Recap From the Weekend

Visitation Saturday at Rapha was one of the better one. Weather was perfect. It was the first time this year that the families could be outside enjoying the surroundings. People were fishing and playing horseshoes. Some just sat in the shade of the trees sharing conversation and hopes and dreams of a better life.
Kids chased after the ducks and geese and our 9 new additions to our ducks were the hit of the day. Nine little ducks all following hard after their momma.

Saturday night was...................well.........it was good.
I never know what to expect going on. Sometimes I feel like the music I've chosen for the worship time isn't right, but God uses it anyway. Maybe I have a doubt about a particular song, but God comes and the room is alive with worship. That's the way it was last night. It was easy to worship, easy to play, and there was a freedom in the room.

We started off with a version of Some Kind Of Wonderful. A bright tune that speaks of our change of heart from loving the the things of this world to a new life loving Jesus. Wayne Wimpee sang and cut loose with his harmonica which really talks to the spirits of the men who are there on Saturday night.

Next was a Vineyard song, I Believe. A declaration of our beliefs and the foundation for our new life....Jesus Christ. We moved into I'm A Believer, The old Monkee's song. "Then I saw His face...now I'm a believer.....
This really brought the guys up and into it. We closed out the worship set with No Other. There is no other love like you O'Lord. You are the reason for life and you offer it freely to all who would receive. There was a time at the end where Debbie began to sing in the Spirit. Whenever she does this, it always ushers in the presence of the Lord to an even greater degree. I am always amazed at how God comes to fill up the music.

The message was from Jude:20 -  But you, dear friends, build yourselves up (lay your foundation) in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Starting with the basic premise of recovery. You are rebuilding your life. In order to do that, you have to remove all the rubble from your past. From there you lay a foundation, being Jesus Christ. Everything begins there...our belief, our faith, our hope in that Jesus is who He claims to be and will do in us what He claims He will do.

Barry Hooks came up after I finished teaching and brought everything full circle by reading from the Big Book of AA (We claim that the Bible is the "BIGGER" book). During the ministry time that followed, several men acknoledged their need to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There was much prayer and many tears, but these were tears of joy and not guilt ladened. Tears of being set free.

Once again, as I closed the door to the chapel after everyone had left, I took one last look into the room and asked myself the same question I have asked after every meeting...."How are you gonna top this, Lord?" You know what?
He will.

God on you...
mb

I'll try to get the message up in the I-pod section of this blog as soon as possible.
I am going to try to post some of the music also, but I will not let it remain indefinitely. We will sway it out.
mb