Senior Service: God is still working!

Opening:

Hi Everyone,

My name is George. This is Jon and Jackie. And we our from The River Church here in Glastonbury. We’re a newer church. We just celebrated 5 years a couple of weeks ago. I’ll share a little more of our story in just a minute...

...But I wanted to start by saying thank you. Thanks for letting us be a part of your community here. Also, the format for today will be:

Start off with praying.

Then, we’ll sing a couple of songs together.

After, I’ll give a short message.

And then, we’ll close by taking communion together.

With that said, let’s pray...

Pray.

Jon, would you lead us in some worship?

Message:

Thanks Jon and Jackie. Again, my name is George. I’m the pastor of The River Church. We currently meet at the Riverfront Community Center on Sundays, but we’re so glad to be worshiping with you - on this Monday.

I’d like to start by reading a verse from God’s Word...

John 5:17 NLT

But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

I mentioned earlier that we are a fairly new church. We started the church 5 years ago, when my wife and I moved here from San Diego, CA. And to give you a little backstory on me...

Both my wife (Janelle - who is not here today, but will likely come in the future) and myself grew up in San Diego. We did not grow up in church. Honestly, for a lot of my life, I wanted nothing to do with God. My wife became a Christian in high school, but didn’t take her faith seriously until her early twenties. That was around the same time I met Jesus too.

At the time, I was living recklessly. WIth no real purpose other than to make money and find pleasure. And I used a lot of my money to drink and party (which was my pleasure). But as you might guess, soon my desire to drink and party impacted my ability to make money. There was one night I finished off a bottle of whiskey and thought it’d be a good idea to call my boss and say, “I quit.” And there went my money.

It wasn’t long before I found myself living at my mom’s house, drinking all of her alcohol, and sitting on the couch watching TV all day. And there came a moment of honesty when I said to myself, “I’m a loser.”

In that moment, I also tried to remember when the last time I was happy. Now, I said I didn’t grow up in church and that is true. But I had been to church before. There was a season in my life, around 10 years old, when our neighbors invited us to church. We started regularly going and it was then that I was first introduced to the Jesus and the Bible. I remember going to church picnics, memorizing Bible verses, and singing songs about God. And as I tried to remember a season of happiness, something working inside me remembered this time - the couple years my family spent in church.

But… just as quickly as that season of church ended, so did my reflection on the last time I was happy. I thought about it and then that thought left me. There was no change in my life.

Fast forward to the following Thanksgiving and I remember my uncle inviting me to church. I really had no desire, but something working in me said, “Yes.” And the following Sunday, my life began to change...

I became hungry for God’s Word. I wanted to be at church all the time. And that January, as I was driving around for work, I decided to surrender my life to Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I got baptized that night and I clearly remember God’s Spirit working in me to change my heart.

Not too long after that, I met my wife Janelle. And we began to serve in the church together. We started off as greeters. Then, we helped with the music. After we were married, I became a youth pastor. And it was during this season, that God began to work in my heart and call me to a new work.

Now, here’s where my story gets a little weird for people. There came a moment when I was sitting in Sunny Southern California, at Bible College, and God spoke to my heart saying, “I want you to start a new church.” When I got home, I spoke to Janelle about it, and God had already been working in her heart about the same thing. That’s not the weird part. That comes next. When we asked the question, “Where do we start this church?” We both thought, “What about Connecticut?”

You see, even before we were Christians, Janelle and I (separately) always had a desire to live in Connecticut - a place we had never been, nor did we know anyone from Connecticut. And that’s the weird part: Two kids who grew up in San Diego, have always longed to live in Connecticut! You know what that is… I believe it is God working in our lives.

Well, I flew out to Hartford in 2013 and just drove around. And as I was driving, God lead me to Glastonbury. As I was driving, I sensed God wanting me to pull over and pray. I did. And as I prayed, I heard the following verse...

John 7:37–38 ESV

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

I instantly knew, this was the place God was calling us to. So, in 2015, my wife and I sold everything, packed up our 3 boys into a little Mazda 5, and drove across country to move here - Glastonbury.

A couple weeks later, a friend of mine from college said, “Hey, I know a family that lives in Glastonbury. You should meet them.” That family is standing right there. They too, had moved from paradise (Singapore) to Glastonbury, due to work. Although they didn’t fully understand why God moved them away from their favorite place, what they soon began to see was God was doing a work - in and thru them. And in 2016, our two families start The River Church Glastonbury. And since that time God has been doing a wonderful work in this beautiful town.

And I share all of this because it connects back to the verse I started with. Let me read it again...

John 5:17 NLT

But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

Let me give us a little context. When Jesus said this...

He said it in a place where it seemed like God wasn’t working.

He said it at a time when no work was supposed to be done (on the Sabbath).

And, He said it because a miraculous work had been done in a life where nothing had worked before.

And the truth Jesus is communicating, and the truth I’d like us to hold on to today is this, GOD IS ALWAYS WORKING. God was working back in Jesus’s day. And God is working today. And God will continue to work in the future.

God is still working today. It may not always seem like it, but He is. God was powerfully worked in my life to save me from my sin, when it seemed like nothing else was working. God is powerfully working through our church, even during a time and in places, where it doesn’t seem like God is working. And I want to end by encouraging you by saying, “I believe God is powerfully working today - in this place.”

I don’t believe it is a coincidence that we were invited here today. I believe there is a reason all of you decided to participate in this activity today. And that reason is, “God is still working!” He is working in your life. And He still wants to work through your life. He still has a purpose for you.

And if today, you’d like to let God workout that purpose in your life, let me suggest two steps:

Read God’s Word. Read the Bible (or listen to it). There are a lot of tools we have today that gives us great access to God’s word. And if you would like help finding and using those tools, we’d love to help you. We can speak with you afterwards or Jeanette or Emily can contact us.

Ask yourself if you’re ready to receive God’s work in your life. That all starts with Jesus. It’s only thru Jesus that we are made right with God and He begins to work in our lives. What Jesus did on the cross 2000 years ago, allows our sins to be forgiven. And when we turn away from our sin and receive that free gift of salvation by faith, God begins to work in us. Do you need to do that today? If so, you can cry out in your heart, “God, I’m sorry for all I’ve done. I’m ready to change. I accept your work on the cross and am ready for you to work in my life.”

To close, we’re going to take communion. It’s a practice that helps us remember the work Jesus did on the cross. If anyone here would like to participate, raise your hand and Jackie will pass out the elements. And then, we will take communion together.

Communion:

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Close:

Again, thank you for allowing us to be here with you. We plan on coming back in December. And if you need anything from us in the meantime, we’d love to serve you and be a blessing to you. Jeanette or Emily can help get you in contact with us. Let’s pray to close...