Buildings and the Glory of Christ

On Sunday we as a Church voted on some important issues. We voted first on changing our account. Originally we had planned on changing our account to where 65% of our giving would go toward a building and any needs there, 25% toward people in need, and 10% to outside ministries and missionaries for the advancement of the Gospel to unreached people-groups. After much prayer, the elders decided to change their recommendation to 70% toward the building and 30% to give to people in need. In the near future we hope to change that to be able to use our money for outside ministries as the Lord permits us. So we voted and decided to change the account to the 70%-30% breakup by a vote of 97% to 3%.

Building Oppurtunity!!!

This is an informative post on what the Housechurch elders hope to be our future church location. It seems as though the LORD is leading us to rent this building as our new gathering place to lift up the name of Christ, sing songs to Him, and preach His word. As you read the specifics on this particular building, please be in prayer about this decision to move out of a house and into this location.

The building is known as the Brookside Wedding Chapel, an older, white Chapel (http://www.okchapels.com) located  right off of I-35 Frontage Road in between South 89th and 104th in Oklahoma City. This particular building is around 4,500 to 4,800 sq. feet, contains sound equipment, nursery rooms, a screen for a projector, and a baptistery built into the church. It most definitely has an older look and feel to it with it’s very 1980’s blue-colored pews, and unique wood finish on most of the walls and parts of the ceiling. It rents for $1,200.00 a month; this includes all utilities paid (water, electric, etc.) and insurance on the building. The days we would have it available to us are both Wednesday and Sunday all day. The owner is asking for a lease term of one year, a very reasonable and helpful lease term.

John Stott

All worship is an intelligent and loving response to the revelation of God, because it is the adoration of his Name. Therefore acceptable worship is impossible without preaching. For preaching is making known the Name of the Lord, and worship is praising the Name of the Lord made known. Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the reading and preaching of the Word are actually indispensable to it. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed, it is their unnatural divorce which account for the low level of so much contemporary worship.

Our worship is poor because our knowledge of God is poor, and our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the Word of God is expounded in its fullness, and the congregation begin to glimpse the glory of the living God, they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before his throne. It is preaching which accomplishes this, the proclamation of the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God.