Soli Deo Gloria

We have all received the invitation in the mail… to an event intended to raise funds for a worthy cause. Perhaps one of the earliest such invitations was sent by King David almost 1000 years before the birth of Jesus. He called the leaders of Israel to the palace, treated them to a feast, and then invited them to invest in the building of a Temple to honor Yahweh. The funds raised that evening gave David’s son Solomon all the resources he would need to build a stunning structure for the worship of God’s people. On Sunday, November 19th, the people of God will be invited to gathered again for an event intended to raise funds for a worthy cause. The feast will be a simpler fare consisting of Lenape Valley’s famous coffee and some delightful treats. And this time the call to invest will be not for a building but for a people. Consider what God does when you invest in God’s people:

• Holy Chaos happens!
Imagine the sanctuary filled with children dancing to Vacation Bible School songs, Genesis teens running through the halls of the church on ‘faith walks’, soccer balls flying at Push the Rock, and Fellowship Hall alive with mission projects that will bless people around the world. Holy chaos happens when God’s people of all ages live in faith together.

• We send people away!  
You may have expected the opposite answer. Shouldn’t we welcome people in? Yes! But at Lenape Valley we also work hard to send our people out... where the need is... to be God’s gracious gift to the world. From our Adult Mission team building a home in TN, to our Youth Mission team serving in Belize, to Helping Hands in Ambler, to Church Has Left the Building teams around the community, we send our people away. And every Sunday, the people of Lenape Valley hear the call again to go out onto the mission field where we live and work. We are called to be the mission of Jesus Christ to the world God so loves.

• Safe!
“Safe!” is what a runner hopes to hear from the umpire when he reaches the bag in baseball. “Safe!” is what children call out when they reach ‘home base’ in the game of Tag. Safe is what we all need to feel at the end of a long, hard day out in the world. Safe space is what Lenape Valley Church offers to young and old throughout the week. From a conversation during Coffee Hour, to a deep dive into God’s Word in a small group, to the gracious visit of a caring Deacon, God is creating safe space through Lenape Valley.

• Life gets Joyfully Noisy!
Every week begins with the joyful noise of the people of God in worship. Lenape Valley is blessed with a rich offering of music that draws God’s people into joyful worship. That joyful noise continues all week long as we go out in the community to be God’s people in the world. Do you hear the joyful noise?

• Soli Deo Gloria!
Johann Sabastian Bach signed each of his musical creations with the line: Soli Deo Gloria- to God alone be the glory. Bach believed that every note, every musical phrase, every rhythm was a gift from God’s creative Spirit. Take a moment to step back and see what God has been doing in the life and ministry of Lenape Valley Church. The growth, the graceful spirit, the mission heart- all these are gifts from God’s creative Spirit. Our church is etched with the declaration: Soli Deo Gloria- to God alone be the glory.

When Bach signed his musical creations with Soli Deo Gloria, he was not just celebrating what God had done, he was pointing in expectation to what God was going to do next. It was like Bach’s: “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”  

On Sunday, November 19th you will be given an opportunity to re-commit yourself and your resources to the mission and ministry of Lenape Valley. On November 19th, may we be a people full of praise and expectation. God has only just begun to grow a legacy of faith in Lenape Valley that will move and shape the generations. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

What a joy to be part of what God is doing in the world with you!
Anita 

P.S. Consider David’s prayer at his fundraising dinner: (I Chronicles 29:10-14)
Praise be to you, LORD,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the Ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.