Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ask your Questions about God

Asking questions is one of the main ways to get answers. Like the phrase says, "the only dumb question is the one not asked." It takes courage to ask questions, especially if you think you are the only one with the question. We are taking a few Sundays to answer some common questions at Church Ablaze. We would like to know what are the questions people are asking today about, Jesus, the Bible, life, and the Christian faith? I have heard that the church at large has been accused of answering questions that people are not asking. Ouch! That is kind of harsh but there is a hint of validity to it. We want to hear from you, some questions have already started pouring in like:
  • What is speaking in tongues? Is it for the church today?
  • How do I know when God is talking to me?
  • How do you honor your father and mother but still not allow a controlling manipulative parent run your life and ruin your marriage?
  • Did God condone the killing of children and the slaughtering of nations in the Old Testament? How could this be?

Could you take a moment and send us your questions. Four ways you can do that.

  1. Comment to this post on my blog
  2. Email us at elders@churchablaze.tv
  3. Call and leave us a voice mail at 405-200-1846
  4. Come and visit us at 10600 N. Council Rd., Oklahoma City, OK 73162 Sundays @11:00am

We won't be able to answer every question. But your question could be used anonymously during our message on Sundays.

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Friday, April 9, 2010

I'm a Witness-Two Churches Working Together

Wow! A church that practices what it preaches! St. Paul's Lutheran Church has a vision statement which is to Love, Serve, and Grow in Christ. Our Church (Church Ablaze) has seen God's hand operating through St. Paul's generosity.
Last year, my sister in law, Alicia, happened to allow her daughters to go to St. Paul's summer program for kids called Wild Wednesdays led by Risa Powell. One day after a field trip to the zoo, Alicia got off the bus and ran into this nice man in the church parking lot. She introduced herself and they exchanged a few cordial words. She mentioned the church she attended (Church Ablaze) and that we were meeting in a hotel banquet room temporarily. Then she discovered he was the Pastor of St. Paul's Church and he told her you all should consider meeting here. Well Alicia came back and told me and I said that was nice but didn't take it immediate action.

Eventually we arranged a meeting with Pastor Wally to see the building and introduce ourselves. We were floored, not just because it was a nice facility, but the fact that Pastor Wally went and opened every room. He shared with us enthusiastically as he went from room to room showing us the potential we could have as a church. Keep in mind this was his first time meeting us and he acted like we were old friends. Eventually, we met St. Paul's president Tom Todd who is another man of God with a solid gold heart. Actually the entire staff and Exec. committee were all in favor of us coming and using their facility.

We now meet at their facility in the sanctuary at 11:00 am after their 9:30 service. We are humbled every time we gather together.
Two weeks ago was a big day for Church Ablaze and St. Paul's Lutheran Church. We had a joint service where our two local churches chose to come together in an expression of unified worship before the Lord.
  • Different churches one service
  • Different traditions one Spirit
  • Different pastors one sermon
  • Different races from one blood
  • Different songs one voice of worship
Diversity in God's Kingdom shows unity. It was so great to see our greeters working together, our ushers working together, our secretaries working together, and our worship teams singing together. We even collected offering together. WATCH OUT NOW! LOL! Pastor Wally and I decided a couple of months ago that at this service we would preach together one message. We shared on "Being a Witness" (Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-49). That was a great experience from preparing together to sharing together. The amazing thing is that two preachers stood in the pulpit together and preached in 25 minutes and 32 seconds, you know that had to be Spirit Led. :-) St. Paul's has a neat practice of having the children all come to the front and have a children's lesson. It was a glorious sight to see all of the children learning together.

Part of our elder team (Clarence Hill Jr., Nathan Williams, and myself) along with Pastor Wally served communion together, that was a glorious picture partaking in the Lord's supper with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

What does the future hold? We have no clue all we know is that it is bigger than us. We have naturally joined forces in outreach efforts. We determined to come together to fulfill the great commission together. We are feeding and clothing the poor, serving youth and being a Witnesses for our Lord TOGETHER! Hallelujah!
Church Ablaze is a non-denominational church intent on Spreading abroad the fame of Jesus Christ. Good News is Spreading! Lives are changing!
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