473. God Did It (2026.07.19)
Praise team and I came back safely last Sunday, after serving in the Shepherd Conference and NLF Sunday service. During the conference, I heard so much positive feedback from the participants, including pastors. One pastor told me this: "Your team not just plays songs, but leads worship." I believe that is the utmost compliment a praise team could hear, and I was so proud of our team. During one morning session, the main speaker said he rarely cries in response to praise, but he did. (Funny thing is, I cried during that session in the middle of a fast song!) There was an undeniable presence of God during each praise session.
My sermon at the NLF Sunday service was well-received as well. As I was preparing for the message, I prayed that I would not preach to impress but to benefit. After the service, many came to me personally to share how the message encouraged them, so I was glad they found it beneficial.
All our shepherds and spouses who attended the conference shared that it was really helpful to them. I was very happy to see them connecting, interacting with shepherds from other churches, building wonderful friendships within the universal Church and learning from each other.
Leading up to the conference, I wasn't sure what this would lead to, but after the conference, it was clear that God would use our church more to bless other churches in the HC ministry network. I saw it as an answered prayer to the prayer we make every week to become a resource church. Though we might be small, I was reminded that God used a shepherd boy to strike down a giant. He can use 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed the thousands.
As we were about to leave NLF, a verse on the wall caught my eye. It said, "The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Th 5:24 NIV) I felt like this wonderfully summed up our trip: God, who called us, enabled us.
Jesus said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required". I didn't know how much we had, but through this trip, I realized how much God has given us. If God is increasing our capacity to serve, we just adjust accordingly, trusting that God will give us the ability and resources to do so.
