Monday, June 27, 2011

Drawing on the Grace of GOD -NOW | Oswald Chambers

We . . . plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain -2 Corinthians 6:1

The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"- that is where our patience is tested (2 Corinthians 6:4). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won't count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you- it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don't say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now - draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God's grace through prayer.

". . . in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors . . ." (2 Corinthians 6:5)- in all these things, display in your life a drawing on the grace of God, which will show evidence to yourself and to others that you are a miracle of His. Draw on His grace now, not later. The primary word in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace.

". . . having nothing . . . ." Never hold anything in reserve. Pour yourself out, giving the best that you have, and always be poor. Never be diplomatic and careful with the treasure God gives you. ". . . and yet possessing all things"- this is poverty triumphant (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Empowered Evangelism Conference with Robby Dawkins

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!

Empowered Evangelism Conference with Robby Dawkins AUGUST 12-14 The Tapestry Church www.tapestrychurch.com

That's right. He is coming to the Tapestry and will be doing a conference with us the weekend of August 12-14, 2011. We still have not finally selected the location, however, things are heating up and people are contacting from outside the church and area that are interested in coming and asking about details. So, if you are planning on coming, you need to RSVP ASAP. Email Lori at lorihedrick@tapestrychurch.org. We are now expecting possibly 200 people or more, so knowing if you are going to be a part is IMPORTANT since we need to arrange for space. It will start Friday night at 7pm and will be all day Saturday with Robby being at the Tapestry Sunday morning.

We will have MUCH more on the Tapestry website within the week.

For more information on Robby, go to his website or the website for the move, "Furious Love" below.
http://furiouslovefilm.com/
http://robbydawkins.com
http://www.vineyardfoxvalley.org/

The Furious Love Film on partial on YouTube is Here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyfH3T8HXZg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=auTPJhL0y4o
http://www.facebook.com/furiouslovefilm

Born to missionary parents in Japan, Robby had an early start in ministry. In his father's church he began a children's ministry at the age of 12, and became the youth minister at 16 years old. Robby says, "I knew from a young age that God had called me into ministry. My parents say that from the age of 2, I told people that I would grow up and be a missionary." In many ways that has been the case in Robby's life.

Robby and his wife, Angie, married in 1992, have pastored the Vineyard Church of Aurora, IL since 1996. They feel God called them to plant in a poor urban community, and continually use "power evangelism" to gather for the church. They estimate that over 50% of current attenders have come to Christ at the Vineyard Aurora, and that almost ¾ of those have come through "power" encounters.

"In addition to starting and pastoring this church, God has called me for the purpose of building up and equipping the local church with power tools for harvesting," Robby shares. These "power tools" are prophetic ministry, healing, ministry of the presence of God, and deliverance from demonic power. Robby loves to tell literally hundreds of stories of his personal experiences, which include God using him and others he has mentored through the years to see God's Kingdom "break in" with signs and wonders.

Having been in over 30 countries around the world, God has used him to help build the church internationally as well. He has ministered in many Muslim countries and in 2 of the top 10 most dangerous countries according to Voice of the Martyrs magazine.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Life is But the Weaving | the Tapestry Poem | Corrie Tem Boom

Life is But a Weaving
Corrie Ten Boom (The Tapestry Poem)

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.
Oft' times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
Not 'til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned
He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

(Corrie Ten Boom often used this poem as she described a Tapestry that hangs currently at the museum. I challenge you to read, "The Hiding Place).

Thursday, June 09, 2011

The Hidden Power of ABIDE | Oswald Chambers

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . -John 14:13

Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point- the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.

However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? "If you abide in Me . . . "- that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point- "you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these- what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

"Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . ." The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God's foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.

Monday, June 06, 2011

A Word from the weekend | PD's afterthoughts...

Hey Guys,
 
What an Amazing weekend we just had!!!!!
 
I just want to brag on a few things and people because I really needed that and it truly feels like we turned a corner and we are beginning to kick it up a notch. LOVE THAT! You can email me with more shout outs as you have them as well.
 
1 - Worship guys, way to go!!!! The worship was amazing and really set the stage for the next part. That felt professional! I love the CD whether anyone else does or not. I have already heard that people are LOVING HAVING your music! It is just the first phase. I already have someone that will remaster our disk if we will lay down the tracks officially. So, now that you have a disk, let's learn the music and get it done RIGHT. The best songs we have are by far Jon's. We also have an opportunity to send EVERYTHING to iHOP and they will play it during the night watch prayer meetings which will introduce it to the larger church and that movement. Jesus Culture, here we come!
 
2 - Way to go Lori with the kids ministry firing on all cylinders. That was awesome to see. The easels were AMAZING! So many people LOVED your graphics work. I guess now you are the official Tapestry lettering artist! And thank you so much for really leading the welcome bag rollout and getting the copies and everything done. WE WOULD HAVE NEVER PULLED IT OFF WITHOUT YOU!
 
3 - ASHLEY!!!! The banned was totally beautiful and was MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EXPECTED! I am so proud of that work of art. I am thankful to have something so AWESOME to hang at the church and the handiwork that Christa put into it is going to be a lasting contribution to the legacy of the Tapestry! WOW! I cannot believe that Ashley, you put over a year in this effort. WAY TO GO! WHAT A GREAT LEAD!
 
4 - The welcoming was great on Sunday. You guys got chairs out, made people at home, welcomed, hugged, hand shaked, and connected people EVERYWHERE! That was the most connected I have seen the Tapestry EVER! WOW!
 
5 - Tapestry old-timers, thank you for being around for me to brag on and talk about. You guys endure a lot. Next year I would love to have a few of you share your personal stories about coming to the Tapestry as a part of the service. That would be really fun.
 
6 - Setup crew! WAY TO GO! You guys worked hard, got there early, set everything up and out, made it look great and tore down and got us out the picnic. WOW!
 
7 - COOKOUT folks! AWESOME! DID YOU SEE THAT CROWD?????? And how many people were helping cook this year? So many!!! PATRICK, you had some help!!!! YAY! The location was perfect, Su. And the way everyone signed up, brought food, fellowshiped and connected did my heart GOOD! SO COOL!
 
8 - Jose, GREAT choice in speaker. Didn't David do such a great job guys? That was not only the word for the day and the word for the graduates, but the word for the church and will be our newest T-shirt! AWESOME!
 
9 - Graduates, you guys made the day! All I have to say...
 
And with that said, I am going to leave you to ponder your own awesomeness and the awesomeness of the GOD that has brought you together over these 7 years.
 
Way to go Tapestry... Way to go!
               
Dustin Hedrick
Senior Pastor