Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on ALL flesh.
It was a good weekend, topping off a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Last night, I spoke at CR Catalyst Church (Seth Barber). Still in the infancy stage, this CR has made some great strides in becoming who God has called them to be. One of the hallmarks, to me, for a CR is does the room feel intimate. Does it feel like a place where you could let down your guard and share? Well, CR Catalyst has accomplished this, which is a pretty big feat considering they meet at Convention Hall in Gadsden. It has more to do with the leadership inviting the presence of God to be the focus of those present, than anything else. They are committed to loving and enfolding those who feel like they are on the outside looking in on all this God-stuff. Thank you for the invite.
Oh yeah, one last thing:
Catalyst CR will be meeting at Gadsden Vineyard on Sunday, December 14th. Supper at 5:30 p.m. / main service - 6:30 p.m. / Small groups to follow.
Yesterday morning, I spoke at New Outlook Fellowship Church. Senior Pastor Rannie Childress and all the folks there have an incredible love for those who are either still in addiction or on that road to recovery. They also host a Wednesday Night Christ centered support meeting. They meet every other Wednesday. This month, they will be meeting on December 10th and December 24th. Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday night found me at the Vineyard Recovery Church. TO say that last Saturday night was somewhat unusual (And pretty incredible) is an understatement. Small crowd, two visitors who were looking for some assistance for a place to spend the night and get out of the cold. They came in and we invited them stay for the meeting, and have some coffee.
The worship team took the stage, just like we do every week, and began to lead the group in worship.
First Song: New arrangement of "Blessed Be The Name". You could sense the presence of God as we sang to Him, proclaiming His greatness and the power of His name.
Second Song: "Holy Fire"...
Holy Fire from heaven descend to us today, let us burn again.
An invitation for God to come and fall on us...
The line "Waiting in expectancy...surrendered to Your Sovereignty........we're hungry for real intimacy, Lord....For the things You adore".
Third Song: "Adorned".....proclaiming the attributes of God. Each one like a precious stone, all making up the nature and character of God.
Fourth Song: "I Love Your Ways" by Chris Lizotte. By the time we got to this one, the room was thick and heavy with God's presence. To be honest with you, that phrase doesn't truly explain what took place. We moved through song verse by verse and by the time we reached the end, the song took on a life of it's own as we followed the Spirit of God off the page, and into the heart where the singing continued. Spontaneous worship that broke out into the room. Words from the heart to proclaim the greatness of God. The two visitors were weeping and raising their hands, totally enveloped in and by the Holy Spirit. I directed some of our leadership to go back to where our visitor's were and pray for them and over them.
Our usual format for a Saturday night meeting is 20 - 30 minutes of worship / 20 - 30 minute teaching followed by ministry time for those who need prayer, or are responding to an invitation to receive prayer.
Saturday night we never got around to teaching. The worship was the teaching as God came and brought healing and freedom to all who were present. It was as energized a room and service as I have ever been a part of. Needless to say, we all went away that night with our batteries recharged, ready to give away what we had received.
Like I've always said, when it comes to Vineyard Recovery Church... God told me early on that this was HIS meeting. He was in charge. I was to stay out of the way and facilitate what He was doing in our midst. Saturday night----that was exactly what I did. After all, He's a lot better at this than I am.
God on you...
mb
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