Sunday reflections

The ‘Spring Forward’ Sunday is quickly becoming my least-favorite day of the year.  I’m not sure if people forget to set their clocks ahead and get too embarrassed to come to church the next day, OR if they just ‘plan’ not to go to church because of the missed hour of sleep, OR something else entirely, but I’ve noticed every single year that attendance drops dramatically on this day.  Nonetheless, it was a good day at CLC! Here’s why:

• At our South Bend campus (which was the least-affected attendance wise) both Pastor Doug and my wife (who ministered there today) reported the “sweet, sweet Presence of the Lord” filled the house.  Chris said it was SO unusual and a precious anointing today.
• In Lisle, Pastor Eric compared the service to a ‘successful heart transplant’ and said the people were “crazy compassionate” as they left today-
• In CVC, Pastor Jaime reported still more new families visiting today!  Viva Espanol!!!
• At the Shorewood campus, Pastor Dan says there was good worship & response to the message, especially in the altar & with 2 salvation decisions!
• And in Tinley Park, it was terrific having Pastor Herley Montes from our Philippine campus share in the sermon with me – his stories connected with all of us, and the anointing on his ministry makes me SO happy that he’s not only my friend, but now a part of our CLC family, too!
• I was also thrilled to see virtually 100% of the congregation accept the “$10 compassion challenge” for this week – I’m only being honest when I tell you that I fully expect to hear stories of super-natural happenings in Chicagoland as a result of today’s message!
• BEST OF ALL – we had about a dozen people who stood to indicate they prayed to receive Christ today – that never gets old!

Most of you know about the ‘offering confession’ we use regularly at the Tinley Park campus, and rarely does a week go by without someone sharing a testimony of God’s blessing in their life as a result – but this weekend was off the charts with not one testimony, but three: (a) on of our ushers said he received an unexpected check in the mail for over $400 this week; (b) one of our intercessors, a nurse by profession, who was laid-off last August and who hasn’t been able to find work since, was informed this week that the hospital that laid her off was sending her a bonus check for $3,000!; and (c) one of my favorite CLCers informed me that their business had been struggling for a long time, and they finally sought some relief from the high rent they pay.  Not only did God give them favor so that the rent was reduced by about half, but the amount they were in arrears (almost $100K) was completely forgiven! And their prayers for the business are being answered as it has increased significantly in recent weeks.

I don’t share those reports to glorify the ‘confession’ – after all, it’s NOT a magic formula.  But our God IS a good God, and He honors the faith of His people.  I also know that He is no respecter of persons, so what He’s done for these CLCers, He’ll do for you, too!

That’s all for this loooong Sunday – I’m headed home to relax a bit with my family.