Emmanuel Christian Fellowship – McGregor, TX

I listen to every message preached at ECF.  Most of them I hear two or three times.  On Sunday, August 8th, 2010, Jimmy Hering preached what may have been the most powerful sermon I’ve heard since my tenure at Emmanuel Christian Fellowship.  Not only is it timely, but the prophetic “calling us out” is RIGHT ON!

For too long have we made decisions about our commitments and declarations contingent upon our emotions, feelings, fears and our wounds.  If ever there was a message for us to dial-into…it is that one!

Let me encourage and implore you to listen to that message via podcast!  There is a link right here on this website.  I promise you will not be sorry!

Lord I pray that you stir us in the depths that only you can reach!

Much Love, Much Hope!

-Mike-

ECF,

We will be coming back together this Sunday after several weeks away to worship, fellowship, pray, and receive teaching from another honored guest.

Dave Johnson will be joining us for two meetings–10:30am and 5:00pm–and will surely bring his gifts along for our benefit.  Please be in prayer about all that God will do on Sunday and also how you might bless Dave financially. He serves many people in his home church and is making a very special effort to be with us.

I am excited about our next season together. Sunday will be a great day to kick it off.

Paul

Patti and I just returned from Romania.  The land and people are beautiful, but one of the small “loves” we have there is that traditionally the breakfast served includes fresh grown tomatoes.  There is usually also fresh cucumbers, peppers, onions included, but something from a garden somewhere is always present.  Would you hand me the salt and pepper please?

I woke up this morning thinking that a garden doesn’t actually need the fruit it produces.  It just does its thing.  We plant and it produces.  Fairly simple concept.  It doesn’t get caught up in how we arrange the seed, till the soil or make demands about fertilizer or water amounts.  It just does what it does contingent upon the watch-care of the gardener.  In other words, THE GARDENER (that would be me and you) need the fruit and produce…not the garden itself.

Webster defines garden as:  (a piece of ground, often near a house, used for growing flowers, fruits, or vegetables). In the context of our spiritual lives, the church can be our garden.  I’ve said it a thousand times, “the people need to give more than the church needs money”. The people need to sow, the people need to tend to the weeds, the people need to water what it has planted.  Too often we are hungry for God’s power, God’s provision, God’s protection, God’s blessing yet we are not willing to make “sowing” investments that put us in the arena of receiving a blessing.  Of course, the garden requires nothing of you.  It places no demands whatsoever.  But you, on the other-hand, need to sow.  Why?  Because it is directly related to what you reap!!!

ECF, July is the month where the Elders encourage you to go deeper into rest, deeper into your relationships, deeper into the heart of the Kingdom.  It’s not a vacation from responsibility and stewardship of God’s garden.  If fact, it is the opposite.  It should be the time to sow more, plant more, steward more.  Maturity is sober about these kinds of things! Keep sowing!  Be intentional with your giving.  Make sure you plant what the Spirit directs you to plant.  Be intentional about actually getting your seed into the hands of the Elders.  That is what mature stewardship looks like.

Let me implore you to improve the garden in July.  Take it to another level.  Position yourselves and prophesy to the empty baskets!  Claim the increase that lie hidden in the depths of God’s soil.  Faithful diligence pays off!  Patti and I are praying in agreement for your rich harvest!

-Mike-

This Sunday, June 27th, will be our last Sunday together (in the building) until our celebration on Sunday, August 1st. July is intended to be a time of rest, vacation, church in the home, various kinds of fellowship, etc., etc., etc. I think we get the picture.

I would encourage everyone to be praying about August 1st and the arrival of our guest, Dave Johnson. He is a dear friend of Mike Paschall, but please don’t let that taint your image of the man. Seriously, Mike and Dave have been in covenant for many years and Mike considers him as solid a Bible teacher as anyone anywhere. I think we are going to be very blessed to have him in our midst.

Please be praying for Dave and consider what God might have you to do financially while he is with us. Below is a very short bio written by his wife Bonnie.  Sounds like these are our kind of people. Meaning, they ain’t all right, but they sure are good!

David Johnson has been the senior pastor at Church of the Open Door in the Minneapolis, MN area since 1980 – and they still like him (well, most of them)!

He & his wife Bonnie have 4 adult children and 6 grandchildren – they still like him too. What else do you need to know?  He’s a great guy!

Paul

We will have prayer this Wednesday night (6/23/10) at 7:30pm at the church.

Please remember that we have prayer THIS Wednesday night (6/9/10) at 7:30 pm at the church.

Paul

Lately, I’ve been pondering the reality of what it really means to be “free”  at least as I understand it. I know that initially for me, my thoughts in this area were tied to being free from a list of religious rules, regs, and systems that might only hinder a deeper relationship with God and also tied to being able worship and a manner that breaks the chains loose. (Interesting that as I am writing this, I check out Mike’s blog and he is talking about how dancing in worship breaks the chains of bondage; ha). And of course, saying “I’m free” or “I’m not free” can be a bit deceiving. There are levels of freedom we reach as we draw near to the Lord and he teaches and ministers to us.

I just wonder if in all my new found freedom I might just reach down on occasion and pick up my chains so that I can drag them just for a while. The handcuffs are unlocked and off, but I walked with those chains for so long that the familiarity of them might tempt me to want to feel them in my hands from time to time. And if I’m not careful, I could find myself in need of another set of keys.

Maybe the question is not always “Am I Free?”  Perhaps the better question is “Am I Free this very moment, this very day?” There’s probably a bit more weight associated with that question. I believe we can all say we are free in one way or another, but am I continuing to walk in the freedom God has given me and do I want more? Have I reached a point where I am satisfied and this is as far as I wish to go? The thing that makes me nervous here is that if I’m not looking forward, I might find myself looking over my shoulder trying to see what those chains once looked like. Yuck!

Some things I should think about: If my happiness and fulfillment are tied to me getting what I want, I might not be totally free. If I keep going around the same mountain in the same way and expecting different results, I might not be totally free. If I blame my problems on any person or group of people and not on life, the enemy, or my cooperation with the enemy, I might not be totally free. If my value and emotional stability still hangs on the words and actions of others, I might not be totally free. If in my thinking and speech, the words I, me, mine, my, I’m, pop up quite a bit, I’m certain I need more freedom in my life.

Well, I’d better not get out the face paint and sword just yet. There’s work to be done!

Paul

We have prayer this Wednesday (5/26/10) at 7:30 at the church.

CHECK OUT:    Mike Paschall’s Blog Site   CLICK HERE!

We have Wednesday night prayed TONIGHT (May 12) at 7:30pm.  Don’t forget!