EPIC Recap

Here are a few notes from the EPIC Experience yesterday:

• Bobby continued our MIRACLE GROW series yesterday with the message, “Growing Faith.” Listen to it here. We have one more week in this series.  Don’t miss “The Greatest Miracle” next Sunday!
• We have two more RED SUNDAYS left this year!  Don’t miss you chance to win a $50 gas card. Click here for more info.
• EPIC Cares is in full swing at EPIC.  EPIC Cares is a fund that will be available for those in need within our church.  Don’t miss your opportunity to take this extra step in giving.
• The building process is in full swing at our new facility!  We have received our building permit and we are on track to be in for our January services.  Continue to pray for a smooth process.
• Below are a few pictures from the interior building process! Click here for previous pictures.

The framing is up!

Kids hallway

The auditorium

The foyer

The restrooms

More to come!

Dustin

EPIC Preview

Join us at the EPIC Experience tomorrow for a chance to win a $50 gas card! Wear red or chiefs and you will be entered into the drawing.  We will also continue our MIRACLE GROW series with the message, “Growing Faith.”  Click here for more info.

Friday’s Food For Thought

Timing is Everything…

Timing is everything in life.  We are required to be on time for work and school every day.  If you do any kind of cooking, you know that you must have a good sense of time.  We know exactly what time our favorite television programs come on each day.  Time is something that we are constantly looking for more of, all of the time.

When it comes to God, we want Him to work within our schedule.  We want God to meet with us when we want Him to.  We want God to meet our needs when we want Him to. We want God to meet our time standards. Yet, when it comes to us fitting God into our schedule, the calendar is always full.  We have to work to squeeze God into our day – maybe before bed or maybe in the morning.

The reality is that God is always working on our behalf - He is always thinking about us. 2 Peter 3:8 says, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.”

Can you fathom that? God spends years thinking about us every day! Yet we simply spend minutes thinking about Him every day (or every week).  We sometimes wonder why God takes so long to come through for us.  We think that a month is long or maybe even that a year is long.  We have no idea! God is the best and He has the best for us.  As a result, He spends more time than we can imagine providing for us.

So the next time you find yourself trying to figure out when God is going to come through for you, or when you are going to have time to read your Bible, just stop.  Stop wasting decades of God’s time! Let Him do the planning, give Him your time and your calendar.  I can guarantee you that God has a better sense of time than you do.  Also, don’t ever think that God isn’t thinking about you or working to bless you. Remember, timing is everything!

Dustin

Not a sermon…just a thought

What we want God to do for us, He often wants to do through us.

Mark 6:30-44 records the story of Jesus feeding the 5000.  The miraculous feeding is recorded in all four Gospels.  This past weekend I shared a message entitled When a Little Becomes a Lot from the Miracle Grow series (to listen to the message click here).  Here’s a thought from the sermon.

Jesus could have done this miracle without the disciples and without the little boy.  He could have just rained manna.  He could have fed everybody instantly.  But He didn’t.  He waited for the disciples to get concerned, and He waited until a little boy came forward and said, “Here’s what I’ve got, Lord.  It isn’t much but here’s what I’ve got.”

Why?  Because God likes to do miracles through people.  When it comes to miracles, He likes to use people.  It blesses them by being an instrument of a miracle.  He didn’t need the little boy’s lunch.  He didn’t need the disciples to point out the problem or to pass out the baskets.  He chose to do it because God uses people.  Men are God’s method.

So remember this truth: What we want God to do for us, He often wants to do through us.

Not a sermon…just a thought!

-bobby-

Midweek Musings

On Sunday, Bobby talked about a new component of EPIC Church that God has been laying on his heart called EPIC Cares, a fund that will be used to help those within our church family who are in financial need. He mentioned that God isn’t asking us to give to this fund in place of our tithes and offerings; God desires for us to go above and beyond. This got me thinking about a passage of scripture from 2 Corinthians 9…

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

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We’ve all probably heard the phrase, “You reap what you sow.” In the eyes of God this couldn’t be truer. God loves when we give out of the generosity in our hearts and with cheerful attitudes. When we give in this way He blesses us, often times more than we ever could have imagined [Luke 6:38]. It goes on to say…

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”

Nothing bad comes out of willfully giving to God. Not only does He bless us—He is blessed, as our giving is “overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God”. In addition, those who benefit will praise God for our generosity and obedience to Christ. Giving cheerfully is truly a worshipful act.

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Talking about giving to God is easy—actually giving to God is easier said than done. In this economy especially, trusting God with our finances can be difficult. I know it’s tough for me personally. In moments when I’m challenged to give above my tithe, I often find myself focusing on what I have in my bank account rather than believing in faith that God will stay true to His promise and pour out a blessing I don’t have room for [Malachi 3:10]. As I begin to refocus and prayerfully place my financial trust where it belongs, in the hands of God, it’s my prayer that you too would trust in Him. Allow yourself to be blessed by God in ways you never thought possible. You won’t regret it.

_kaleb