Pastor Andy asks us “What If?” Life is filled with What Ifs, what if Jesus returned today? All our What Ifs should be undergirded by scripture. Romans 8:28 (NIV) says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Alternatively, in The Passion Translation “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfil his designed purpose”. This statement should be a part of what we are thinking in our daily ‘What Ifs’ Maybe we don’t feel God is at work but we must live by truth not feelings. In all things he is designing and weaving things together for our good – even if we don’t know or can’t feel as though this is the case! We need to find firm ground under our feet; God is in it to cause us to win it! This is true for all moments and seasons including this time when church meetings as they were have been halted. What If can cause us to think optimistically or pessimistically. For instance, what if it takes longer for church services as we knew them to begin again. What if God was at work doing things in us beyond the virus and its ramifications. God could be at work in this moment to do us good! What if God was using this time to reset the church, or reset us so that we meet again we are not the same but stronger. Maybe the church gates are closed because God is not finished doing something good in us! Are we sitting waiting for the church doors to open are we busy letting God work in us and through us so we can be the people we need to be when the doors do open again? Scripture shows that God works in unusual moments, doing inconceivable things. God works this way, taking unusual moments when everyone thinks everything is going wrong to do amazing things. Acts 8:1 (NIV) gives an example at the time of the birth of the church of an unexpected moment. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria”….this group of people who were previously loving gathering together being scattered to the corners of the earth. As this was happening, people must have had What Ifs like “What If we can’t meet again like we used to”. But what a great plan God had for touching the world! In fact it was genius; the church had become obsessed with meetings but had missed the point. Jesus told them to go into all the world and be witnesses for Him in Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. God’s purposes were not just in their gatherings but in their scatterings, although they could not see it at the time. What if we keep our focus on becoming, rather than sitting and waiting? Lord, what are you doing in this moment? Romans 8 tells us God is at work in ALL things. What if God is wanting to do something new in this moment? When our doors open again we need to be a church of strong small groups that gathers altogether at times rather than a strong church gathering with few small groups. It might be a while before we can gather again. Strong small groups will make for a much stronger church gathering overall. If God is in this moment then this is certainly true. Small groups were the norm for the early church. The vision for us to be 100% in small groups was seen by Ps Steu last year without foreknowledge of what was to occur in the year 2020. In fact, during lockdown our small groups have increased and strengthened. What if this is part of God’s plan? If so we shall have stronger church when we do gather again. Our passion for small groups will have assisted this aim. Let us not be sitting wasting this time when God has plans for us. Our expectations should change from expecting much from meetings to enhancing and creating relationships. Let us not expect to connect to people in a large gathering on Sundays but in a more intimate fashion that a small group can provide. Discipleship, training & pastoral care might better be provided in small groups. God could reshape us as a church, even when we feel things are going wrong. What if God is in this unusual moment teaching us things that we never thought of before?, especially if we were still meeting as were had been. What if in this moment God was trying to get the “cells” of Family Church stronger so that when we do re-open we have a body which is stronger and more ready for the purposes of God. What if we are in a moment where God says let us do more life together in small groups that also meet on a Sunday. God could be more in this moment than any of us ever thought! Let us all be much more passionate about our small groups, our Connect groups.