Monday Soup

Happy Monday!

This weekend at PLC was good.  Just plain good.  Everything about it.  Good.

We kicked off a new series that we'll be walking together in during a couple of the summer months.  Acts: one God, one Story is really going to bring our community a lot of life this summer.

I want to show you the moment that we created.  The video is taken from Waterloo as they were rehearsing it:



On Saturday night at Cedar Falls, we almost had a train wreck as we launched into it - so many moving parts at once, and we had to stop and start all of those parts over because our beloved Senior Pastor decided to say a few more words after his prayer!  But, Andy Iehl did a great job of calling it, and Spencer a great job of making sure that everyone on stage made the adjustment.

Big picture: the story of Acts is the story of the church.  But before the story of the church begins, Luke, the author of Acts, reminds us of the crux of the story.  Quoting Jesus, Luke says in Acts 1:8:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Here is our purpose, my friends: to take the message of life and freedom that we've received from Jesus, and to spread it to everyone we meet.  That's our purpose.

John also quoted from Luke 15:7:

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." 

Love that.  Heaven takes a side.  More partying over lost people returning.  More passion from the purpose of reaching them.

We saw a couple of people come to Christ on Saturday, a couple more on Sunday, and then we baptized 25 people at Cedar Falls and 10 people at Waterloo.  God loves it when we embrace his purpose and passion, doesn't he?

This is the story God has been writing for 2,000 years now.  And so, we wrote the story in our services using a Hillsong United song entitled "Tear Down the Walls" and an accompanying video piece that we created to drive home the words of the chorus:

Your name is glorious, glorious

Your love is changing us, calling us

To worship in spirit and in truth

As all creation returns to You 

On an interesting note: we played the same song last September on the weekend that we called people to grab a brick and either pray, give, or go to the Waterloo campus.  Great song.

Have a wonderful week!