August 26, 2022
Happy Friday! In this week’s Radiant Weekly…
1) This Sunday, 8/28 — Sent like Lambs to Heal
2) Naturally Supernatural Workshop, tomorrow, Sat. 8/27, 1-5PM
3) “Grand Opening” Sunday, September 11
4) Prayer: Mondays at 9PM, 48 hours of prayer 9/8-9/10
5) Women’s Retreat 9/30-10/2
THIS SUNDAY AT 5PM- SENT TO HEAL
If you had pressed me on it, I guess I would have said that God could physically heal people. But I am not sure how much I really believed it.
By nature, I am a kind of skeptical guy (is that strange for a pastor?). I love philosophy and science, I am probably a bit overeducated, and generally have been formed by enlightenment thinking.
Then some unexplainable, supernatural “stuff” started to happen…
I couldn’t really argue with what I had seen and had personally experienced. This was really good. God’s power and healing really can and does break through. And the more I talked to people, I realized that this “stuff” is more common than we think.
I am now convinced now that disciples of Jesus have a part to play in God’s healing unfolding in people’s lives: physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.
This is part of what it means to be sent to make disciples in the way of Jesus.
I know it’s scary for many people to talk about — most of us know what it is for prayers for healing or transformation to go unanswered.
Moreover, we might have been exposed to some really unnecessarily weird or even abusive stuff — some guy with weird hair asking for donations for miracle oil or asking you to put your hand on a TV screen. (At least I don’t have the weird hair problem!)
Or worse yet, being told that your lack of healing is due to a lack of faith.
Yet, despite the weird stuff, God can and does heal and invites us to participate in what He is already doing.
We don’t control it, there is a lot of mystery to it, but we might be surprised at the availability of God’s love and power for healing.
Yes, we have a lot to unpack here and it fraught ground. It’s a journey — so bring your heart and your questions this Sunday at 5Pm?
Or to our very much related…
NATURALLY SUPERNATURAL WORKSHOP
TOMORROW, SATURDAY, AUG 27. 1-5 PM at 324 COLLEGE AVE.
We have some last minute sign-ups available for our prayer workshop. Sign up here. We are pretty excited about this.
At Radiant we exist to make disciples of Jesus who are radiant with God’s love and power. But how do we practically operate and walk in the power of God’s Spirit? We are creating some workshop space to learn about living a lifestyle that is both naturally supernatural and not unnecessarily weird.
Pastor Sean Blomquist will be joining us to lead us in a workshop where we learn how to become naturally supernatural through cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
GRAND OPENING – SEPTEMBER 11
We’re throwing a big party to mark our “Grand Opening” as a church. We began as a launch team of about 40 adults in the midst of a pandemic, a wild mix of people wanting to practice the simple way of Jesus together. It has been quite the adventure over the past year as we’ve met and planned, gathered in homes, held preview services, prayed, shared meals, worshipped.
But we believe God is just getting started with us. We’re excited about the new friends who are joining and will join us. We’re excited that Jesus is still calling, making, and sending disciples in Modesto and beyond.
So we’re going to have some fun — Foxwood RealFood Truck will be there! We’ll have some bounce houses for the kids, and we are going to worship. Spread the invites far and wide (copy and paste image here), everybody is welcome!
PRAYER GATHERINGS
TIME CHANGE* – MONDAY PRAYER MEETINGS – 9PM – 920PM
Mondays from Aug. 8th through Sep. 5th. Leading up to Radiant’s “Grand Opening” our prayer team will be hosting a video prayer meeting. We will be praying that God would empower our witness to Jesus as we follow him on mission. Each meeting will last from 9PM-920PM. Here’s the link: meet.google.com/dvu-mfev-noa
48 HOURS OF PRAYER EVENT
Mark your calendars! We are praying for for 48 hours straight as a church starting Thursday, Sept 8 at 3 PM and ending Sept. 10. at 2:30 PM. Yes, even at 3 AM, we will be praying. We will end our prayer vigil with a communion service from 2:30-3:00 PM. This will occur on-site, in person in the sanctuary at 324 College Avenue. Sign up for your slot here.
PSWC WOMEN’S RETREAT AT MISSION SPRINGS 9/30-10/2/2022
Registration for our denomination’s regional Women’s Retreat is open and it is filling up! Join other women in beautiful Scotts Valley, CA for a weekend where you can rediscover the power and beauty of God’s rescuing love, rekindle your joy for God’s gift of rest and reignite your hope in God’s promise to reign.
More information can be found here. Space is limited.
BAND APP
One way to connect at Radiant is to join our BAND APP group. Think of this as a sort of Radiant message board — our own little Facebook/ Craigslist space. People can extend invites, share about needs and resources. Please join us! https://band.us/n/adaa739aX4Rca
Grace and peace!
Zach
zach@radcov.org
209-497-3710
www.radcov.org