I had been experiencing a persistent ringing for my left ear for about a week causing quite a bit of disruption to daily activity and sleep disruption.

I had faith that I would be healed, and was just pushing through. After church on a Saturday I had Sarah pray over me in agreement. I noticed significant improvement on the way home, and complete relief by the evening! Praise God!

My name is Carol Puttroff and here is my story. This is my testimony of how God alone saved me.

In December of 2020 I became very fearful of the virus and the spirit of fear took over my life. I was extremely anxious, fearful and depressed. All day I didn’t leave my house and when I did I was so afraid I would turn back and come home.

I went to the doctor and he gave me anti-anxiety and anti-depressants that only made matters worse; more fear, more spiritual attacks until I was so tormented I wanted to die.

I ended up in Signature mental hospital for 10 days. I couldn’t see a way out. I had my friends pray for me and my friend Pam Parker invited me to Journey. Being afraid to leave my house, I watched online and then I decided to attend in person and had the prayer team pray for me.

Pam encouraged me to read scripture as I did before these attacks as this was the only weapon against such attacks and fears.

I began attending Journey Church, reading Bible verses daily, praying earnestly and trusting God to save me. Praise God, he lifted me out of my depression and despair. I no longer take anti-depressants and I now go to a therapist. I still get anxious at times but I am able to get over it with the help of The Holy Spirit and scriptures.

I give God all the glory and credit for making me new. Thank you Father. In Jesus name amen and amen!!

My name is Christy Sharp and I just want to share a testimony of God’s goodness.

He has been using the song, the Goodness of God, by Bethel Worship in my life so mightily over the past few months! It started last fall after my son Andrew married, when we were singing the song at church, in Journey worship. God showed me a vision of His goodness to Andrew all throughout Andrew’s life; how he brought him a good wife and how he had been faithful to him at different times in his life.

The very next day, we heard the song in another setting and God showed me a vision of MY life with my husband and how He had been so good to us; times He’d walked us through the fire, times He’d been a father to us when we needed it, times when we have lost precious, loved ones in our family, and he had just had been so so good!!

A few days later, the song played at my kids’ school Northland Christian, where they attend weekly Chapel. During Chapel, they were singing Goodness of God for the first time. During that time, God gave me a vision of his goodness to my children; that they were able to be in a Christian School where they have worship and prayer and that he was going to be good to this generation of kids that were here.

A few months later, we were at a concert with my 13 year old daughter who we had adopted from Ethiopia. During the concert, the song played and my daughter was singing along. God showed me how all my daughter’s life, even in her hard times before joining our family, even in the hard times with our family, he’s been faithful to her and he’s going to be faithful her whole life.

Lastly, just a few weeks ago in Colorado, my whole family except for Ashur, (he was on a mission trip in Colorado at a church) were all singing this song together and it was so good! God is so faithful guys!

As a part of Journey Church efforts to help in any way we can with the current virus crisis the Outreach Team purchased and delivered seven hundred N95 Masks. We divided them up between Liberty Hospital and North Kansas City Hospitals. We also gave masks to some of our Journey Church families who are nurses and physicians that we knew of who wanted one.

Matt and Lacey Nelson are a part of the Journey Outreach Team and are also employees at North Kansas City Hospital. They volunteered to drop them off there for us along with a card that went to those who received the masks. You can see examples of the cards in the pictures below.

Thank you Journey Church for supporting Journey Outreach! Email outreach@journeykc.com if you would like to join the team or want to get involved with Journey Outreach in some way.

I’d like to lay the groundwork for this article with two Scripture passages:

II Corinthians 3:13-18 (The Passion Translation)
13 We are not like Moses, who used a veil to hide the glory to keep the Israelites from staring at him as it faded away. 14 Their minds were closed and hardened, for even to this day that same veil comes over their minds when they hear the words of the former covenant. The veil has not yet been lifted from them, for it is only eliminated when one is joined to the Messiah. 15 So until now, whenever the Old Testament is being read, the same blinding comes over their hearts. 16 But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they see. 17 Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom. 18 We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

I Corinthians 10:11 (King James Version)
Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

In the first passage, we see an Old Testament description of something that happens today–the blinding of the eyes so people cannot see their need for God. [There are other NT passages that refer to the blinding of unbelievers’ hearts so they cannot spiritually see their, speaking of the “eyes of their hearts”]

So let’s take this apart and then make an application that, if I’ve rightly divided the Word, can give you the ability to open people’s eyes and get them saved and into the security of the Kingdom of God. So notice this particular wording: “…that same veil comes over their minds when they hear the words of the former covenant.”

Note, the application of the Old Covenant (the Law) causes blinding, a veil over their eyes so they cannot see. However, the reading/telling of the New Covenant (Grace) frees one to turn to the Lord (the Holy Spirit) Who removes the veil.

So how do we apply this? How do we bring this truth that the Bible itself says is for today into our day-to-day lives? Take a look at a part of your own journey. I’m sure many of you were raised as I was with a heavy dose of guilt and condemnation, delivered by well-meaning saints who thought obedience to the Law of faulty doctrine and denominationalism would set us free. Instead, a veil of shame and sin-consciousness blinded us to liberty in Jesus. How did we get free?

The Bible says it is the goodness of God that leads us to a new way to think and be. I imagine the veil got lifted off of you because of some expression of God’s goodness. Someone was kind. Someone invited you to church. Someone offered to pray for you. Someone got you to church camp. Someone loved you. You can do the same for others–every day and certainly here at Journey Church.

People often say they feel something different about Journey from the minute they step through the doors. I believe that “something different” is many things but is maybe foremost the love and acceptance from God that shines through us as we “…all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus.” We are not like Moses who hid his shining face.

We can pray for people for the veil to be lifted, for them to see the Lord and give themselves fully to Him. But we can also be the shining mirrors that–from the heart–shake hands, smile, show a real interest, and know that we are being used by the Holy Spirit to thin and lift that veil, even as He stands by our sides to transform lives.

Now get out there and shine!

Come, see the glorious things God has done. What marvelous miracles happen to his people! – Psalms 66:5 TLB

How have you seen God moving in your life in 2019?

Years ago at another church, in another time, we used to sing a song called, “Look what the Lord has done”. It was a simple song just calling people to stop and acknowledge how good God has been to us. Our stories of God’s love, grace, and faithfulness have tremendous power. The Bible calls these stories testimonies. It even teaches that our testimonies are part of the one-two-punch that takes out our enemy! (Rev 12:11)

Our stories of God’s love, grace, and faithfulness have tremendous power.

The danger is that we can live our lives with demonstrations of miraculous power and love happening all around us and be totally unaware of how God is moving. Our church has grown to the point where we have to intentionally look beyond our sphere of influence and awareness to see all the wonderful things God is doing.

So let’s just take a look at a small sample of how God has shown Himself faithful and strong throughout Journey Church in 2019.

• One man in our church was told that there was a dangerous mass growing in his abdomen. The tests and scans all showed detailed proof, and the details didn’t look good. Cancer was being suggested and fear was beginning to knock at his door. We prayed after Sunday service and many others continued praying. When he went in for the surgery the doctors could find no mass, no tumor, not even a sign that anything had ever been there. It had been removed before the surgeon even had a chance to take it out!

• There is another story of a man who had lived far from God for many years, a slave to addiction and lies. He was in a very dangerous living situation and no one was able to locate him or contact him. His parents, who are a part of Journey, were calling hospitals and even the morgue trying to find their son. Our Real Life Group began to claim his life for God and call him back. God even woke me up in the middle of the night twice during that time, calling me to pray for him. A short time later, he was contacted and returned home. He now is completely clean. He loves God and he is serving others and helping them find freedom from the same types of addiction that once enslaved him! There is so much power in a testimony!

• One Sunday after second service, a woman and her husband came forward for prayer because they were told by their doctor that there appeared to be cancer growing in her body. We prayed and when she returned to the doctor…..no cancer! It was gone!

• There is a powerful story of one of our Elevate Youth girls who was dealing with a possible diagnosis of epilepsy from her doctor. She was taken by her dad across the country to see a leading specialist. Before she went we prayed one Sunday morning after service. What was the outcome? You guessed it, no epilepsy! Her doctor said, “Throw away your medication. You don’t need it anymore!”

• Even stories that may seem more simple and less dramatic are no less amazing! I can remember a man coming forward to be prayed for for terrible pain in his back. On a scale of 1 to 10 his pain was at a 9. When we were done praying his pain had gone down to a 1. No aspirin or ibuprofen has that kind of potency!

• Recently, one of our ministry leaders had gone to the emergency room with terrible abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with several kidney stones. He was checked in to the hospital where they could monitor him. The church prayed and during the time that he was checked in to the hospital the stones disappeared. They didn’t pass because the doctors were monitoring all of that. They simply disappeared. They were there when he checked in and then they were gone!

God is so good. He has been doing great things all year. This is only a small representation of the incredible things God has been doing. We are growing and moving forward in confidence and relationship with the God of the Universe, Who also happens to be our Father! As great as all of this is, it has just been a rehearsal for the epic revealing of the Kingdom of God that we will see as we move into the next year. Expect great things! Anticipate an unprecedented move of God! He wants to love this world through you and me and He has a miraculous way of doing that. We were made to confront the impossible with the limitless power and love of the Kingdom of God!

2019 has been awesome, and the best is yet to be!

The Journey Church Outreach Ministry hosted it’s 2nd Respite Night for Foster/Adopt families that attend Journey in December 2019.

Respite Night provides an opportunity for these parents to enjoy some much needed time to themselves, while volunteers care for their children. 19 kids and 12 volunteers had a fun filled evening that consisted of dinner, games, crafts, and an indoor 12 days of Christmas scavenger hunt. We wound down the evening with a movie and snacks.

This evening would not have been possible without our amazing volunteers and Respite Event Coordinator Jamie Goettling. If you would like to know more about how you can be involved with upcoming Respite Nights or would like to serve on the Outreach Ministry contact Chris and Felecia Athey at outreach@journeykc.com

Operation Christmas Child 2019 was a huge success in many ways at Journey Church in Liberty, Missouri. The packing party not only produced 283 boxes, it also brought our church family together to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

It was so fun to see so many families, teens and young adults excited about packing a simple shoebox. But, it was even more meaningful to watch them smile as they got their picture taken for their boxes and pray over them. Being able to fellowship with snacks and crafts (and the sliming) was important too.

With 3 different services, it was nice to meet people at other services that we don’t normally get to! We also had many boxes brought in that families packed on their own which is a special family tradition as well.

Our total number of boxes that will affect children’s lives around the world was 349!!! God is so good and I am so thankful for the many people who helped make this event possible!!

Volunteers of all ages from Journey Church gathered Saturday morning, November 23rd 2019 to participate in an outreach for Thanksgiving.

A total of 58 meal baskets were assembled and delivered containing the ingredients to make an entire Thanksgiving meal. 8 of the baskets were given to families of the Fresh Start Hillcrest Hope Program. Contents included all the fixings for a family meal from turkey to dessert and everything in between. After being assembled, the meal baskets were delivered to local families all over our community as well as within our church family.

We have already received many messages of thanks from the families in the community that received a basket. Some of the emails that I have received have stated…

“This is the first time I get to cook Thanksgiving all by myself with my kids.”

Thank you! The family that delivered to us was wonderful. They told us all about Journey Church and prayed for us.”

I just wanted to tell you thank you for the turkey dinner. Without your help my family wouldn’t be having Thanksgiving dinner. I just lost my job of 18 years. You have really blessed my family and it will help me stay positive. I’m sorry for not letting you pray for my family, but it’s not easy telling anyone that I lost my job. Thank you sooo much.”

Journey Church loves to bless people in our church family and local community. Outreach events happen throughout the year so there are many ways you can serve in our community and inner city. For more information or to get involved, please contact Chris and Felecia Athey at outreach@journeykc.com

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As I write this article, we here at Journey Church are finishing up a teaching series on marriage called, “Kingdom Marriage”. The content in these messages are full of wisdom from scripture on God’s plan for marriage. Every marriage, no matter what its current state, has room for improvement. Applying these biblical principles and adopting a Kingdom perspective will bring new life and purpose to any marriage.

Of course wisdom has no value when it is only taught but not applied. Walking out these truths in our marriage is the real key to growth and health. It’s so easy to hear the Word but not do it. Let’s bring our marriages to a place of surrender and submission to God and watch as He fills them with life!

You don’t find a great marriage, you build one.

In addition to the messages in the Kingdom Marriage series, you will find a list of resources below that you can draw on to help strengthen and focus your relationship with your spouse and your marriage’s relationship with God (your marriage has an identity).

Check out these resources and be encouraged to share any stories of how your marriage has been affected with others. Our stories have power! (Revelation 12:11)

~ Pastor Aaron Porr

MARRIAGE RESOURCES:

• Journey Church Message Podcast – journeykc.com/podcast
• Jimmy Evans Website, Marriage Today – marriagetoday.com
• Fireproof Website – fireproofmymarriage.com
• James Dobson Building Stronger Marriages Blog Posts
• Marriage Devotional by Jimmy Evans
• 31 Day Devotional by David and Ashlie Willis
• VIDEO – Skills for Positive Communication / Jimmy Evans
• VIDEO – The Blessed Marriage / Robert Morris
• VIDEO – Marriage and Core Values / Danny Silk
• VIDEO – Understanding Your Spouses Language / Joe McGee

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Journey Insider - November 25, 2019

Kingdom Marriage Series Recap & Resources

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