Written by: Daytona Strong

This Sunday is the 13th anniversary of Mars Hill Church. Can you believe it? Whether you’ve been coming to Mars Hill since the beginning, or even just a few weeks, this is a great opportunity to reflect on what God has been doing in our lives and to pray for the next 13, 30, and more years of God working through Mars Hill and the people who call this church home.

I’ve been coming to Mars Hill regularly for about five years—since the start of the sermon series on Genesis. I had visited before, but I really wanted to be part of that new series, and I’m so glad I was. That first week—when Pastor Mark Driscoll preached on God speaking Creation into existence—I was hooked. There was something so exhilarating about being there and hearing the message, and I found myself wanting to pick up the Bible and really study it.

I’ll admit that I find myself in dry periods more often than I’d like, times when I’m not reading the Bible, or at least not reading it with examining and studious eyes. But God is good and He keeps teaching me about Himself, through the preaching at Mars Hill, through people in my life, and through the Holy Spirit in me. When I pick up my Bible and study it, He blesses me with knowledge about Himself and joy in the process of learning. I know He’s calling me to treat this new sermon on Luke the same way as I did at the beginning of Genesis, to dig into it and really get to know it. And I know He’ll bless me as I do.

How has God been revealing Himself to you lately? What messages have really made you think about your life, the world around you, about our God? This is a great time to reflect on them, and to share what we’ve been learning with others around us!

To celebrate Mars Hill’s birthday, the church is treating us with something special this Sunday: A sermon preached at Mars Hill in Athens! Pastor Mark preached the sermon this past summer, and this Sunday all the campuses will be watching it together. I hope you’ll join us!