March 28th Update
Do you hear the Lord's voice? In my "quarantine", I have taken up the habit of taking a walk every morning with my Grandpa. It is a wonderful experience as I have had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of God's creation while also having the blessing of getting to spend time with my Grandfather and hear him share his immense wisdom.
Almost every day when we are on our walk, my Grandfather and I stop to observe some aspect of God's beautiful creation. We stop to look at the hawks flying overhead, we stop to look at the massive flowers that have bloomed on the cacti, we stop to look at the mountain looming over the valley, and we stop to look at the beautiful building that will be Costco on Waddell and Sarival! I can't wait for that food area to open!
In all seriousness, it has been wonderful experiencing God's creation with my Grandpa. As I was spending some time in reflection and reading through the Psalms this morning, I came across a beautiful passage. Psalm 95. I encourage you to read through the whole Psalm as I have but I am going to give you a quick breakdown.
The Psalm begins with an amazing admonishment to praise the Lord! In verses 2-3 it says: "Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods". I love this verse, but I can't help but ask, what does it mean to come into the presence of God? Isn't God everywhere? Aren't we always in the presence of God?
In a way, yes. We cannot escape the presence of God, but what I think this passage is talking about is when we enter to God's presence in a more intimate sense. We see that all throughout the Scripture. God has always been present everywhere, yet, in the Old testament, God was especially present in the Tabernacle, or in the Temple, or in Israel. In the New testament, God is still present everywhere, yet, He is especially present in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. To enter the presence of God biblically is to enter a place where God has chosen to dwell in a much more real and powerful sense.
The Psalm goes on to discuss the power of God as He creates the entire earth (v. 4-5). This brings the Psalmist to say in passionate terms: "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker" (v. 6). He continues by reminding us that we are His! (v. 7). The Psalmist here entered the presence of God through amazement at what His hands had made!
I have had this experience multiple times now on these walks. I have entered the presence of God simply by being amazed through His creation. This has led me into tearful, passionate worship of the God who reigns above all creation. The God who adopted me as a son. The God who made me and calls me His own (John 10:24-30). Through His creation and through His word I have tangibly heard the voice of God.
I can't help but wonder, though, how often we ignore that voice. You see, the Psalm continues by saying "If you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah." (v. 8). The Israelites had heard the voice of God and often hardened their hearts. The Psalmist notes that God "loathed" that generation of Israelites for 40 years that tested Him at Meribah (v. 10). As we experience the trials of COVID-19, I wonder if we are hearing the voice of God.
I am reminded of Isaiah 65 where God is discussing yet another hardened generation of Israelites. It says: "I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said 'Here I am, here I am' to a nation that was not called by my name. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually".
You see, God was calling to Israel every day. Yet, every day Israel rejected the Lord by "provoking Him to His face". I wonder how long we have provoked God. How long have we ignored His voice? You see, the Psalmist wasn't just suggesting that the people not ignore God's voice and harden their hearts, he was begging them not to ignore God. Why? Every time people ignore the voice of God, judgment is sure to follow. It happened in our Psalm (v. 10-11), it happened in Isaiah 65 (v. 6-7), and it will happen again (Matthew 26:36-51).
I hear the voice of God in what He has made but I also hear the voice of God in COVID-19. I hear God saying to all of us, "here I am, here I am". He has "spread out" His hands "all the day to a rebellious people". I pray for our nation, I pray for our world, I pray that we turn from our rebellious ways in repentance towards the "King above all gods". "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker". The Lord is calling out to all people through what He has made (Romans 1:18-23). We must not ignore Him. I pray that your turn to Him. You will find Him to be a perfect Savior!
COVID-19
Some quick updates:
- I want to remind you that our Children's, Youth, and Small groups are still gathering for services digitally. You can find resources for the Children's services at my.surprise.church/kidsresources. If you have as Student 6-12th grade, the Youth are having gatherings via Zoom and our Intern Bryan Brown is sending out emails with resources for families during the week. If you would like to have your student join us, please email Bryan at bryan.brown@surprise.church.
- Small groups are still gathering utilizing Zoom. We had the opportunity to do our first young adult small group this week and it was awesome! You can sign up for Small Groups at https://surprise.church by clicking Connect, then clicking Small Groups.
- I want to remind you that we still have a massive need for Easter Baskets for Sunshine homes. I am asking you to please join us in meeting this need! It is an amazing opportunity to show the love of Christ in these difficult times. Here are the details:
Suggested Items for Boy's Basket
- Matchbox cars, pokemon cards
- Candy, Legos, $10 gift cards, chocolate
- Something that represents the reason for Easter
- Playing Cards
- Small balls, sports items
- Sidewalk chalk
- Markers, small books, balls, markers
- Crayons/coloring books
- Small games
- Colored pencils
Suggested Items for Girl's Basket
- Something that represents the reason for Easter
- Playing Cards, perfume, chocolate, candy, crayons, coloring books
- Small books, markers, body lotion
- Small games, $10 gift cards, stuffed animals
- Colored pencils
- Make-up (over 13 yrs.)
- Hair supplies
- Nail items
- Jewelry
Items will need to be brought to 17513 W. Aster Drive, Surprise by Wednesday, April 8th. Please call or text Dawn Merritt at 623-297-4079 or outreach@surprise.church to coordinate drop off.
4. We are going to be meeting here in less than an hour utilizing Zoom. I miss you guys and I am opening an opportunity for all of us to get together for a little while. I hope you will join us! Zoom is super easy to use. If you are utilizing a phone to join, all you will need to do is download the Zoom app and follow the link at the bottom of this paragraph. If you are utilizing a computer, simply click the link at the bottom of this paragraph and there will be a short download that will allow you to join. You just need a microphone to join but a webcam would be nice as well so we can see your face! Here is the link for that: https://zoom.us/j/232902514. We will be starting at 1PM today, March 28th.
5. Being community positive is an extremely important part of our identity as Surprise Christian Church. As a result, we want to continue to help serve our community, with appropriate social distancing of course! One way that we have decided to do this is through our new Love Your Neighbor handouts. These handouts are a great way to let your neighbors know you are there for them! On the handout, you will put your information so that if your neighbors need help during this crisis, they know that you are there for them and will be willing to support them! I want to encourage you to give these to the neighbors that are in your immediate circle. DO NOT give out more than you are willing to help. We don't want to offer help then not be able to provide it. I hope you will join us in loving on our neighbors in Surprise. Click here for the handout.
6. Finally, our open Mic weekend will be happening digitally tomorrow at the normal service times, 9:30 and 11:00. We will be at the normal link as well, http://live.surprise.church.
You have a few options:
- First, you can go to our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram and add your questions in the comments of our post asking for questions.
- Second, if you are using a computer, you can put your questions in the chat of our livestream!
- You can email me your questions at drew.carroll@surprise.church. I really hope you will join us for this unique opportunity!
See you guys soon!
Sincerely,
Drew Carroll
Lead Pastor