In the three Sundays leading up to the 4th of July--our national day of celebration--I have been sharing three very distinct messages.  What they have in common is that they all relate in one way or another to our country and what is going on currently.

Last Sunday was a very unusual teaching in that I commented directly upon an action by the current administration, specifically the Health and Human Services mandate that contraception drugs and devices and surgical sterilization be offered and paid for by every private health insurance policy.  This included those group plans for religious institutions, like Catholic schools, hospitals and charities who are morally and doctrinally opposed to birth control and abortion-inducing drugs.  I believe this to be a serious intrusion upon our constitutional guarantee of religious liberty.  The government is prohibited by the First Amendment against infringing upon the free exercise of religion.

Still, I probably would not have preached on this topic had I not been visited in the night by the Lord back in February with a major download on this matter.  In a revelatory encounter that was way more intense than a dream, my spirit was impressed with the Lord's heart for this matter.  I woke up with a very strong sense of his presence and with a very distinct sober warning: "Should America trade its constitutional guarantee of religious liberty for the so-called 'right of birth control' it would be like Esau trading his birth right for a bowl of chili."   That really got my attention.

But I sat upon that revelation for many months until I felt the release and impetus of the Lord to share it with the congregation.  Reason?  My threshold for addressing from the pulpit any topic that is political is very high.  Very high. It needs to be a game changer in the whole course of our culture for me to address a political issue from the pulpit.  I have probably addressed political topics less than ten times from the pulpit over the course of 25 years here.  My call is to proclaim the Kingdom of God, not wax political.  But this issue is, I believe, a big one.  And I believe the Lord wants us to cherish the liberty of conscience and free exercise of religion we are guaranteed by the Constitution--cherish it for ourselves and stand up for it for others.

Tonight, Wednesday, June 27, I will host a discussion in the cafe for any who are interested in pursuing this topic in any way--more info, challenge, questions, etc.  We will begin at 7:00 PM.  For those who want to go online and find out more (from the Catholic organizers' perspective) you can go to:  www.standupforreligiousfreedom.com

Finally, this Sunday I will be doing something a bit different.  I will still be focusing on America--but this time from a bit more positive and historical perspective. The last two Sundays have been a bit heavy. Hopefully this Sunday will contain more good news for us to celebrate as we begin the week leading up to the 4th!

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

Just a heads up about the upcoming three Sundays.  I will be sharing three messages that have been brewing within me for the past several months.  Each one deals with a very different topic, but all three are uniquely related to the intersection of biblical perspectives and national concerns.  I am calling the series "An American Trilogy."  I am hoping that as we move from a celebration of fathers this Sunday up to the week of the Fourth of July you will be with us each week.  As we always do, we will be pursuing the Kingdom and worshiping the great King in addition to the ministry of the Word.

On another note--looking back to this past Saturday night we had an electric meeting with prophet Chuck Pierce.  About 700 folks were here, including some 200 pastors and leaders.  The intensity of the worship time was palpable as we pressed into the presence of the Lord.  Chuck brought some signal words for Connecticut that need to be pursued in intercession and obedience.  I am looking forward to reviewing the CD of those words in order to inform my prayers and to give us direction.  If you would like to get a copy of the recording for yourself you can contact:  office@Wellspring.net to order your set for a nominal cost.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

Busy Weekend, Significant Weekend


A number of events have converged on this coming weekend, making it a very busy place at Wellspring, but we believe a significant weekend as well. We recognize the time demands on your lives, and we don't take that lightly. Yet, as we approach Saturday and Sunday, we are inspired and expectant for genuine community impact, kingdom breakthrough, and joy-filled worship and praise - all in two days. Truly a significant weekend!


Celebrate Mt Pleasant has been shifted to this Saturday, June 9. On Sunday morning, I will close out this teaching series on Resurrection in Real Life. The Destiny Africa choir will conclude the weekend on Sunday evening, June 10th at 6pm. Those events have precedent and have been highlighted to the congregation in other posts. I want to give a heads up on one other gathering.


Chuck Pierce is coming to Wellspring on Saturday, June 9 at 7:30 pm. This is really exciting to me. I have been following Chuck's ministry for nearly two decades. He has been used by God to prophesy to the nation on multiple occasions in dramatic ways and with great accuracy. (Two that come to mind--he prophesied the Oklahoma City bombing a week prior to it happening; and declared in West Palm, FL in November, 1999 that in a year's time the eyes of the world would be on that county. Remember the hanging chads in four south Florida counties following the 2000 elections?) Further, Chuck and Dutch Sheets were commissioned by God in 2004 to travel to all fifty states, where they led prophetic and intercessory meetings for the respective states and the nation. In short, I am saying that God has used Chuck as a prophetic voice to the nation over the past many years.

Chuck is coming to Connecticut on assignment. He has received a word from the Lord to deliver to our state. Prayer leaders in Connecticut asked us at Wellspring to host this gathering. We enthusiastically said, "Yes!" So, we are hosts, but this is not a meeting we have called or organized. We are honored to provide a venue for Chuck and his ministry. And we are expecting a full house that evening.


I want to encourage you to come and be prepared to worship and pray and receive the prophetic declaration that Chuck feels led to release in our state.


Now, for a few disclaimers. Chuck is different from most preachers. I often don't really understand what he is sharing. He has a unique perspective from which he ministers the Word. And when the Spirit comes upon him to prophesy he is in a "zone" where he often does not understand or even remember what he speaks until he himself listens to the recording. I have watched this process "live" on a couple occasions. I know that the Lord is at work, but it is not always that easy to understand initially.

So, with that said, let me say again how excited I am to have Chuck come to Wellspring. I believe God has used him significantly in the past couple decades to help shepherd the prayer movement in this nation and to minister as a prophet to the nation. It is an honor to host this meeting. Saturday, June 9 at 7:30 pm.


Blessings,


Pastor Rick

Resurrection in Real Life is not the kind of teaching series that lends itself to three easy application steps to better relationships or how to overcome a bad day.  You know, practical stuff.  But then, if you have been around Wellspring for any length of time, you know that we seldom do that kind of teaching.  It's not that we are "above that" kind of approach to Sunday fare.  It's just that our conviction is that real change, real life-giving transformations are always built upon foundational truths.  We seldom go after three easy steps to anything.  We are pursuing long-view perspectives that will re-shape and re-frame how we approach life and go after what it means to be followers of Jesus, the Risen Lord.

So--what about resurrection in real life?  What are we going for?

As mentioned above, it is long-term perspective change that leads to transformation.

And that perspective is quite radical, actually.  Radical in that it is different from what the church has traditionally thought and radical in that it goes to the core or foundation of our faith.  Jesus taught us to pray that God's heaven would come to earth.  It is central to the prayer he taught his disciples to pray.  I think he intends to answer this prayer.

So the direction is not going from earth to heaven, but heaven coming to earth and intersecting earth, supplanting and overturning what already reigns here.

Revelation 21:1 speaks of the great climax of redemption being a "new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away."  Verse two speaks of "the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God" and the next verse declares that "now the dwelling place of God is with men and he will live with them."

I don't profess to know what this all means.  Honestly, I don't.  Except I do think that there is something here analogous to Jesus' new resurrection body after he came out of the tomb.  It was a real body--he was not just a spirit.  But the new body had capacities that would make any comic book super hero jealous.  It was a body, but way more than any body we have ever seen or known.  So the new earth is a resurrected earth. It will have some continuity with this earth, but without sin, without pain, without conflict, without evil, without lack, without death.

So, what about application to real life now?  Well, that is not so easy to work out either.  Except to say that Jesus and the New Testament seem to think it is pretty important that we get this.  God wants to release his Kingdom into our world.  He wants to overturn the reign of sin and deception and injustice and division and disease and death.  Ultimately this will be accomplished in the "new earth."  But up until the end, we are called to access this end or goal by faith and faith-inspired actions to see the Kingdom come increasingly into the now of this very real and important earth that needs the salvation of the Risen Lord and his Kingdom.