The church does not need a polished idea of God while remaining empty of His presence. We do not need more religious language without holy fire, more activity without intimacy, or more form without life. We need to know Him. We need hearts awakened by His presence, lives marked by His voice, and a people who do not just represent religion but carry the reality of Jesus.
Paul cried out in Philippians 3:10 that he wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. This was not the language of casual belief. This was hunger. This was desperation. He was saying, in effect, that nothing else could satisfy him if he did not truly encounter the risen Son of God. That must become the cry of the church again. Not just to discuss Christ, but to know Him. Not just to defend truth, but to be consumed by it.
The power of His resurrection is not a weak religious phrase. It is heaven’s answer to everything death has touched. It breaks chains, shatters despair, revives weary hearts, restores what sin has ruined, and breathes life into places that seem beyond hope. The same power that rolled away the stone still moves today. Jesus is not a memory to admire. He is the risen King, alive and mighty, still saving, still healing, still raising people out of darkness into life.
Too often, the church has learned how to maintain appearances while losing the burden to seek His face. We have settled for gatherings without glory, sermons without brokenness, songs without surrender, and service without transformation. But this generation does not need a church that merely knows the language of faith. It needs a church that has been with Jesus, a church filled with resurrection life, a church that carries the weight of His presence into a dying world.
So let the call go forth with clarity and conviction: we must move beyond concepts and come into encounter. We must seek the Son until He is no longer a distant doctrine but the blazing center of our lives. We must pray until dry bones live, worship until hearts awaken, and believe until resurrection power is seen among us again. When the church truly knows Jesus, everything changes. Our witness changes. Our worship changes. Our lives change.
Lord, deliver us from empty religion and distant devotion. Draw us near to Your Son until we know Him deeply and walk in the power of His resurrection. Let Your church live again with holy fire, holy boldness, and holy surrender.
Minister A Francine Green I May 2026