On any given Sunday, we witness miracles.

When God called my husband and me to church planting, we had to leave a thriving mid-sized church where we had served for decades. We left behind some of our closest friends and family members to launch into the unknown. Initially, we were sent to serve at a church plant well over an hour from our home. We battled traffic and tolls to invest in that community for a year, knowing that it would not be a long-term place for us to grow. During that year, we witnessed God moving redemptively, and we learned a great deal.

In 2022, we finally found our way back to a place we had only dreamed of: church planting in Conroe, Texas. The first time we attended a service in our newly borrowed space, we were stunned to discover that it would take us only fifteen minutes to drive home after we helped clean up and put everything away. This would be a first for us after serving for over twenty years in places and spaces far from where we lived.

This season of church planting allows us to depend very much on God’s provision. I hope I never grow weary of shouting, singing, and saying how good God has been to our little flock. We couldn’t do any of this without His generous hand!

SHOUT, SING, SAY

1Shout for joy to God, all the earth 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

(Psalm 66:1-4 ESV)

Shared praise and thanksgiving will multiply when I shout, sing, and speak about God’s marvelous deeds with others. The practice spurs our hearts to dig deep and remember the goodness of the Lord.

God commands us to shout and share because it does our hearts good in our community. We are designed to join our voices and share.

Who will you share with today?

MAKING A LIST

5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, 7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations—let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

(Psalm 66:5-7 ESV)

Do you ever try to go to the grocery store without a list? It seldom goes well. There is something about making a list that builds on itself. I write down butter and then remember we need milk. I write down apples and recall our low supply of peanut butter.

When I thank God for what He has done for me in specific ways, I recall more and more. I thank Him for my daughter’s new house and remember how God arranged a rental house for her and her family to live in while they searched for this new house in their new town.

I begin the list of thanks for 2023 and remember all God has done for our fledging church plant. The miracles of providing a soundboard, new folding chairs, a 22-foot storage trailer, a wonderful place to meet, talented people who lead worship, run sound, and create curriculum for children. I am so thankful for the teenagers who tirelessly volunteered and the many ministry partners along our journey.

What can you add to your list?

PRAISE HIM FOR THE GOOD AND THE DIFFICULT

8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; 12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

(Psalm 66:8-11 ESV)

God calls us to give Him thanks and praise for the good and the difficult. Sometimes, it’s hard to understand why the soundboard died so abruptly. However, it did allow us to see His provision and the generosity of various people who all stepped in to replace it. Just when we began to struggle to store all our stuff each Sunday as we set up, a 22-foot trailer was given to us. Now, there was a small problem. Legal paperwork had to be filed and processed, which took some persistence from a tenacious church member. However, at the end of it all, we thanked God for this mind-blowing provision.

What do you praise God for?

MAKE OFFERINGS

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,

14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

(Psalm 66:13-15 ESV)

Burnt offerings are costly. Fulfilling vows made and promised when I was in trouble can be challenging. I would prefer to give out of what is left over. God calls for sacrifice, and burning the offerings helped His people see how He wished to consume what they had given Him. That likely helped them not drag it back the way I am sadly tempted to. God calls for me to give back to Him, something I will miss and want to keep. These kinds of offerings please Him most.

What can I offer?

SHARE TESTIMONIES AND CONFESSIONS

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. 

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

(Psalm 66:16-20 ESV)

Corporate testimonies and confession fuel the Holy Spirit to burn brightly in your fellowship. Confession of my sins is essential. Confession of my community’s sins is also required. As we join voices in sharing praise reports, we must also ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what we can confess as a community. Sharing testimonies of what God has done encourages everyone who participates. Sometimes, others see God working in our situation when we cannot. They spy a treasure of His goodness and report it to us. We all need reminders of His steadfast love.

What testimonies can I encourage others with?

PRAYER

Help me to shout, sing, and say your praises regularly. Remind me to list all You have done for me and my people. I will praise you for the good and difficult because it is all for your glory. Keep me in the habit of making costly offerings to you of my first fruits, not my leftovers. Help me to confess alone and together. Embolden me to be in the habit of sharing stories of your faithfulness in my life and the lives of others. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.