The View from my Seat!

Easter Sunday was quite a morning. The church was full and the energy was intense. The service started off with an incredible time of Praise and Worship. We are so blessed to have an incredible Praise Team. Ty's message this week was once again very powerful. He didn't title it but I would call it ,"A Bout with Doubt". He opened up by saying that CJC is a doubting church. I may have said it differently, but I know exactly what he is saying. At CJC we are aware that everyone struggles with doubt. No one is an exception. We encourage everyone to ask questions. God is a big God and He can handle the tough questions. Ty spoke on Doubting Thomas and the bad rap he has always had. The fact is, Thomas wasn't afraid to say, "I want to see Him for myself." About two years ago, I started causing trouble with some of my religious friends. I began to ask "Why?." Why do I believe that about this? There were certain things that I wanted God to show me and I wanted to find the answer for myself. I was tired of saying,"It's what I've been taught." or "My grandpa says that's what it means." Ty gave a great illustration using the Texas map. He said you can know where San Antonio and Fredericksburg are on the map but until you have been there for yourself there is no real experience. Ty and I took the boys to Marburger Farms in Fredericksburg 2 years ago. It happens to not even be on the map but we know first hand about this place. We have some of the greatest memories there because we experienced it for ourselves. We can read the Word of God (our map) but never experience its revelations. God does not look down on our doubts and our questions. He looks forward to our time searching Him. Ty ended with a human video and like most of you, I never get tired of them. He did "The Voice of Truth" and it was a great ending to an incredible service. So many people can try to tell us who we are, what we can and can't do, and what God says about that. This message challenged me and I hope it challenges you to be intimate with God. Don't just hear it and believe it, but EXPERIENCE it. God wants you to know Him because you have been with Him.
By the way, Cigi helped Ty with the sermon Monday night and she ROCKS!!!! We are so blessed to have her as our Youth Pastor. God is doing great things in CJC and she is at the top of my list.