team 242's blog kickoff

hi everyone and welcome to our blog! here is the start to our journey throughout the book of LUKE over the next couple weeks and an avenue for us to share our lives since we won't see each other in person. this weekend was packed, but it was a blessing in many ways. i had the privilege of going to the global exec team summit in chicago, and it was a great time connecting with leaders at other HMCC sites and just to be able to seek God together. then the weekend ended with the focus christmas party, where we had a great time eating yummy food and fellowshipping with other single adults :) here is a pic of team 242 representin':

i was blessed by the sermon today b/c it was the same passage we read and reflected about this past wednesday at LG so i felt like it was a confirmation that this is what God wanted to speak to me about personally as well as for our LG. it was another reminder about the importance of having a true heart of worship and i feel like God was really driving that home in me throughout the weekend. reflections on LUKE 1: 1) it's interesting how even though Zechariah & Elizabeth were "upright in the sight of God" and observed all of the "Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly", he still failed to have enough faith to believe in the words of the angel that Elizabeth would bear a son at an old age. i think this goes to show how difficult it is for us to have an immovable and constant faith in what God can do b/c we are so set in our fleshly logic and perspectives. Zechariah's reaction reveals how we are quick to limit what God can do because of how we view our situations or circumstances and then in turn lose sight of who God is and how He is all-powerful and almighty. 2) it's evident that God has his own time table, and he doesn't operate according to what we think we need or want at a certain time. it's clear that God is able to do the impossible and is not restricted to human limitations. his thoughts really are higher and greater than ours, so i'm challenged to really trust Him with all things, but also to have faith in what God is able to do beyond what i can see now. if i really had genuine faith the size of a mustard seed, i wonder what He really could do. the fact that the consequence of Zechariah's unbelief was pretty severe shows that there is no room for the spirit of unbelief when you're in the presence of God and His words are always trustworthy. 3) it's also encouraging to see how Zechariah's prayers were heard and answered and it also shows that he brought his struggles and difficulties before the Lord to depend on Him. i want to grow deeper in my prayer life and i think this was a good reminder that "the prayer of a righteous man are powerful and effective" so that's something that i want to grow in during the upcoming break/down time. 4) lastly, i'm reminded that we should be content with whatever situation God puts us in (for Zechariah and Elizabeth it was not being able to bear children which must have been a big hardship) and that we should rejoice despite what we feel like we don't get in life esp compared to others. *contentment & trust in His will* btw, ever since we started singing this song, i've had it playing on repeat. it's such a good reminder of who our God is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwybcrHqkeo can't wait to read other people's posts! (doesn't let me do spacing btwn paragraphs so it's all one big one haha)