Rejoice & Tremble 

What we repeatedly behold shapes what we eventually become.

September is not simply the beginning of another term. It is an opportunity to set its spiritual temperature. Before we ask God to bless our plans, enlarge our ministries or advance Vision 2034, we want to seek God Himself. Our first pursuit as leaders is that we see His face more clearly and radiate His glory to others.

We do not merely need a busier church; we need a deeper church. We want to move beyond knowing truths about God to living with a fresh awareness of His holiness, beauty, nearness and power. As we behold Him, we become more like Him. As we fear Him rightly, other fears lose their grip. As our vision of God grows larger, our vision for His mission grows larger too.

I invite you to join us as, setting aside some time each day to "Rejoice & Tremble".  This devotional is a thirty-day journey. We will behold the King, learn to walk with Him, ask Him to make our lives shine, and offer ourselves afresh for His mission. The first seven days will accompany our week of prayer and fasting; the remaining days will help us carry that posture through the month and into the term.

Please do not treat it's pages as a target to hit. They are an invitation to meet with God. Read slowly. Leave room for silence. Pray the points that the Spirit makes alive. Write down what He says, and obey the next clear thing He places before you. Use it personally, with your family, in Life Groups and to shape our prayer meetings.

Our prayer is simple: that we would become a church that rejoices and trembles before God, and that holy awe would produce joyful obedience, passionate worship and courageous mission. If we know Jesus intimately, making Him known radically will not be an added project. It will become the overflow of life with Him.

May September mark the beginning of something lasting among us.

Hardcopies of the devotional are available in book form from the church building for £1, or a free electronic version is available here.

A NOTE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This devotional was inspired in particular by Michael Reeves' "Rejoice & Tremble" and John Bevere's "The Awe of God." Their complementary emphases have helped sharpen this invitation to receive the fear of the Lord as joyful awe, deep intimacy and wholehearted obedience. Scripture remains our foundation, and these pages place those insights within our own pastoral journey as The King's Church, Epsom.