Notes From My Church-My House Shall Be A House of Prayer
PLACE:Lakewood Church-Houston, Tx
Joel Osteen, Pastor
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 2007
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
THE MUSIC:
Worship was led this week by Cindy Ratcliff, Steve Crawford and Dadra Greathouse. The lively “Forever God is Faithful”, Israel’s “Turn it Around” and “My Savior Lives” started off the service. Next up was “We’ve Come To Worship”. This song is one of my favorites because of the simplicity and sincerity of the lyrics. It is a song that invites the audience to go to God in heartfelt worship with uplifted hands and open hearts to honor Him totally and completely. It is awesome to realize that just as God honors and hears our prayers, He receives our worship and offerings of song. You can find this great song on Lakewood’s We Speak to Nations
Next up were Darlene Zschech’s “Shout to the Lord” and “Draw Me Close” which was sung during prayer time and led beautifully by Dadra. The last song was Richard Smallwood’s classic, “Total Praise”. Whenever this song is performed, the audience enjoys it tremendously. The choir sings it with such abandon and emotion, the audience picks up on the energy immediately. The beautiful lyrics declare that God is the source of all of our strength and because of that fact, we lift our hands in total praise.
THE MESSAGE:
Scripture Reference: Isaiah 55 8:9, 2 Kings 5:11, Psalm 37:4
Subject: Trusting God To Do Things His Way
Sermon Synopsis:
This week Pastor Joel spoke about trusting God to do what is best for us. He said that we can’t see the big picture and God knows what is best for us. Pastor Joel said a lot of people are frustrated because they are trying to make things happen the way they want. He said we should let go of the frustration and use that energy to thank God for what He has done for us. When you let go of the frustration, it will take the limits off God and allow Him to move on your behalf. A greater act of faith is to be happy where your are and trust God to do what is best for your life.
Pastor Joel advised everyone to trust God totally and to not live in frustration. He said our job is to believe and stay open to what God has for us. God has all kinds of ways to make our dreams come to pass. Sometimes we are so set on having things done our way, that we are not open to God’s way of making things happen. God’s ways are better than our ways. When things don’t work out the way we want them to, we should thank God that He has something better in store.
Pastor Joel said that many people don’t believe that they will ever get out of debt, have a great job, or live a life of victory. God is limited when we speak words of doubt, unbelief, and lack. Pastor Joel admonished everyone to stop trying to figure everything out and just relax and know that God will work things out to our advantage. God works in supernatural ways. Just because you don’t see a way, does not mean that there is not a way. Don’t be moved by what you see, but by what you know. Dare to believe that all your dreams will come to pass. Stretch your faith and trust God to do things His way and in His timing.
**Of course, this is only a very short summary of Pastor Joel’s sermon. To get the full effect you can watch this service and other archived services at http://www.lakewood.cc/ or http://www.joelosteen.com/.
THE ATMOSPHERE:
My husband and I were a bit frustrated when we got to church because of problems with changing the oil in our vehicles. My husband was upset because the shop that changed the oil before didn’t do such a great job, and that caused oil to leak all over the garage.
Even though we were off kilter, we decided to push ourselves and go to church. Lakewood is such a warm place to worship that the moment when we stepped into the sanctuary our frustrations just melted away. It did not seem like such a big deal anymore.
During prayer time, Pastor Joel mentioned Matthew 21:13, the scripture where God said that His house would be a house of prayer. It reminded me that prayer is what sets the atmosphere in a church, home, city, or nation. When you come to Lakewood, you feel the strong power of God’s love that is a result of fervent prayer. I am thankful for Lakewood and churches all over the world that realize how important prayer is. It sets the atmosphere for everyone to experience God’s unconditional love and peace. Our prayers connect us to the heart of God and allow us to spread His love to those around us.
……..and that is what happened in my church this weekend. What was it like in your place of worship this week? The entire universe is filled with God’s love and grace. We would love to hear about your church service. Post a comment or e-mail me at dominique@1800gospel.com and tell us all about the music, the message and the atmosphere at your church.
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