Jan
26
2009
Letter To New City
Dear New City Family,
As I sit here on Monday morning thinking about you and praying for you, I’ve been reflecting on our time of worship together yesterday. My reflections cause my heart to well up with praise and thanksgiving as I consider the powerful way in which God is moving at New City. His presence in our worship (praising, praying, and preaching) is both unmistakable and uninhibited. Every week he makes himself known to us in fresh, tangible ways. He seems so delighted to “inhabit the praises of his people” (Ps. 22:3) on Sunday mornings at New City, and for that we can all be grateful. It is obvious to me that he is there and he is not silent!
As I ponder the way God is stretching this church, I can’t help thinking how I don’t deserve to be a part of this. None of us do. We are nothing more than poor and needy rebels whom God has chosen to lavish his grace on. I hope all of us realize what a blessing it is that God is among us–changing us, growing us, developing us. As I said yesterday, no one ever volunteers to be stretched by God. And yet all of us need stretching. Therefore, God in his infinite mercy chooses to push us and pull us out of our comfort zones so that we will become the stalwarts of faith he wants us to become. For, “without faith it is impossible to please him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
As I think about and pray for our church, I have every reason to believe that, no matter what happens, this is going to be an incredible year. This church is growing both numerically and spiritually and I look forward with eager anticipation to see what God has for us over the next twelve months. It would be good and wise to remember the words of the great missionary William Carey: “Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.” I hope and pray that 2009 will be marked by both great attempts and great expectations. God is doing something–we all know it. And if God’s sovereign movement doesn’t thrill us, nothing will. Wherever he is going, I’m all in!
Thank you all for your prayers. Don’t stop. We need God’s clear direction and fierce protection. We need God to be unambiguous as he moves among us. We will go as far as he tells us to go, and no further.
I love you all and will be praying for you all. Fight the good fight. Stay the course. Press on. The best is yet to come! Amen.
Tullian