18] "Bring them here to me," he said. [19] And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. [20] They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. [21] The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. > > > > - the task was beyond their normal ability to accomplish > > -Jesus assigned the task to the Disciples > > -they had to find what belongs to the crowd before Jesus came through with his end > > > >Two verses that illustrate this principle: > > a) 1 Cor. 15:44-47 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. > > If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. [46] The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. [47] The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. > > b) Luke 16:9-12 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. > > [10] "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. [11] So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? [12] And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

    Two examples from the past:
    a) Our church building at 211 E 6th > > - $12000 required from 3 families > > - God gave a word through Jim- covenant to one another that unexpected money is committed to the church > > >
    b) Mark at the Christian camp > > -the horses and the sleigh rides provided the finances > > > >Conclusion: > >- God is asking us today, "What is in your hand?" As a group we have already offered up the building on 211 E 6th st. What is he saying to us as families and individuals? > > - Visitors, tasters, are exempt- and, there is no "spectator" classification in our church > > -"what is in our hand at MCC?" has everything to do with "what is in your hand as a committed party to MCC." > > -Our wrestling is not merely a physical one but has significance to our city: Ephesians. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. > > -this lesson of "What is in your hand?" can be applied to our situation here at MCC but it is also relevant to the mega-challenges in our lives > > -when we are being required to move as a group there is always issues that God has to work out in our hearts about our relationship to a church body as opposed to our individual faith walk. > > >

    Morris Community Church
    Patrick , Pastor

    Music

    "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", from azlyrics.com
    "And we can build this thing together, stand in stone forever, nothing's gonna stop us now...

    Global-Multicultural

    -Africa

  • Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Yamoussoukro

    • An African's gift to the Vatican: the world's largest church. (Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Basilica of Our Lady of Peace) From: Ebony | Date: 12/1/1990 | Author: Massaquoi, Hans J. (encyclopedia.com)
    " SOME praise it as the most inspirational, most enduring symbol of love and peace in Africa. Others call it an obscene waste of money in a country beset by poverty. Some hail it as the embodiment of African technological achievement and pride. Others condemn it as a self-serving attempt by an old man to buy his immortality in heaven and on earth.
    Meanwhile, undeterred by the controversy swirling about the newly completed, $150 million-plus Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in the Ivory Coast capital of Yamousoukro, thousands of Ivorians came last September by bus, car and on foot from the remotest villages of the West African nation to cheer Pope John Paul 11's consecration of the largest church in all Christendom-a "personal gift" from 85-year-old President Felix Houphouet-Boigny to the Vatican. "     The Madmen of Africa 2, from youtube.com
    "In order of appearance: Mobutu Sese Seko, Sani Abacha, Idi Amin Dada, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Siad Barre, Jean Bedel Bokassa, P.W. Botha, Gnassingbe Eyadema, Muammar Gaddafi, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Robert Mugabe, Macias Nguema, Jonas Savimbi, Ian Smith and Charles Taylor. The $300,000,000 Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro represents the squandering of the continents resources by these lunatics. Info: 1. Two acres of hand-blown French stained glass windows. 2. Individual air conditioning ducts at each of the 7000 seats. 3. On the average Sunday about 200 people attend mass in the largest church on earth. 4. Four of the basilica's 272 gargantuan columns contain elevators that can carry 10 people to a balcony beneath the dome. 5. 7.4 acre marble-floored courtyard"

    -Asia
    SOUTH KOREA
    In Yoido Full Gospel church

    "20,000 capacity, excluding more outside n the other building"

    -North America
    U.S.A.
    =TEXAS
    At the cross by Lakewood Church

    "at the cross song by Lakewood church"
    Nation’s largest church opens in stadium Congregation takes over arena where Houston Rockets played , updated 4:05 p.m. CT, Sun., July. 17, 2005 (MSNBC)
    "HOUSTON - America’s largest church celebrated its move into the former arena for the Houston Rockets with a capacity crowd of 16,000, an upbeat sermon from its televangelist pastor and a spirited welcome from the governor of Texas."

    101 Ways Your Church Can Change the World
    "Sometimes those of us in the church tend to do the same things over and over again because they've worked in the past. The author of this book served as a church leader and pastor for over 40 years and was always looking for new ideas for reaching out to the community and world to make a difference. It's true that what works in one community may not work in another; what excites some people may not inspire others. This Ebook is provided hoping it will spark new, fun and effective ways for your church to reach out to a hurting world."

    Miscellaneous

  • List of largest churches in the world, from Wikipedia

    • "There are a number of factors to be considered in determining which churches are the largest - total square footage, cubic footage, seating capacity, surface area, height, and others. There are also important distinctions in terminology at play here..."

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