God said... "Go to the Mall"
I walked around downtown San Diego not sure what to do. Andrew was at his neuro science conference and I decided to explore the city. I realized not much was open at 8am except maybe a coffee shop. After only finding an overly crowded Starbucks I changed my mind. What else should I do? I remembered it was Sunday! On vacation I tend to lose track of the day. Maybe I could go to church. However, I hadn't seen any church since I have been in the city. It's not like Nashville where there is a church on every corner. So I prayed, "God if you want me to go to church help me find one." I started walking again with no clue where I was going. I kept hearing in my head, "Go to the mall." I didn't want to go to the mall and HELLO... it was 8am on a Sunday surely it's not even open. I knew there was an outdoor mall downtown but wasn't sure where it was. Thinking I was crazy, I decided to find a local coffee shop and sit down to have my own church because God couldn't possibly be telling me to go to the mall instead of church. So I kept walking aimlessly and suddenly my eyes landed on a small sidewalk sign that said "City Church 9am Service". When I looked up at the building it said "Horton Plaza Mall". AH HA! God brought me to church at a mall!
The service didn't start for another 30 minutes so I said, "OK God, I guess I am going to church. What should I do until then? When I looked to my right there was a Panera Bread! Not only did I find a church but I found a non-starbucks place to get my chai tea. God is good.
I hung out at Panera for a bit and decided to write in my journal but didn't have a pen to write with. I thought, well God provided everything thus far, surely He will provide me with a pen (Important detail to note).
After just sitting for a while and sipping my tea I decided to find this church. The sign said it was in the UA Theaters in the mall. So I went to the theater and all the doors were locked.
"Why God would you bring me to this church and then lock the doors!"
"Have faith." (Voice in my head- God)
I sat down on the stairs frustrated and that's when I heard a conversation behind me..."Excuse me Sir, can you tell me how to get to the city church?" A girl asked.
"Yeah it's on the fourth floor of the mall in the theater." - Security Guard.
I jumped to my feet and ran up to this girl and told her I was looking for the church too. We talked for a bit on our way to the 4th floor. Her name was Kim and she was in San Diego because her friend was at the Neuro Science Convention like Andrew. God gave me a friend to go to church with.
As soon as we walked in the door a woman said, "Do you want a pen? You can have it to fill out prayer request card or take notes." So God provided a pen for me to write in my journal. A small but awesome answer to prayer.
We walked into the movie theater and on the movie screen were song lyrics and we worshiped with an amazing worship band! My Spirit was moved like never before and the Holy Spirit was present! This was proof to me that God doesn't care where we worship... but He cares where our hearts our at in our relationship with Him. Malls, movie theaters, outside, homes, sanctuary's or fellowship halls... all that matters is that we worship Him with all our heart, mind, and soul.
The message was incredible. The preacher preached verse by verse in the book of Matthew and let's just say it was one of those sermons that hit the nail on the head for me. I have been struggling with some difficult issues of theology lately (which will be another post at another time) and this sermon helped me in that struggle.
WOW! God always provides. He is active! He is listening! He is working in our lives and the lives of those around us. I just wish we would wake up and be aware to what He is saying even if it is... "Go to the mall".
I hung out at Panera for a bit and decided to write in my journal but didn't have a pen to write with. I thought, well God provided everything thus far, surely He will provide me with a pen (Important detail to note).
After just sitting for a while and sipping my tea I decided to find this church. The sign said it was in the UA Theaters in the mall. So I went to the theater and all the doors were locked.
"Why God would you bring me to this church and then lock the doors!"
"Have faith." (Voice in my head- God)
I sat down on the stairs frustrated and that's when I heard a conversation behind me..."Excuse me Sir, can you tell me how to get to the city church?" A girl asked.
"Yeah it's on the fourth floor of the mall in the theater." - Security Guard.
I jumped to my feet and ran up to this girl and told her I was looking for the church too. We talked for a bit on our way to the 4th floor. Her name was Kim and she was in San Diego because her friend was at the Neuro Science Convention like Andrew. God gave me a friend to go to church with.
As soon as we walked in the door a woman said, "Do you want a pen? You can have it to fill out prayer request card or take notes." So God provided a pen for me to write in my journal. A small but awesome answer to prayer.
We walked into the movie theater and on the movie screen were song lyrics and we worshiped with an amazing worship band! My Spirit was moved like never before and the Holy Spirit was present! This was proof to me that God doesn't care where we worship... but He cares where our hearts our at in our relationship with Him. Malls, movie theaters, outside, homes, sanctuary's or fellowship halls... all that matters is that we worship Him with all our heart, mind, and soul.
The message was incredible. The preacher preached verse by verse in the book of Matthew and let's just say it was one of those sermons that hit the nail on the head for me. I have been struggling with some difficult issues of theology lately (which will be another post at another time) and this sermon helped me in that struggle.
WOW! God always provides. He is active! He is listening! He is working in our lives and the lives of those around us. I just wish we would wake up and be aware to what He is saying even if it is... "Go to the mall".
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