Happy 36th Birthday East Cooper!

This week marks the 36th anniversary for East Cooper Baptist Church. To celebrate, the church body gathered tonight for a worship service and fellowship. We spent time giving God praise for His faithfulness since the church's planting and pleading for His guidance for the years to come. A specific petition we brought before the Lord was for ECBC's north campus plant. The campus, which will officially open its doors on September 12, has been named Crosspoint. (reminds me of another wonderful young church :) ) We commissioned the 25 families (still praying for 10 more!) who have committed to transfer their membership to Crosspoint while the new church body grows.
Another uplifting treat for the church family was the reports from the summer mission teams. Each team gave a synopsis of what God did through their trip and showed pictures.
We also had a wonderful time of musical worship which included the choir, contemporary worship band and orchestra!
I really loved a couple of the songs which I've heard before in contemporary worship services.

The Saving One- Starfield
What mercy was revealed
What selflessness and peace
My fate was surely sealed
Until He rescued me
His pardon for my sin
His bounty for my need
From slavery and shame
I am redeemed

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

No fear can hold me down
Nor darkness steal my joy
For blood has been poured out
The enemy destroyed
Death could not hold Him down
The cross was not enough
To steal away His throne
For He is God

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved
Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One (x2)

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved
Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved

Our God Saves-Paul Baloche
In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we've come

We're gathered together
To lift up Your name
To call on our savior
To fall on Your grace

In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we've come

We're gathered together
To lift up Your name
To call on our savior
To fall on Your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down, as your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name

In the name of the Father
In the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit
Lord we've come

We're gathered together
To lift up Your name
To call on our savior
To fall on Your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down, as your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name

Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves, our God saves

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As your saints bow down, as your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that
And the world will see that
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name

Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves, our God saves
Our God saves, our God saves
Our God saves, our God saves


The East Cooper Church family enjoyed quite the celebration of God's goodness. Happy 36th ECBC!

Seeking God's heart, one unsteady step at a time

Last week, the young adult ministry gathered for an evening of fellowship and worship. I've been so blessed with how God is moving in this ministry! Steve, the Young Adult pastor has such a vision for growth and outreach! He has been meeting with the men weekly in a group setting for the last few months. This was very evident as the guys took very active roles in leading the service. Steve started off by giving us the format: our worship leader (ECBC's Contemporary Worship leader, Kelly, is so gracious in serving us with his time and talents as well) and the band led us in worship through music then two of the guys lead in worship through reading and praying through scripture. I was reminded when Steve announced this element that my mindset should continually include scripture and prayer in worship.
We first read through Ps 138 then prayed through Ps 145 (praise, thanksgiving and supplication)
Our time was very encouraging. At one point, I was reminded of FCA worship services under the stars-feeling so close to His heart surrounded by His fingerprints. I realized though, that its so easy to get caught up in the natural emotions of the moment and to describe something like this in very "pretty" wording. It's so easy to feel the emotions of praise really without genuine heart stirring behind it. God is beautiful. Worship and making much of His glory is breathtaking.
I have found myself asking lately what stirs my praise? Am I stirred with the easy emotion of the moment or am I stirred because I truly understand God's love for me and what it cost Him; reminded of the truth of the Gospel and how great a God that gives this gift. It seems being filled with emotion can actually be a very empty form of "praise".
I fail miserably at this. I have a wandering mind and a selfish heart. I could never give God the praise He truly deserves but sometimes I can't even manage to turn my thoughts to Him long enough to refer to it as anything more than singing....
Kelly mentioned that the recurring concept of the musical worship was God's ultimate gift...I saw it as the continuation of what has been repeated for me lately: His love. I too often miss how personal God is. I see how He's God over all but I miss how gentle, close and loving He is. My personality is very much a "rule follower" and rather black and white in my logic.
I have been blessed to have been exposed to some great theological teaching. I most definitely cherish this as I have learned so much about my faith and my God. However, I think I have also succumb to burying myself in all that is black and white and grasped with enough study. I gloss over the reality of His love.

Beginnings

God is good! He's provided a wonderful new job! Although I'm grateful for the opportunities that have led me to this point (and for the people God used to give them to me!), I'm very much looking forward to the growth and further open doors that this opportunity provides. This week has started slowly but it has given me a great blessing in downtime to get to know my coworkers. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful as myself and other recent new hires navigate all that's required in starting our positions. It's also been a very welcome experience as I'm currently working with the HQ team but I will be moving to an off-site location in the next couple of weeks. I'll be working closely and sharing a workspace with another girl who's a little ahead of me in the entrance process. She and I have had some time to get to know each other while she's been at the main office in the afternoons. I feel a bit like I'm getting to know a new college roommate. We've been joking about making our space cozy and inviting with pictures and such. Katie is such a sweetheart. I'm looking forward to spending the workday with her.
Can't wait to see what God does from here!