Well the first service has happened and I must admit that it was quite a surreal experience! A great deal of praying, listening, planning, and hard work by so many and then to see it happening was simply wonderful, and yes, surreal! It was a great day and it was wonderful to welcome many old friends and new.
Author & speaker Brennan Manning has said that
“the single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable” (more…)
what a weekend we had at lake champion with our jr highers. i wish i could explain to you how amazing it was…but that would take a whole lot of typing~ so here’s the reader digest version:our theme: The Four Fold Gospel; Jesus is our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King~when we got to the session on Jesus as our healer a call was given for kids to come forward if they wanted to receive healing. it was set-up with scripture and bathed in prayer. needless to say, over 150 kids came forward to be prayed for and receive healing for physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual things going on in their lives. it was overwhelming! when we broke into our small group, i had our student type out what they were thinking and feeling so you can get a sneak peak at what goes through a jr highers head after a service like that. i wasn’t sure which to pick, but here’s a couple:
Before tonight, I felt like I was unimportant. I had told all of my friends of my religion and I respected their religion, but they feel like they shouldn’t talk to me and they ignore me. Sometimes I go into the bathroom and cry my eyes out hoping that they will except me for who I am. Knowing that God loves me unconditionally, it makes me feel important and makes me want to cry. I feel like I don’t deserve it. I am a sinner and I know I will sin in the future. Knowing that God loves me before and after I sin, and will always love me is overwhelming to me. My sister and brothers say I’m nothing and I should just go away. After tonight I feel like I connected to God and know that I am special and I am unique!
What really hit me this weekend was how real God is in our lives. We totally take him for granted. It’s amazing how much he affects our daily lives and this week God has become so real to me! God is amazing!
thank you so much for all your prayers…and please pray for our sr highers as we go away this weekend~
My roommates in college used to call me the “song slayer.” I have the hardest time remembering lyrics and often would completely mix up a song beyond recognition, except for the melody. I still do it today . . . which, incidentally, is why my music stand is always kept so close to me on Sunday mornings. I’m sure that some of you have noticed that I still mess up the words from time to time. That being said, the lyrics to the songs we sing each Sunday are very important to me. I try very hard to choose songs that have substance to them, much like some of the great hymns of the faith. For instance, Laura Story’s “Indescribable,” a song made popular by Chris Tomlin, is like a modern day version of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” in which the wonder of creation points to God’s handiwork and majesty. Did you ever stop to wonder what the line, “heavenly storehouses laden with snow” means? It used to be a line, in that particular worship song, which I never fully understood. When one of our team members posed that very question to the group recently, we were stumped. That is until Becky, my more insightful wife, pointed out that the phrase is referring to the clouds. It’s a good thing I married her.
We often speak about approaching God, seeking his face for our lives and those of others we’re praying for, while expecting great answers to prayer. So we focus on our needs, as we see them. We believe we’re ministering to others, focusing on Christ, putting Him first, doing God’s will. Perhaps we are, perhaps we miss the mark sometimes, too. (more…)
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