Spiritual Insights for the Journey
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| We are in Mobile, Alabama! |
Welcome to
Cornerstone
Metropolitan Community Church
Cornerstone
Metropolitan Community Church
1007 Government Street
Mobile, Alabama 36604
Phone: (251) 438-7080
Mobile, Alabama 36604
Phone: (251) 438-7080
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| God’s Plan |
As individuals in a community of faith face milestone moments of change; there is one
important principle to remember. Your life has a purpose and Christ’s Church has a
purpose. Scripture says, “I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not
for evil, to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
God’s plan is individualized for each local church and each individual and it’s different for
each. No two congregations are just alike and no two individuals are alike. Neither,
individual Christians or local assemblies are designed by a cookie cutter and there are no
‘cookie cutter saints’. Peter was nothing like John. Mary Magdalene was not like Lydia.
Luke was not like Matthew and Paul was different from them all. Ephesus was not Corinth,
nor Jerusalem like Rome or Alexandria like Athens: yet the Plan of God in Christ held them
all together. In the early days of our faith, they could say only one thing in unison, “Jesus
is Lord!” Why? It was God’s plan for Christ’s body and you are His body. So every word,
decision or action will move us closer to the Divine Design or away from our highest good
revealed in God’s plan.
God’s plan is not evil. God wants the best for you and the best for Christ’s church
wherever it exists. God’s plan is motivated by a love larger than our ability to comprehend.
It is a perfect love which casts out all fears. Fear may be defined as Failure to Encourage
Awesome Results. God’s plan is abundant with awesome results, just think of our personal
and collective salvation. God had a plan and the cross lead to resurrection. Where we
would say no, God would say yes. Our ways are not always God’s ways. So how do we know
which way to go? By placing our situations and changes into God’s unfailing hand, we are
enabled to overcome fearful problems of individual and cooperate life. Remember that in
trusting God we are acknowledging, as Paul said, “God is working all things together for
the good of those who love God. These are the people God called because that was God’s
plan” Rom. 8:28
God’s plan is already in place and is perfectly planned. It leads to us to peace and safety
for all. God’s plan leads to hope not despair. Ultimately, God’s plan leads to success,
because obedience is better than any sacrifice. Yes, bad things do happen, even to good
people. Disappointment does come but God has a way of taking even the most untoward
events and actions and turning the results to a more positive purpose of blessing. God’s
plan is good and we all need the discipline of seeking it.
Imagine, you and your friends join for a day of sunshine on the lake. You are riding in a
speedboat with the automatic pilot set to go east. No one thinks to check in with the
weather forecaster and a storm cloud arises and since you’re not sure about its strength,
fear sets in and you decide to head west. You grab the wheel and physically force the boat
in the opposite direction of a prior well discerned plan. By sheer willpower you may
temporarily overcome the auto pilot but all will feel the constant resistance. Your arms tire
of the stress. You wrestle with the wheel but lose control as the boat simply vacillates,
direction is lost and no one gets anywhere. This is what happens when we get off God’s
plan of speaking peace to the storms we encounter.
So, recognize God’s plan in your life. Trust that God knows better than you. Get on board
with God’s plan and will for you as an individual. Resolve to trust God with the divine plan
and live in love. And, as a community of faith, continue the journey of being the church
which love is building. The sooner you do that, the fewer the detours and the fewer the
disappointments.
Inspired and adapted from an original sermon by Miles Wesner. ‘You Are Not An Accident’
May 15, 2010
important principle to remember. Your life has a purpose and Christ’s Church has a
purpose. Scripture says, “I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not
for evil, to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
God’s plan is individualized for each local church and each individual and it’s different for
each. No two congregations are just alike and no two individuals are alike. Neither,
individual Christians or local assemblies are designed by a cookie cutter and there are no
‘cookie cutter saints’. Peter was nothing like John. Mary Magdalene was not like Lydia.
Luke was not like Matthew and Paul was different from them all. Ephesus was not Corinth,
nor Jerusalem like Rome or Alexandria like Athens: yet the Plan of God in Christ held them
all together. In the early days of our faith, they could say only one thing in unison, “Jesus
is Lord!” Why? It was God’s plan for Christ’s body and you are His body. So every word,
decision or action will move us closer to the Divine Design or away from our highest good
revealed in God’s plan.
God’s plan is not evil. God wants the best for you and the best for Christ’s church
wherever it exists. God’s plan is motivated by a love larger than our ability to comprehend.
It is a perfect love which casts out all fears. Fear may be defined as Failure to Encourage
Awesome Results. God’s plan is abundant with awesome results, just think of our personal
and collective salvation. God had a plan and the cross lead to resurrection. Where we
would say no, God would say yes. Our ways are not always God’s ways. So how do we know
which way to go? By placing our situations and changes into God’s unfailing hand, we are
enabled to overcome fearful problems of individual and cooperate life. Remember that in
trusting God we are acknowledging, as Paul said, “God is working all things together for
the good of those who love God. These are the people God called because that was God’s
plan” Rom. 8:28
God’s plan is already in place and is perfectly planned. It leads to us to peace and safety
for all. God’s plan leads to hope not despair. Ultimately, God’s plan leads to success,
because obedience is better than any sacrifice. Yes, bad things do happen, even to good
people. Disappointment does come but God has a way of taking even the most untoward
events and actions and turning the results to a more positive purpose of blessing. God’s
plan is good and we all need the discipline of seeking it.
Imagine, you and your friends join for a day of sunshine on the lake. You are riding in a
speedboat with the automatic pilot set to go east. No one thinks to check in with the
weather forecaster and a storm cloud arises and since you’re not sure about its strength,
fear sets in and you decide to head west. You grab the wheel and physically force the boat
in the opposite direction of a prior well discerned plan. By sheer willpower you may
temporarily overcome the auto pilot but all will feel the constant resistance. Your arms tire
of the stress. You wrestle with the wheel but lose control as the boat simply vacillates,
direction is lost and no one gets anywhere. This is what happens when we get off God’s
plan of speaking peace to the storms we encounter.
So, recognize God’s plan in your life. Trust that God knows better than you. Get on board
with God’s plan and will for you as an individual. Resolve to trust God with the divine plan
and live in love. And, as a community of faith, continue the journey of being the church
which love is building. The sooner you do that, the fewer the detours and the fewer the
disappointments.
Inspired and adapted from an original sermon by Miles Wesner. ‘You Are Not An Accident’
May 15, 2010