Three years ago, OneLife Church was getting geared up to have our first preview service. I remember the feelings of excitement and anticipation of being one of the first people to experience this new church as being overwhelming! The reason I remember them so vividly, is I am feeling them all over again!

In 8 weeks, OneLife Halls will launch making us one church in two locations. It’s scary, exciting, and a huge rush all at once to be essentially starting a new church all over again! I walked into the building yesterday as it is being framed and drywall is going up, and I could “see” what it’s going to be like as hundreds of new Christ followers gather to worship. It fired me up!

So I want to invite you to join me in this experience. Especially if you live in Fountain City, Halls, Coryton, Maynardville, or any other North or East Knox communities. We are praying for 100 of you to make OneLife Halls your place of worship. Not only that, but we want you to be in your community reaching those you work and live with on a daily basis. The best way to do that is go to church in your own community!

So I want to invite YOU to be one of the first 100 to make up OneLife Halls. A launch team of close to 50 is already meeting, so we simply need 50 more of you to say, “Yep, I’ll be there on August 19 and beyond!”

If that’s you or you just want more info, go to onelifeknox.com/halls, and if you’re gonna be one of the first 100, simply fill out the form there to let us know!

The past two nights at my house have been out of the norm to say the least. I was up late. REALLY late. Not to watch the NBA finals. Not to do something super pastoral like read through the entire New Testament in two days. Not to work on anything for church.

I was building a swing set.

This isn’t just any swing set. It is a swingset that came in what seemed like thousands of pieces. It’s a swingset that took more than 15 hours to put together, much of it on my own, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes under the flood light in our back yard. It’s a swing set that has muscles aching in my body that I didn’t even know existed. And when I went to bed at 2:30 a.m. last night, I wasn’t worried about sleeping in or even getting a good night’s rest. I just couldn’t wait for my daughter to wake up!

I couldn’t wait to tell her I had a huge surprise waiting in the back yard. I couldn’t wait to see her face light up. I couldn’t wait to spend time with her playing all morning long. So when she woke up just a few hours later, my feet hit the floor as if I’d slept for 12 hours. And when I saw the joy that she got from what I had done for her, it made it all more than worth it.

As I look back on that, I can’t help but smile and wonder if I got a glimpse of what God feels for me sometimes. Not because I’m a perfect child, but because he’s the perfect Father who gets glory when my joy is in Him. 2 Corinthians 6:18 tells us plainly that God is our Father if we have surrendered our lives to him. Then Zephaniah 3:17 reminds me that my Father God loves me. He REALLY loves me in a way that only a father can truly understand. This verse says, “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Then the amazing thing is this. God did so much more than build a swingset to see my face light up. He did much more than sacrifice a few hours of sleep to see me smile. He gave everything. He sacrificed his all. And He did it all because when I am made new, it glorifies Him.

So tonight I’m thankful my Father can do so much more than just build a swingset for me. But I’m thankful I’ve experienced just a glimpse of the glory he receives when my joy is in Him.

All because of a swingset.

We are 60 days through the 90-Day Generosity Challenge. And so far, not one single person has said God hasn’t taken care of them during this time. In fact, we’ve received even more incredible stories of God’s complete faithfulness! Here are a few of those stories.

“We took your generosity challenge and applied it to our lives and our church. Within 2 weeks of giving, we have 2 bills that have inexplicably lowered themselves, AND my husband has been recommended for a pretty big raise. It’s a position jump that takes an average of 3 years to accomplish and he has done it in just under a year. We knew we needed to be tithing, but giving the extra and trusting God to provide has really opened our eyes. I know that there will be many more stories like ours as you watch God move in the lives of OneLife Church and we will be praying for continued faith and action among OneLife partners!”

“The craziest thing in the world happened. I agreed to do the generosity challenge so I tithed a full ten percent even though I knew it would be tight. My rent changes each month because my landlord includes our utilities in the rent. So he’ll call me each month with the amount. Even though it changes, it’s almost always the same. Except this past month. He called and told me the amount and it was way lower than normal, in almost the exact amount of my tithes. I have no doubt this is God showing that he’ll take care of me when I obey him.”

From someone in Oklahoma who heard about the OneLife Generosity Challenge: “Hi! I read the story you posted and decided then and there to do the auto-tithe online at my church. Thanks for posting and know that you have a treasure in heaven for helping me honor God with my money.”

Do you have a story to share? Email it to pastor@onelifeknox.com! Are you struggling in the area of finances? Take this midway point to evaluate how you are doing at being obedient with your first 10 percent. Remember you can “Automate the Important” at www.onelifeknox.com/give.