Good morning, Reader.
Three days ago, two churches raised one prayer in one room. Here is what actually happened, and where we go from here.
The Gathering
What happened at The Gathering was more than a joint service.
As we worshiped alongside our sisters and brothers from Ebenezer Baptist Church, shared a meal, and talked with one another, something beautiful happened. There was joy in the room. There was connection. It reminded us that we are part of one body, serving one Savior and carrying one message of hope.
For a hybrid church like ours, gathering in person with another congregation showed us what's possible when churches choose partnership over isolation.
What if churches with different gifts, resources, and spaces could come together more often to worship, fellowship, and serve our communities? What if we could strengthen one another without each church having to carry every burden alone?
The Gathering gave us a glimpse. We are grateful to Ebenezer Baptist Church for the welcome, the worship, and the fellowship. We are praying about what God may be building next.
What was your favorite part of The Gathering? Hit reply and tell me.
This Sunday: A New Series Begins
CHECK YOUR SOURCE starts this Sunday. Five weeks testing the sayings you have built your life on, the ones that sound biblical and are not: "God will never give you more than you can handle." "God helps those who help themselves." "Everything happens for a reason." Sayings that feel true right up until the day they cannot hold the weight you are putting on them.
Week one is called More Than You Can Handle. Here is the line we are testing against Scripture: God never promised you manageable trouble. He promised sufficient grace. If you have ever quietly believed your faith failed because your life got too heavy, this one is for you.
"We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead." (2 Corinthians 1:8-9, NLT)
10:30 AM Central. In person or online at marshillchicago.org.
Worth Your Time: Your Saved Posts Are a List of Things You Quit
Going deeper this week. New on Second Act: your saved folder is not a to-do list. It is a record of every intention you talked yourself out of.
Your brain gets the same reward from saving something as it does from doing it. That is why the folder keeps growing and the shelf stays empty. The rule that fixes it is not complicated. It is just uncomfortable: engage now or let it go.
👉 Read Your Saved Posts Are a List of Things You Quit
Give
Everything you are watching right now was built by people who give. The stream, the team, the ministry that reaches somebody who cannot walk into a building this morning.
Give at marshillchicago.org/giving. That link is in the chat and in the description.
Give as worship, not as pressure.
Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.
P.S. Week two is already loaded. "God helps those who help themselves" is not in your Bible. It is Ben Franklin. Same time Sunday.
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