The Reunion (Gathering)

The Call

Before the foundation of the world, God had a Dream.  A Dream of a family and a home.

God created the earth in all its majesty and wonder and within the earth He laid a jewel of beauty – a garden.  And the Lord God took the man and woman that He had created in His very own image and likeness and made the garden their home.  And there He rested in intimate fellowship with His family. 

Then the enemy came.  Through lies, he deceived first Eve, then Adam and by their rebellion, sin was born.  With sin came fear and deception and worst of all, separation from the Father.

But none of this changed the Dream.  Knowing the end from the beginning, the Lord already had a plan of redemption.  First came the Law with its prescriptions to cover the sin and then instructions for a tabernacle, then for a temple.  At least in this way, He could dwell closer to His family. 

Yet, all of these were just shadows of the ultimate plan.  The Father would send His only-begotten Son to earth and Jesus, who being the very nature of God, would empty Himself of all strength and power to become obedient to death on the cross.  As the one died for the many, the power of sin and death would be destroyed and Jesus would be laid as the Chief Cornerstone of a new temple while every member of God’s household would be transformed into living stones to be fashioned by the Lord Himself into His holy habitation.  Then, as Jesus prayed in John 17, this dwelling place of God, a family united by and filled with divine glory, would become a great light shining in the darkness showing all those who were lost the way home to the Father. 

This summer the Father is sending an invitation for a Family Reunion to a representation of His “hidden treasures” in Alberta– faithful believers from different denominations, generations, spheres of influence and regions of the province whose hearts are united in the desire to see God’s Dream fulfilled in the Church of Alberta.   In obedience to His call, we will gather in Edmonton, August 18-20, 2011, choosing to lay down our own individual dreams and visions so that  corporately we can enter into His presence in worship and waiting on Him.  As we do so, we believe He will continue the process of  knitting us supernaturally into One Family and revealing to us secrets about the inheritance He has reserved for Alberta for such a time as this.