Whispers in Silence - Listening to God's Calling on Your Life

Reminder:

Here's a link to our permission slip form!

http://www.bcsm.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=yPeeS0mqMUs%3d&tabid=73&mid=396

If you could print it out beforehand and have it already filled out, that would help the check-in process move more smoothly! But we will also have copies there for you to fill out too if needed.

In other news....

For the next 40 days, our church is going to be talking about Transformation. We'll be going through the book of Luke, looking at Jesus' ministry and how we can apply that concept of growth and radical change to our lives.

If we look at Luke 1, we see Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who "were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord." (v.7) But Zechariah and his wife were not able to have a child. Zechariah was a priest and one day, he was chosen to burn incense in the temple while the rest of the congregation remained outside and prayed. While in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that he and his wife would have a son that would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would do great things on behalf of the Lord, and his name would be John.

"And Zechariah said to the angel, 'How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.' And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home."

- Luke 1:18-23

Zechariah could not understand or fully trust what God was about to do in his life. So the angel silenced him until the baby was born. Could you imagine that? 9 months of silence! That would be TORTURE, right?

But I truly believe God silenced Zechariah to prepare him for what he was about to do in his life. So often, we don't have a clue what God wants to do because we have never stopped and listened to what God has to say to us.

If Zechariah, this extremely Godly guy who kept to the laws and obeyed the commandments of the Lord, if he needed to be silenced in front of God, imagine how much we need that time of silence and stillness before God as well.

If we're honest with ourselves, our prayer lives are probably pretty lacking. I tend to pray for what I want, or what I want God to do in my life. But what I tend to forget is that prayer is a not a one-way street; we're not the only ones doing the talking. We need to spend more time in silence in front of God listening to what He has to say to us.

This week, we're challenging you to pray everyday for 5 minutes, and then just be silent and still and listen to God for 5 minutes. This might be hard or awkward at first, but you will grow used to it and you can be sure that God will speak to those who are open to listen to Him. Let this brief period of silence be a time of growth and trusting God, just like it was for Zechariah.

We as leaders are praying for you guys, and praying that God reveals some awesome things to you this week! We'll see you Saturday night at Fun Depot! And don't forget to bring your bibles with you Sunday morning for youth and later that evening for small groups!