Core Values: The Presence of God
Even though some things around us are changing, we are still the same church.
“We are here to reach people with the life-giving message of Jesus. Join us as we…experience God, find freedom, discover purpose, and make a difference.”
Core Value #1: We desire to be a church where people prioritize and pursue the presence of God.
Psalm 139:7-12 (NLT) I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there Your hand will guide me… 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me… 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.
Jeremiah 23:24 (NLT) “Can anyone hide from Me in the secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.
We can mistakenly assume that because God is everywhere, everyone is automatically going to experience His presence in the same way.
James 4:8 (NKJV) Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
“Worship is not about getting God’s attention; it’s about giving Him ours.”
—Jack Hayford
Psalm 84:2 (NKJV) My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
We cannot make the mistake of building our relationship with God on a feeling.
What are we actually pursuing?
Presence — “face or countenance” [seek His face]
Psalm 27:8 (NIV) My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
The Bible never calls us to pursue something, but SOMEONE!
Genesis 3:8 (NIV) Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…
Luke 5:17 (NIV) One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.
John 14:23 (NLT) Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make our home with each of them.”
John 17:3 (NIV) Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
We’re believing for God to show up in such a tangible way that things happen in and around us that can only happen if He shows up.
How would you approach church differently if your primary purpose was to encounter the person of Jesus in a real and personal way?
Revelation 21:3 (NLT) “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.”