Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY Things are not as they seem Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA October 3, 2004 Scripture texts: Colossians 1:1-6 | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-6 | Romans 1:7-8 In his best-selling book, Waking the Dead, one of John Eldrege's main points is that the outward appearance of things is deceiving. Things are not as they seem. With that in mind, today I want to answer two rhetorical questions posed by our revival speaker, Tom Atkins, in his sermon Wednesday night. The first question is: "Are the gates of hell shaking before this church?" The second is, "Is it happening here?" -- "it" meaning an explosion of kingdom activity. If anyone came to this church and just looked out our numbers and our facilities, they might draw some conclusions -- based on what they see -- that are simply not true. That person would likely would assume that this is typical small membership, mainline church; surviving, yes, but not much is happening. Nothing could be further from the truth. When I think about things that have happened through the years, or read our composite report of ministry activities that we prepare every year for Church Conference, John Eldrege's words ring very true: things are not as they seem. Over the past few years, we have seen -- through the outreach ministries of this church -- more than one hundred of professions of faith each year. A couple of years ago, it was more than 200. Through this church, people have been rescued from despair. Marriages have been healed. People have been delivered from addictions. Families have been put back together. Folks who had all but given up on life have found new life in Jesus Christ. From this church, people have been called into ministry as pastors and missionaries. A few days ago, a former member dropped by my office to tell me how much he appreciated Gateway Church. He said he thinks of Gateway as a M*A*S*H unit -- that stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. A M*A*S*H unit is the place where the wounded from the battlefield are treated. It can be a messy place, but it's a vital place. It's a live-saving, life-giving place. Those two questions: Are the gates of hell shaking before this church? Is it happening here? My friends, the answer to both is, "Yes!" Thanks be to God! Hallelujah! An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 041003a: Things Are Not as They Seem. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us