Sunday was GREAT! Our attendance was down by about 100 due to the flu, baseball tournaments, etc.; but God's Spirit was present! It's funny how often I even buy into the false idea that a good Sunday is a well-attended Sunday. We call that "stinkin-thinkin." A good Sunday is one in which God's Spirit has the freedom to work and God's message results in changed lives.
This past Sunday, we started with 3 baptisms. One was a 5th grade girl who was saved in our Christian school last year and now felt ready for baptism. The other 2 baptisms were a couple who were saved at young ages, recently married, growing in the Lord, and ready to be baptized and become part of our church family.
I continued the sermon series from James 2:1-13 and addressed James' warning against partiality. He makes it quite clear that God is no respecter of persons and neither are true believers. Partiality could include judgmental attitudes between black-white, rich-poor, skinny-plump, singers-non-singers, educated-uneducated, well dressed-poorly dressed, English speaking-other languages, etc. Warren Wiersbe says, "The way we behave toward people indicates what we truly believe about God." I preached in a T-shirt for the first time (hopefully there will be others), as an illustration that too many focus on the outward appearance instead of the heart. NOTE: James 2 addresses partiality based solely on out outward appearances. Other passages teach us to use discernment, to avoid, and even to treat as pagans; those with heart issues in which they choose their sin over the Savior. A simple study of church discipline in Matt. 18:15-17 will reveal how to deal with those indulging in sinful behavior.
Sunday afternoon, our Deacons laid hands on, anointed with oil, and prayed over a man who has several physical ailments. He approached me a couple of weeks ago desiring to follow the Scriptural teaching found in James 5:14 - James 5:14-15 - "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up." This was a special time of prayer and we are now just waiting to see what God will do.
Our Youth Pastor, Justin, is coordinating a flag football league that "kicked-off" Sunday afternoon with around 30 people participating. This has been a great outreach into our community and a lot of fun for those participating. There were only a couple of injuries from what I heard (Luke - broken finger, Kurt - split chin, Justin - bruised jaw, Ray - bruised shoulder, etc.) For the record, I thought Ray had been banned due to passing the number of injuries permitted. :-)
On Sunday night, we had a missions emphasis service. We mentioned and prayed for the new Crisis Pregnancy Centers, for Onesimus Kibera (a national pastor in Kenya), and for John & Melissa Bjorgen (Missionaries to Belize). We also heard a report from our mission team that just returned from Nicaragua.
Already looking forward to next Sunday as we have Mike Minter, former Carolina Panther, preaching for us. Invite some friends who need to hear the gospel!
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