January 6, 2019 was Epiphany Sunday, the 12th day of Christmas. Epiphany means “the appearing” or “the revealing”. In Christian churches Epiphany celebrates the Magi, the three kings from the Orient, who followed the unusual star to visit the Christ child (revealing the Messiah to the Gentile world), and the baptism of Jesus by John (revealing Jesus as God’s beloved Son), and Jesus’ first miracle (revealing His Diety). To us, with the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Immanuel, is still with us, indwelling Christians who trust in Christ for eternal life and live for Him.

As Covenanters (members of the Evangelical Covenant Church) we revere God’s Word, always asking “Where is it written?” One of our Scripture sources was Acts 2:17-21, where Peter quoted from Joel 2:28-32. Our Creator gave our minds the ability to dream and envision together.

Pastor Linda shared a couple personal stories, the first one meant to inspire the congregation to engage in some playful visioning together with the Holy Spirit’s help, in a “visioning session” after Worship. Her second anecdote encouraged our folks to be patient in quieting themselves as they wait, listening for God’s gentle whisper to their souls.
Using events from prehistory (Tower of Babel), early Christian history, and 20th Century history, Pastor Linda clarified the purpose and power of unity. When unity’s purpose is to glorify God– as opposed to making a name for ourselves– good results, not evil, to bring us a future and hope (Jeremiah 29:11)

After the worship and visioning session, the group enjoyed lunch, encouraged to make prayer a daily habit. We will review all the ideas shared next week, and see where God is going so we can go WITH our Lord.