Foundations, Family, & Focus Part I

To say the very least, this weekend was AMAZING. The "Wilmington Crew" as I am dubbing them came down this weekend for a retreat at Carolina Beach. It was so great to meet everyone and to already feel a part of each and every family individually and also to feel a part of the family as a whole. I met so many amazing people this weekend and can't wait for all of them to join the crew that is already here. So, let me try to break this weekend down for you. This may be another long post, but here goes nothing:

Saturday started bright and early, haha 9:30am. We all met at a hotel on Carolina Beach. Everyone was so warm and friendly. We started off with a name game to learn everyone's names, obviously. That was fun! Then we got into the Word. That was even better. Kevin spoke about the 12 stones that Joshua sent 12 men into the Jordan to get when getting ready to cross over to the promise land. (Joshua 4:1-13). Well, that's pretty much what the weekend was all about -- the 12 stones of our church here in Wilmington, broken into 3 categories. Well, I think I'll just do the foundations today.

FOUNDATIONS:
1. We need to be a cross-centered church.
Well, this one should be obvious. The cross is what it's all about. It's about Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice and the story behind it all and the story after it all. It's about how the cross can change lives (just like mine!) and how the whole motivation behind everything that we do here in Wilmington needs to come from Jesus.
2 Cor. 5:13-15
1 Cor. 1:18-19
Col. 3:23
2. Focus on Scripture "Bible Entrenched"
As a church we cannot be focused on what others are doing. We must focus on what the scriptures tell us to do and be strong in what the scriptures tell us to do. It's not that we're against others, we're just with the scriptures.
2 Timothy 3:12-17
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
3. A prayerful/worshipful church
Acts 1:14, 2:42, 3:1, 4:23-24 & 31, 6:3-4, 8:15-16, 9:11 & 40, 10:2, 11:5, 12:12, 13:3, 14:23, 16:13 & 16 & 25-26, 20:36-38, 21:5, 26:29, 27:29, 28:8
These guys prayed ALL the time!! Why?? Power comes from prayer. It's literally in every chapter (not every chapter is listed, but you catch my drift, right?). As most of you know, Acts is all about the first church. Well, it looks to me that prayer was a major part of the first church. It's not just for the first century church, but for every century after that.
4. Be a holy church
Satan really enjoys messing up good things. I've seen it happen many times. As a member on this mission team I have to know who I really am and know who God wants me to be. It's not about what Satan wants or what I want. It's about what God wants.
Col. 3:1-17
Eph. 4:17-5:21
1 John 2
Romans 13:1-2, 14:19-22

I know I'm basically laying out the retreat for you, but it really had an impact on me and gave me a fresh start to my week. Thanks to Kevin and Elizabeth for answering the call. Love you all.

I'm so excited for what the future holds!

Love,
-Elizabeth