Ablaze Worship

The goal of Ablaze this year: 

Similarly to our goal last year, we desire the Holy Spirit this year to lead the congregation into a night of worship revival to set hearts ablaze for the gift of God's grace, comfort, hope, and strength. As one unified church, the Holy Spirit's presence in us is what we yearn for, so that we may all receive love and joy from our everlasting Father. However, our planning teams have come together to organize Ablaze 2025 prominently as a worship revival and prayer night, rather than revival stemming from an introduction to the Gospel organized in sessions. 

In Nehemiah 8, we see the Israelites had been in exile in Babylon for 70 years because of their sin. After God saved them from the Babylonians, they were allowed to return back home to Jerusalem. Through the leadership of Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt and a spiritual revival happened.

In this passage, we see how spiritual revival is sparked by passionate prayers, a deep desire for God's Word, and a genuine response to it. Just as Nehemiah’s prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11) played a key role in bringing revival to Israel, we must earnestly seek God in prayer, recognizing that revival is His work, not merely an event or emotional experience. Along with prayer, a renewed passion for God’s Word is essential, as seen in Nehemiah 8, where the Israelites stood attentively for hours, eager to hear Scripture after years of captivity. This same hunger for God’s Word must begin in individuals before it can spread to the church. Lastly, revival is evidenced by a heartfelt response to God’s Word—through worship, repentance, and rejoicing. The Israelites worshiped with lifted hands and bowed heads (v.6), wept in conviction of sin (v.9), and later rejoiced in God’s truth (v.12). True spiritual revival transforms hearts, drawing people closer to God through prayer, Scripture, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Through Ablaze, we are calling God to bring heaven down on Earth through these elements of revival—let this be our prayer for the event.

The goal of Ablaze last year: 

Our goal of this night of worship revival is to set the hearts of the congregation ablaze for the gift of God's grace, comfort, hope, and strength, by spreading the fire of God to others. As one unified church, the Holy Spirit's presence in us is what we yearn for, so that we may all receive love and joy from our everlasting Father. 

 In Acts 18, we are presented through the highs and lows of Paul's ongoing missionary journey in the cities of Ancient Greece. Paul eventually makes his way into Ephesus, where he expresses his faith with the Jews in a synagogue, in hope of forming new believers in Christ. Paul's nonstop discipleship continues after he leaves his friends Priscilla and Aquila behind for his next stop at Caesarea, but little did he know that a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus.

Apollos was a dedicated man in the Scriptures, and he was called by the Lord to preach in Ephesus. Although Apollos spoke boldly in the synagogue similar to that of Paul, his words were somewhat inaccurate in reflection of the Scriptures, so Priscilla and Aquila take the time to teach him the Word. What followed was the Lord's guidance through Apollos' new understanding in speaking to the Jews in public, serving as a leader of Paul's church in Corinth, and establishing a small church in Ephesus, which Paul actually later led. Acts 18:25 describes Apollos as "burning" in Spirit, for he was thus ablaze. Paul proclaims of God's power here, even working in those like Apollos who may be naive or those who may seem too far astray from the Lord (as in Paul's, a.k.a. "Saul's", former case). 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 encapsulates this story, with Paul declaring, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth."