It's Going To Be A Doozy!

Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.

When I wake up on Saturday mornings, I do so with an anticipation.
I'm going to gather with others tonight and we are going to celebrate the goodness of God. We will sing to Him. We will tell of what He has done to us and through us. We will have an opportunity to worship Him by giving back in tithes and offerings. It is like Saturday has become an exclamation point to the week.

I can be having the worst of the worse weeks but when Saturday morning comes, I find that I have hope and a renewed sense of His presence and His purpose.Now, on the surface if you are reading my words, it sounds like we are just a bunch of self-centered, needy, whiny, children. "Feed me! Feed me! I'm next!" Whereas Saturday is a night to be renewed and restored, the greater purpose is that we are now able to go back out into our towns and communities and be the "Body of Christ" that we have been called to be. We can be Salt and Light to darkness and blandness that sin creates.

Since Saturday night is about recovery and the presence and power of Jesus, we deal with a sin/specific malady that affects a lot of people. Sometimes those who come on Saturday night are still either in their addiction, or slightly removed from it (a fair amount of clean time). So in one sense, we are babes in Christ, and being such, we still are in need of attention and being taught how to live this new life. Being babes, we will mess up. We'll say the wrong thing. We'll get our feelings hurt and act in ways that we shouldn't. Such is simply because we are babes. Now let's state the obvious. We don't want to remain babies, do we? Nope. We want to grow and mature and take our rightful place in the Kingdom. That is the focus and goal of Vineyard Recovery Church. To help people grow up to be productive, vibrant members of the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Saturday night is a place and time when we can come together and admit that "we blew it last week." IT is a time for forgiveness and healing. It is a time we can admit our humanity (some churches would collapse if someone ever stood and admitted their sin's and character defects). But it is also a place where we can receive the grace of God to carry on.

Tonight should be a doozy!
We are going to have a baby dedication, our first for Vineyard Recovery Church. Now before you get all religiously-bent, we are baptizing babies. We are simply dedicating this new life to God. That He would cover this young one and keep her as she grows. The parents are going to stand before God and pledge themselves to raise her and instruct her according to Scripture.

We are also having a baptism! Young man came to me a couple of weeks ago, on a rainy-down-pouring,day wanting to be baptized right then. The creek was up to high and running too fast for us to get in, or I would have done it. But wisdom prevailed before we could all float away down to pump station road and we decided on tonight. Like I said, it is going to be a doozy of a service.

Since we are having a dedication and a baptism, we are also going to prepare communion. I always love it when we have the Lord's table set. A special, special time for me.

There will be a time of sharing tonight.
A time to receive prayer.
A time to pray.
An opportunity to participate in Kingdom work through our offerings that are given.
It will be a time of watching and participating in God's presence among us tonight.
If you don't have anything to do, come on out and join us...
7 p.m.

God on you....
mb