Do You Forgive Me? Really Forgive Me.....

I have been thinking lately about forgiveness. A while back there was some conflict in our church which resulted in some leaving. I heard the other day one of those who stayed say that "all was forgiven". I wondered at that.......how can all be forgiven when there has been no discussion or no exchange of words at all. Can you blanket all of the wrongs done to you with one "all is forgiven"? I don't think that's possible. Here is why I don't think it works that way. You may say in your heart and in your mind that you have forgiven all but have you accepted forgiveness from them? When we say we forgive all doesn't it say somewhere underneath that statement that we have done no wrong and we possess the power alone to forgive? Forgiveness is a two way street. I don't think we can only walk one-way down that street. How can you extend forgiveness to me when I don't even know what my wrongdoing is? Is it possible that both parties are responsible and both need forgiveness but yet if you blanket all of it then you deny me the opportunity to accept your forgiveness and you deny me the opportunity to offer you forgiveness. If one party believes that they alone can offer forgiveness and do not need to accept forgiveness as well then I would say forgiveness has not really been offered. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice and he said basically all is forgiven but yet even Jesus requires me to come to him and confess my sin and my wrong doing in order to actually receive that forgiveness.

State of the Church Address

Mighty Hand Fellowship came into being just six short months ago. I am amazed and astonished by the work that has already taken place and the accomplishments that have been made by this group of people. God has truly been in our midst and richly blessed us with many gifts. I believe this is a good time to reflect on where we have been and where we are going. The Psalms frequently encourage us to remember all that God has done and to rejoice in the marvelous ways that God has moved among us. As we worship each Sunday in this wonderful place that God led us to we look back to our beginning and marvel at our journey.

We began as a few people who met for a small group Bible study twice a month and as a choir that longed for relationship with our God and each other. With hearts filled with worship we longed to lead others to that place of communion with God. We grew from a small group of 8-10 who met in each other's homes to a group that filled the church building. The choir grew from a few members who met to practice to a body of believers who met together for church service with the choir leading the way. We together found that we had become more than what the current church organization that we belonged to could support. We found ourselves without an organization to call our own so God led us on an Exodus to a new land. With a mighty hand God turned our seemingly impassable sea into dry land and Mighty Hand Fellowship was born.

We met first in a member's home and within a few weeks we were moving to our own building. Most of us had prayed for our own building but God gave to us over and above what we envisioned as our first building, a beautiful sanctuary, a fellowship hall, classrooms and a kitchen of our own. We watched as God met our needs one by one. We had no chairs but within a week we had chairs enough to fill the sanctuary. Our passion was praise and worship in the form of music and our sanctuary came equipped with a small stage area already wired for a sound system which a member so graciously supplied. Another member came forward with an incredible keyboard and there were drums and guitars and plenty of tambourines to go around. A board was elected and pastors were put into place and so we were on our way, running the race that God set before us.

All was not perfect in our blessed church though. We soon realized that we came with faults and imperfections. We were capable of turning on each other and hurting one another. We came with issues and things we kept hid and now the light was exposing them. We soon discovered that we all live messy lives of faith and in the midst of it all we discovered God's grace and mercy. We cried and we healed and we grew stronger. We doubted ourselves and questioned how we even arrived at the place we were in. Did we do the right thing? Did we exhaust all other avenues before we ventured out on our own? Was it a step of faith or was it arrogance?

Then one day there was our answer standing in front of us. Twenty-seven children of all sizes, colors, shapes and personalities, a rainbow of children from upper middle class to the lowest of economic classes. There they stood, smiling, clapping and singing "Deep and Wide" and "There's No God like Jehovah". From our own children to children of the surrounding community, from children raised in church to those that had never been in a church. God had met us here in the face of a child who did not know us but kept asking to sing "that Mighty Hand song".

God met us in other ways as well. Those that came in off the street seeking help through prayer. Those that were hungry and those that were addicted and needed a safe place to say I need help. We saw God in those that found us because the other churches did not want them. We saw drag Queens that came because they could be who God created them to be.

So six months into our journey and we have seen God move in mighty ways. We have church pews to fill the sanctuary, a new sound system and other church equipment. We have seen God move in the hearts of those in control of things such as rent and other finances. We have seen business donate hundreds of dollars to help us purchase things such as outdoor signs. We have seen children fill our church for a week of celebration and laughter and learning of Jesus. We have fed the hungry and clothed the homeless. We have seen our own youth perform drama's that stirred a passion for Christ deep within us.

God has truly blessed us with material things, with wonderful people and wonderful uplifting services; sermons that speak to our souls and our mind, music that makes our feet dance and moves us to tears. But mostly we have been blessed with a need for grace. A need that has brought us to our knees and then raised us again. Grace that has poured over us even as we found ourselves broken and hurting, not from a cruel world but from each other. God met us here with grace and mercy that allowed us to say to each other "I love you" not perfectly and not always in a beautiful way. Sometimes our love is sloppy and our faith is wobbly and our lives are messy but grace lives here and is poured out through God's mighty hand and covers us. May our next six months show us more of God's grace as we seek to know God more and to love each other more and to reach a world that so desperately has a need for grace.

Sherri Karnes/moderator MHF