Guest’s Pen
God Doesn’t Want A Middle Man
Exodus 20:18-19 – When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance. “Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
The Israelites lost out on the privilege of hearing God speak to them directly because of fear. Today we often lose out on that experience because of our laziness or busyness. Both the Israelites and many Christians have opted for a middle man over a direct relationship with the Lord.
As Equip Open Heavens gets closer, some of the testimonies I have heard people share about previous Equips have reminded me of some youth I once pastored.
One year some parents decided to make the 10-hour trip from Star Valley to the Assembly of God youth camp near Devil’s Tower. When the youth returned they all shared with the church what their favorite thing about camp was. One kid after the next shared the same testimony – the “Fire Tunnel” was their favorite part because God clearly and specifically spoke to each kid through a counselor. (It’s awesome as a youth pastor to hear kids say their favorite part of camp is prayer time!) The next year they went expecting the same thing and each kid returned saying they hadn’t enjoyed camp as much because they didn’t have the same fire tunnel experience.
Why not? Well, as I shared with the kids, at some point God wants us to learn to listen to Him for ourselves and not rely on a middle man to listen to God for us.
We will have speakers at Equip who have spent much time in prayer for the event and will share great knowledge, insight, and inspiration from the Lord, but if we are hoping they spent enough time with God to hear an individual word for us, we are asking them to do what God has asked us to do. If we will spend the same amount of time praying for God to ready our hearts for the Conference and we learn to listen to God in the quiet of our homes, cars, on walks or anywhere by ourselves, then when we are gathered in worship or learning in an Equip session, we will be more able to hear God’s still small voice speak to our own heart and mind and then we will be more Equipped to step into our calling.
Excited to see you this weekend. – Stephanie Berglund
Family Night
Wednesdays @Bomber Mtn. Civic Center
Meal served from 5:30-6:30:
Chili, hot dogs, Nachos, Salad, Dessert
Small groups for everyone 6:30-7:45:
- Adults w/ Pastor Paul will be studying “Receiving a Double Portion”.
- Flashpoint Youth (Middle School & High School) will be studying “Who’s Who in the Bible”.
- Kindle Kids (infants-5th grade) will be studying 4 keys of discipleship.
Building Update:
Our Building Fund continues to grow $583,139.98 . Thank you for your generosity and thank you, Lord, for blessing each of us with Your goodness.
Note: All donations and balance for the Building Fund are strictly used for that purpose.
Save the Date
- Equip-Open Heavens–November 4-6 with Peter Xu and Marietta Wright
- Greif Share: Surviving the Holidays- November 17
- GF Family Thanksgiving Dinner-November 20 @ Bomber Mtn. Civic Center
- Feast of Praise– November 20, 4:00 pm at Summit
Equip Set-Up
We are in need of volunteers to help set up chairs and tables on Thursday, November 3, and to take down tables and chairs & clean up on Sunday, November 6. Contact Sandy at 307-684-7511 to volunteer.
Register NOW for…
Children’s Ministries
Saturday Nights
Children’s Church @ Grace Fellowship 5:30pm– 7:00pm
Sunday Mornings
Children’s Church @ Grace Fellowship 9:00am–10:30am
Wednesdays
Kindle Kids for children infants through 5th grade 6:30-7:45 pm at Grace Fellowship
Student Ministries
Flashpoint Youth for Middle School & High School Students
Wednesday
Youth group at Bomber Mount Civic Center 6:30-7:45 pm
Adult Small Groups
Wednesdays
Family Night @ Bomber Mtn Civic Center | Meal 5:30-6:30 | Small Groups 6:30-7:45
Thursdays
Prayer for Missions in the Prayer Room @ GF 12:00pm–1:00pm