Happy New Year Mountainveiw Family!

 

For the last several weeks we have opened our sermon time with a few quiet moments of praying and listening. We have been asking God a couple of questions, then listening carefully for His response. This is intentional and important. I hope you have been doing this throughout the week on your own:

 

Where are You already at work in me and around me, where I live, work, study and play?

How can I join You?

 

I’ve been accused of being an unrealistic and hopeless optimist. Know what? I’m comfortable with that. Being an optimist doesn’t mean I’m uninformed, or that I ignore negatives. It does mean that I choose to look for positives, for good results, for blessings… 

 

What’s my point? I’m optimistic that through our prayer and our active listening, we will see possibilities. I believe we can – we just need to exercise our faith muscles a little bit… I believe we can make the conscious effort to look past the darkness and lock in on the light… As the old Gaither song says, “…when God’s people humble themselves and call on Jesus, and they look to heaven expecting as they pray – I just feel like something good is about to happen, and brother, this could be that very day.”

 

It can be dangerous to sit quietly, or go for a drive alone, or go for a walk and ask,  “God, where are you at work in me and around me? How are you asking me to join you?” Too often, we are too busy talking or being occupied with “stuff”. I want to challenge you to listen. 

 

How’s your hope?

One of the lessons I’ve learned in 2021 is that the remedy for fear and defeat is hope. Are we maintaining our contact with the One who is our hope? 

 

How have you grown in your faith in 2021?

You might need to look deep to answer. Most faith growth happens below the surface.  

 

Where are you experiencing growth in your life, work and relationships? 

 

How do you sense God preparing you and inviting you into more growth in 2022? 



Last Sunday we announced that we had some wrist bracelets available for everyone to serve as a reminder to seek God’s Kingdom first in our lives. Using Matthew 6:33 as our primary verse, we are asking everyone one to set an alarm at either 6:33 AM or 6:33 PM (or both) to pray… Pray that you will seek first the Kingdom of God. Ask Him to reveal how He is working in you and around you. Ask Him how you can join Him in this work.