Author: Matt

He is Risen!

I hope you had a great Easter week!  Coram Deo was busy with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services at a venue downtown, as well as a wonderful Easter service and lunch afterwords on Sunday.  It was great to walk through the celebration, remembrance, mourning, rest, and joy of Holy Week as a church.

This picture was at our Good Friday service… our own intimate ‘upper room,’ just before we shared the Lord’s Supper.  We had over 70 people attend that night and the room had less than 40 chairs.  It was tight but it reminded us of the disciples huddled together after Jesus’ death; and though we did not fear arrest, it was a somber night of reflection and mourning the crucifixion of our Lord.

What we did not realize when we booked the room was that the lounge on the other side of the large doors on the wall was open for business and that there was live music that evening.  Oops!  Without a sound system of our own that night, it was a little hard to hear and a bit distracting.  I preached the homily and had to practice my ‘elevated voice’ preaching 🙂  You can listen to my homily (and the background music) HERE.

After the Easter service on Sunday, about half the church went to Pastor Kyle’s house for lunch.  He glazed and smoked several hams, and everyone else brought appetizers, sides, and desserts.  It was a great time of fellowship, laughter, and community.  I ate about half a dozen deviled eggs and so my heart was happy 🙂

Many thoughts ran through my mind this week, but one truth stands strong… Christ was willing to die for me; He was willing to die for you.  He did what we could not, and loved us enough to die in our place.  What a great Savior!  He conquered the grave so that we would never taste its bitter bite.

Easter is a poignant reminder of the hope that we celebrate every Sunday.  As Paul proclaimed in 1 Cor 15, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?’  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”

He is Risen… He is Risen Indeed!

Many of you have asked questions about our church, Coram Deo – what is it like, where do you meet, is it growing, etc. So we thought we would try to answer a few of those questions here.

What does Coram Deo mean:

Coram Deo is Latin for “in the presence of God.” To live Coram Deo is to live in the grace of God, under the authority of God, and to the glory of God.

As a church we seek to have 4 characteristics:

• Convinced Minds
• Cleansed Hearts
• Committed Hands
• Captivated Souls

These 4 traits come out of Luke 10:27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Where do you meet?

We meet at Jefferson Elementary School in south Spokane.

How do you have church in an elementary school?!

We have trailer containing 7 large rolling boxes (and several small ones) that hold everything we need for a Sunday morning – poles and curtains for the sanctuary, nursery supplies and toys, an entire coffee brewing system (essential in Spokane), projector, screen, sound equipment, pulpit, etc.

Do you have Sunday School?

We do! The children are currently using the Gospel Project curriculum.  This semester Matt has been leading them through the book of Genesis.

The adults are studying Covenant Theology, taking a look at God’s plan of redemption for his people.

How many people attend Coram Deo?

Coram Deo made the switch from Sunday evenings to Sunday mornings in September 2015. Since then we have seen many visitors and new attenders. On a typical Sunday we have approximately 70 people.

Two weeks ago we received our first church members! Coram Deo is growing, and God is at work in Spokane!

What are the demographics of the church?

It is a good mix of people – young and old, single, married and everything in between. We have children (a few babies coming this spring and summer), college students, professionals and those who’ve retired. We are praying for more families with school-age children.

What is the style of the church?

Our worship services are about 1 hour and 30 minutes long, and they incorporate prayer, Bible readings, and singing throughout five stages of our liturgy movements:

• Reverence: We are called into the presence of God to worship.
• Reconciliation: God’s presence reveals our sin. We confess and repent our sin, and we are pardoned through Christ’s grace and assurance.
• Revelation: We learn through the preaching and teaching of God’s word.
• Response: We respond to God’s word with our confession of faith and our tithes and offerings.
• Renewal: We are rejuvenated after encountering God with the Lord’s Supper each week.

Do you have bible studies throughout the week?

Yes! We currently have three studies – men on Tuesday morning, college guys on Thursday evening and women on Thursday evening. The men in both studies are reading and discussing the New Man by Dan Doriani, talking about biblical manhood. The women are reading the Envy of Eve, talking about being content in a covetous world.

Let us know in the comments section if you have any other questions!

We love you all and are so thankful to have the opportunity to minister in Spokane!

Callie and I recently returned from a month-long trip to Colorado and Texas to see family and raise support. Thank you so much for your prayers during our travels! It was so great to see so many friends and get an opportunity to share the ways that God is working in our lives.  We were able to share at several churches and have two fundraising dessert nights that were very encouraging.

God has blessed us through your generous financial partnering with our ministry!  We currently have raised just around 45% of our total funds to be able to move to Spokane and minister at Coram Deo!

Through the ups and downs of raising support, we are constantly reminded of God’s goodness and guidance in our lives.  We are learning to trust him more and to pray big prayers.  Our God loves to bless his children, but too often we forget to ask him for what we need.  We continue to pray in the bold words of Jesus in John 16: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

We are back in Charlotte now and continuing to support raise. Please pray that God would bring our support in and be preparing us for our move to Spokane.  We still need around $3000 of monthly support to meet our ministry needs.  We hope to be fully supported and move to Washington in mid September.  If you would like to partner with us in this goal, you can set up a recurring monthly gift online here.

Thank you for your prayers and support!  We are blessed to know so many people with a heart for gospel ministry!

Blessings,

Matt