Nothing is falling apart. That’s what should worry you.

Grace and peace to you this week. Sunday we opened Reconnect, in the room in McCook and online at the same time. If you were there, thank you. If you missed it, keep reading, because I am not letting you miss this one.

One church, two campuses, one family.

RECONNECT, Week 1: NO BARS

Your phone does not die on your watch. You know where every outlet is in your house, your car, and your office. You will walk across a parking lot for one more bar.

Now answer this. When did you last walk across the living room for ten minutes with God?

Here is the part that should worry you. Nothing is falling apart. The bills get paid. The kids get picked up. The work gets done. That is exactly why you never noticed the signal dropping.

Write this down: The most dangerous disconnection is the one that still lets you function.

In John 15, Jesus has minutes left before the cross. Judas has already left the table. He does not talk strategy. He talks connection.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4, NLT)

The word is menō. Stay. Dwell. It is not a feeling. It is an address. And look at the order. He is not hiding. He is already there. God is not grading your silence. He is still on the other end of the line.

Your practice this week: ten quiet minutes with God, on three days. Phone face down until the ten minutes are done. Read John 15:1 to 5 slowly. Tell God the truth about the last six months. Then sit quiet. Miss a day? Pick it back up the next morning.

Today is Wednesday. If you have not picked your three days, pick them before you read the next section.

Watch the Replay

Missed Sunday, or want to hear John 15 a second time? The full message is up.

👉 Watch “No Bars” on YouTube

Go deeper: Your Weekly Growth Tools

A message you only hear on Sunday is gone by Tuesday. These carry it through the week.

⓵ The Spotify Worship Playlist. Gospel and worship sequenced to the six weeks of Reconnect. Put it on in the car, in the kitchen, at 5am. Put it on before the news.

👉 Play the RECONNECT Playlist on Spotify

⓶ Your Life Group. This week it takes the place of the devotional and the application guide. Sunday gives you the message. Your group is where you put it to work.

👉 Find your Reconnect Life Group

Every message and every tool is waiting in the full library.

Last Call: Reconnect Life Groups Begin Meeting October 18

You sat through Sunday and thought, I need this. Then you thought, I will do it on my own, and I will start later.

Later is how you got here. Nobody decided to go quiet with God. It happened one skipped morning at a time. A group is how it stops happening.

Reconnect is six weeks. The Sunday message sets the theme. Your group talks it through, practices it together, and every person leaves with one challenge small enough to finish before Friday. Nobody teaches a second sermon. It is a table where the truth gets said out loud and nobody flinches.

Groups begin meeting October 18. Three ways in, so nobody gets left outside:

In person. A real room, real people, one table.
Virtual. Same guide, same rhythm, on a video call from wherever you are.
Self guided. One email a week tied to Sunday. Reply with what you noticed, and a real person reads it.

Two ways to get placed:

⓵ Text LIFEGROUP to 33777.
⓶ Go to marshillchicago.org/life-groups.

Do it today, so your first meeting is not your first day behind. Already in a group? Stay right where you are. You are covered, and there is no extra sign up.

👉 Join a Reconnect Life Group

This Sunday: Static on the Line

RECONNECT, Week 2. You have read the whole Bible once and cannot tell me one thing it said to you last week. Your mom texts three words and you read them twice. You open your Bible app and skim it like 47 unread work emails.

The words did not go quiet. You started reading them like a page instead of a voice. Sunday we open Psalm 119:105 and clear the static.

Sunday, October 18, 10:30 AM Central, online. Pick your screen:

👉 Website: marshillchicago.org
👉 YouTube: youtube.com/@ClarenceStowersTV
👉 Facebook Live: facebook.com/MarsHillChicago/live

Thank you for holding this house up

This is a hybrid church with two campuses: the room in McCook and the campus that’s wherever you’re sitting right now. Your prayers and your giving keep both of them open.

Give at marshillchicago.org/giving, or text MHGIVE to 33777.

👉 Give here

Here’s where I’ll leave you. The line is still open. Put the phone face down and pick up the one that matters. See you Sunday at 10:30.

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. Tonight, set the alarm for tomorrow’s ten minutes and leave the phone across the room. You cannot turn it face down if it is already in your hand.

A word from this week’s sponsor

A quick word from this week’s sponsor, 1440.