Isaiah 117 House

Welcome

Good morning Emmanuel family! We have a special service planned today, and I am so excited for you to get to hear our guests. We had planned to hear from Ronda on April 5th, but as you all know things went sideways with some of our plans due to COVID-19. But today, we are going to have some time to worship the Lord together, then hear more from Ronda about Isaiah 117 House and how it has become a movement to reshape and rethink entry into Foster Care. We will have a special offering at the end for those that want to come alongside Isaiah 117 House, and then I want to invite you to join me on Zoom. Last week we had nearly 20 folks, spread out from Europe to Pennsylvania to Knoxville. It was a great time of sharing as well as prayer. Look for that link both in your email as well as in the chat messages during today’s service. I would love to have you join us!

Well, let’s get ready to worship together. I don’t know about you, but I am filled with hope. It isn’t just because the weather has been awesome lately, though that helps, but I am filled with hope for what God is doing right now.

This time of physical distance doesn’t have to be the end of our spiritual growth. Now more than ever, God is calling us to dive into His Word, devote ourselves to hearing His voice, and I know He is speaking to me. I would love to hear what He is saying to you as well during this time. When we come back, let’s not return to ‘normal’. I want something better than that. I want to be a better version of myself, things stripped away from our church fluff, and not only see heart transformation but habit transformation. Changes that you and I are being called to make right now in response to what God is teaching us during this time. He’s dealing with our insecurities. He has put our fear and need to be in control on the table for us asking us to give it to Him. Let’s let Him finish this work He has begun during this season.

So, join me in worshipping Him this morning with our whole heart, abandoned to Him for He is worthy! Amen!?! Let’s worship together!

Worship

Song #1

Song #2

Service

Good morning! I am so glad that you have joined us today because we have a few special guests that are going to talk to us about a new ministry coming to Knoxville. May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, and we want to bring some awareness to this ministry that has been established in other parts of Tennessee as well as other states. Today, we are going to hear from Ronda Paulson, Founder and Director of Isaiah 117 House. We will also hear from Ashley Croft, who has become a community champion in Knoxville to help bring Isaiah 117 House to our county and serve the kids here. I am so excited to see what God is going to do in and through each and every one of us as He speaks to us during our time of hearing their story.

Join me now on my call with Ronda.

PAUSE (Ronda Zoom)

I am so grateful that Ronda was willing to share that with us today, even while she is at the beach with her family. Makes me want to pack up and head to Hilton Head myself.

I want to share with you a short video that will give you some more details and information on what exactly this house is that she is talking about.

Watch this video with me now.

PAUSE (Promo Video)

How powerful it is to take one of the most traumatic experiences a child can have and rewrite that narrative to infuse hope, remind them it’s not their fault, and that they are not alone. This is God’s redemptive work.

I want to read the verse that they use as, Isaiah 1:17.

Isaiah 1:17 NIV

17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

There are so many other verses like this one, where God reminds us to take care of those on the fringes, who can’t stand for themselves. James renews this as our noble cause and display of our faith.

James 1:27 NIV

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Now, I want you to join me and Ashley Croft, who is helping bring Isaiah 117 House to Knoxville. Let’s join her now.

PAUSE (Ashley Zoom)

We have some ways we can respond and help now. You can go and like their page on Facebook, share some of the things they are doing and in need of now. They are going and buying things for goodie bags for kids still coming into DCS custody during all of this. We are going to encourage you to contact them, let them know you want a t-shirt, a bracelet, both…and want to start helping raise awareness and stay in touch on new opportunities as they arise. I am praying that through our giving today, we can earmark those funds to give them as a sponsor for the upcoming luncheon. We can do that. I have a goal in my heart for this, but God surprise me today and do exceedingly more than I can even think or imagine right now.

You can go online to our webpage and give. Make a note during your giving or email us to let us know it was for the Isaiah 117 House.

Let’s PRAY.

Father, I thank you that you have changed our lives, adopted us into your family, and continue to heal us of our traumatic past and the impacts of sin. Lord, we want to respond to the call to help the helpless today. Thank you for moving our hearts to join what you are doing to love the kids in our city during some really hard times in their lives. Thank you for the faithful people at Emmanuel who have helped us take care of families during quarantine who needed meals, who needed to be visited in the hospital, who continued to celebrate with weddings, who needed to get out of their country as missionaries because the government was forcing them home. Thank you that our church was able to step up in big ways to all of these things and so much more because they have responded to being the people of God, who you have called us to be, and to share our lives and the Good News of your love with all. We love you Jesus, and thank you for your love for us. Amen and amen.

If you want to chat here we will be on for just a few more minutes, but you can also head on over to Zoom and join us for a ‘face to face’ call with others in our church.

Love you guys and God bless!