Feeling part of Something Big

It's Saturday.  The alarm goes off at 7.  The heating hasn't come on yet, but you drag yourself out of bed a "few" snoozes later.  By half 8 you're gathering bits to stumble out of the house to the bus stop, wondering what in the world you're doing.  You nearly get distracted by the comfy chair in the window of Costa, but you push on.  You get on the first bus that says 'City Centre', still wondering why you're not still in your pyjamas at home.  As you get off the bus in the centre, you spot a dazed familiar face on the other side of the road and another coming out of the car park.  You hear your name called from a bike whizzing past and the sense of Something Happening grows.  The red man means you get chatting to a family you haven't met before but are heading in the same direction as you.  Maybe you're not the only one mad enough to have obeyed their alarm.

As people from different directions converge on Broadmead Baptist Church, you sense your excitement growing.  Flushed cyclists, small children who've been up for hours, teenagers with their noses in revision notes, an older couple dropped off by small group friends, a cluster of friends who did stop at Costa.  This is starting to feel like Something Bigger, much bigger than it sounded when you signed up.

But nothing prepared you for the Something Big as your soul is lifted to the rafters being part of the prayers and praise of the redeemed for the growth of the Kingdom and the glory of the King.

We all want to feel part of something big, something exciting.  And as the church, we are - we're part of the biggest and most exciting thing ever.  But most days it doesn't feel like that.  Prayer and Praise meetings, however, have the tingle of Something Big about them - it's almost as though the growing kingdom becomes tangible.  And that's why, as a wise person once said to me, "You'll never regret coming to a prayer meeting".

So be there.  Emmanuel Bristol Prayer and Praise (a morning for all people of all ages from all the Emmanuel churches), Saturday April 16th 2016, 9:15 for 9:45am to 12:45pm at Broadmead Baptist Church.

Go to www.emmanuelbristol.org.uk/prayer for details of timing and directions, and to sign up to ensure you get a pastry and the is provision for children.


If you need more persuasion, why not read a post about something Better than chocolate?