Busy weekend....
Great weekend....
One that you could drink from for a while, but realize that it's Monday and you need to keep moving forward.
Friday Night:
Vicki and I made our way to Centre for Celebrate Recovery. I had received a call from Donnie George asking me if I could come and speak. I've been going up to CR Centre for 11 years, speaking and teaching, but Friday night was a first. They have been going through the leadership material for CR and Donnie asked me if I could teach a lesson from the book. I told him that whatever he needed I was willing to take a shot at it. The material was emailed to me and it was off to the races. I was to teach on "Seven Reasons We Get Stuck In Our Recovery." The reasons ranged from "Not working the principals properly" to "No support group". At the end when ministry time arrived, people flooded the front receiving prayer. A sight such as this is payday for me. I will never tire of seeing folks come to Jesus for healing.
Oh yeah, one last thing....
Randy and the Worship band knocked it out of the park. The music was high energy, yet was sprinkled with songs that were intimate and lead us into God's presence.
It was a great start to the weekend.
Saturday Night:
We held our annual Candle light service on Saturday night. Always a special time for me, as we the VRC family gathers to celebrate the true light that has come into our time and space. The evening was made even more special by the return of Debbie Handy. Debbie has been battling some health issues and has not been able to be with us. But there she was, with her husband, Lanny, coming up to the stage to take her place at the piano. During our worship set she sang "Light Of The World" which only made the evening even more special.
The message was on the truth that even though Jesus came to this world.....
Even though He is called THE light of the world....He came to us individually to reveal himself. In Matthew 5, He refers to those who follow Him as being "LIGHT". We are called to reflect Jesus back to a world that doesn't see or know Him.
As we sang "Silent Night", the room as darkened and the candles were lit. That darkened room soon was bathed in candle light. "Silent night.....Holy night....All is calm.....All is bright." For a brief moment, the things of the world fell away and the presence of God manifested in our midst.
Afterwards, there were many hugs, handshakes and Merry Christmas' all around. It was a good night.
Sunday Morning:
Saturday afternoon I received a call from John Richey, pastor of Northside Baptist Church. John had come down with the crud and wanted to know if I could fill in for him. I told him that I would be honored to do so. Part of my call is to do such as this...fill in. Since our church meets on Saturday night, I am always available on Sunday if the need arises. I always look forward to speaking at John's church.
The people are.........
Well, they just make you feel at home when you're with them.
Small country church....
Feels like family....
Not stuck on proper order or pomp and fal-der-ral. But truly do love Jesus, and each other.
There is a freshness to the honest and simplicity that is found in this church.
No false pretense to who they are or how they worship.
Sitting in my chair last night, I found myself feeling grateful that God would allow me to be a part of three totally different fellowships over the last three days. To see Him reflected in each of those meetings. To see people respond in each of them to His word and His promises. Things may be messed up in our country and in our world, but I found that God still has a people that He is working through. Thank you, Lord.
Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla!
God on you....
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