The Story Chapter 11 - Facing Your Giants When You Feel Small

Imagine the scene:  a scrawny sixteen year old boy standing face to face with a 9ft giant.  The odds are not in his favor.....the giant that is.   With one rock and a sling the giant goes down.

You may not have a gigantic giant taunting you to come out and fight, but you are probably facing a few other giants of your own.  Giants like the stack of past-due bills are glaring at you.  Giants like the divorce papers awaiting your signature or the depression that looms over you like the Hulk.  Maybe your giant is low self-esteem or insecurity or child abuse from your past.  But you do have your giants and so do I.  We would do well to learn from David.

He faced his giant because he trusted God no matter what.  When he arrived at the place of the standoff between Israel and Philistine, he talked about God.  He told King Saul that, "The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Sam 17:37).  He didn't hesitate.  He confronted the giant.  Goliath came with a sword and spear, but David came with the mighty power of God.

David was God-focused, not giant-focused.  He mentions Goliath only 2 times, but God 9 times.  He knew the giant was there and he recognized his presence, but his thoughts were twice as much on God and His power.

His focus led him to face the giant rather than run away.  Goliath had taunted Israel's army for 40 days.  They were fearful and for 40 days they waited...just hoping he would go away.  But most giants don't just go away do they?  They don't go away until we face them.  So David stepped in the gap and defeated the giant.

One thing I can promise is this...After you slay one giant, there might be more to come.  As David grew up his giants took on new forms, but one thing remained the same.  David continued to trust God no matter what the world threw at him.

Are You A Deal Breaker? - Guest Blogger Kevin Brensinger

Kevin Brensinger serves as the First Impressions Director of Skyline Church.  A southern boy through and through, Kevin brings that touch of southern warmth and hospitality to his ministry.  He is the husband of 1 and daddy to 3 and he lives a life of service.  He serves God, his family, and his country as a member of the United States Coast Guard.

Are You A Deal Breaker?

What if you were the first person someone sees when visiting your church?  What kind of first impression would they have on you?  What kind of first impression are you representing for your church?  I ask myself this continuously in hopes that I am doing everything I can to help people make the choice to either visit my church or more importantly to make it their spiritual storehouse.  

We have an audacious group of volunteers in our First Impressions Team at Skyline Church, but we can't always be the first contact a guest has.  My point to this is that we all should share the responsibility to make our guests feel welcome.  Regardless of whether we are "scheduled" to serve in First Impressions, we should all go above and beyond to welcome unfamiliar faces, even if it takes us out of our own comfort zone. 

Odds are you decided to attend your church regularly because someone made you feel important enough to offer assistance, give you a tour, or offer you a cup of coffee.  Remember that EVERYONE HAS A STORY.  Every time I hear this phrase, I always think of this video made for Chic-Fil-A employees on the importance of servanthood.  (You can also click HERE)

We should strive to meet people where they are and remember that not everyone is in the same place in their walk with God.

When I ask, "Are you the deal-breaker?", I am asking if guests will be convinced or deterred by your demeanor alone to come to your church, make life changing decisions, and possibly come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Isn't that what our ultimate goal is?  What if you were the First Impression that ultimately led someone to make these decisions?  What an honorable and rewarding deed for the Kingdom.

As part of my story, I always considered saving lives in the Coast Guard as just part of the job.  It was definitely the most rewarding part of the job, but when I do this in a physical state, it pales in comparison to the lives I may have helped save in the spiritual state...All because I wanted to make sure that I was a great First Impression.

People will make their decisions to return to your church within the first 7 minutes of their visit.  Are you doing your part to make your first impression a laying impression?

Easter Weekends And Banner Years

I want to kick things off by saying a huge, "THANK YOU" to all of our leaders and volunteers who made Easter Weekend such an amazing weekend.  We did something that was a foreshadowing of things to come as we offered multiple services.  Those of you who served did an amazing job!

Granted, there were a few hiccups along the way (as there can be when doing something new), but I was blessed beyond measure to see you in action.  In both services, every team did exactly what they needed to do and the proof is in the pudding.  Here's what a couple of our first time guests had to say  about their experience.

"Great people! Great church!  Thank you for such a warm welcome to Skyline Church!"

"Your church had a major uplifting feeling, like I'm alive and not without hope."

It really was incredible.  Not only were we able to do multiple services, but we eclipsed 400 people for the first time ever in the history of Skyline Church.  But the best part of the whole weekend was the fact that 2 people came to faith in Christ.  THAT IS WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO!!!

It's all part of a Banner Year in 2014.  We have always dreamed God-Sized Dreams at Skyline Church and I feel stronger than ever that we are on the edge of something amazing that God is doing.  He is beginning to bring our dreams into reality.

If you will recall at the beginning of 2014, I challenged you to begin praying prayers so great that it would take God's intervention to see them through.  As we have been praying those Sun Stand Still prayers, God has already started answering them.  Not only have we experienced greater growth than ever before, we have also seen so many people come to Christ and are on pace to baptize as many people this year as in the previous three years combined.  That's some amazing stuff and only God can have the credit.

This past weekend, I announced yet another answer to our God-Sized prayers.  In March of 2015, God has opened a door for us to launch a brand new Skyline campus in Bethalto, IL.  I know you are as excited about that as I am.  But I am also certain you may have questions.

I want to challenge each of you to stay after service on Sunday.  We will have a Question/Answer session in the cafeteria as soon as the equipment is put into the trailer.  I can't wait to share with you how this all came about and what this journey is going to look like over the next few months.  We will even have one of our Bethalto Campus core team members present to share her story with you.  You will also have a chance to ask any questions you may have.

This is going to be another amazing chapter in our journey as Skyline Church.  We are going to be able to reach even more people with the Gospel than ever before and each of us will have the opportunity to take a physical and spiritual part of the journey as we take our mission of Loving God, Loving Others, and Making A Difference to a whole new city in our region.

This is only the beginning!!!!  Let's live radically together for Jesus and His mission through our church!