Sunday, August 14, 2005

The "sweet spot." If I could title today's services, I would say it was "the sweet spot." If you have ever had one of those days where so many things seemed to be in sync, where everything seemed to be going right, than you will know what I mean when I say that today was right. Not that everything was perfect - not hardly. But when the Spirit of the Lord decides that He is going to annoint all things surrendered to Him, then you know that the service will be blessed.

To begin, our worship was great. Standing in for Rod today on the guitar was Pastor Glen, the worship pastor over at Grace Community Church, who did a good job in filling in. I am so appreciative of our sister church and the relationship that we have with them. But beyond Glen, the worship was great. The people at the Journey, I believe, our beginning to "get it." By creating an atmosphere for them to worship in, our people are engaging in lifting up the name of the Father. It is good.

My message was ok. It had been a struggle for me to bring this together, to really grab ahold of what I wanted to say. But by the time I was done preparing (late on Saturday evening), I was pleased with the result. I felt me delivery was fine, although there were some distractions in the 2nd service that limited my effectiveness.

In our first service, we had several visitors with us, including my in-laws, Clyde and Rose Lowman, who have faithfully supported Krista and I since day 1. I was pleased to be able to show them what their financial support has produced. But we also had a 1st time visitor with us, Mike, who came with Andy Becker, and he raised his hand that he prayed with me to receive the Lord, along with Andy (? last name ?), who is a friend of Erica's. Along with them, a guy who has been with us now for a month or two named Pete raised his hand for salvation. God is good.

In our second service, we had a family from Lebanon visiting - Scott & Stephanie, a nice couple with a few kids. Also, Ida and Katie brought a friend (they visited last week through the carwash and are vacationing from Massachusetts). The friend was Lynette, and I hope to have them all back with us as well.

For the day we had 100, and I look forward to seeing the Lord continue to mold our services into a regular experience of worship, fellowship, and truth.