William Hunter
12th February 2006, 04:43 PM (16:43)
It never ceases to amaze me how God makes His manifest presence known and powerfully felt in our worship services. Today was no exception. As we moved from a couple of songs to focus ourselves, then the message, and then the main music package, prayer, offering and special music---God moved various reports from the congregation of answered prayer, His movement in people's lives during the week in certain ways, etc. We had two visiting young families who hung around after the service to talk and they both said they did not know there was a church that had such good services, had such a sense of unity and family about it. I suspect with all the info. they asked for and took that will be back. One family even asked if we used tithe envolopes and if so, did we have any (silly question!!!!!!!!!!).
One of our young adult girls who is in her last yr. at ONU in nursing is going with a couple of teams of ONU students to an area where the hurricanes had done so much damage. They will do nursing care, some will clean, some will help rebuild, etc. Our student needed $250.00 more to go. She raised $250.00 herself in her work. Well, we took an offering and she received just over $1000.00 and was not only able to finish funding her own way, but provide 70 of the crisis care kits to take along and pay for most of another student's cost who could not have gone otherwise. I not only read her e-mail with tears but most of my cong. was moved to tears of thanksgiving and joy, too. What a neat thing this cong. has done. We look forward to when she can come home and report to us of her trip and of what God is doing in her own heart as a result.
Print will never be able to communicate the presence of our Lord we are sensing here, but God is moving. Last Sunday, after all those who found help at our altars, and after the testimonies and the rest of the service, as we sat down after lunch in the quite of our home, my wife said, "We are seeing some powerful spiritual growth in our congregation." It is all because of God's amazing grace!! What a wonderful and gracious Lord we serve.
One of our young adult girls who is in her last yr. at ONU in nursing is going with a couple of teams of ONU students to an area where the hurricanes had done so much damage. They will do nursing care, some will clean, some will help rebuild, etc. Our student needed $250.00 more to go. She raised $250.00 herself in her work. Well, we took an offering and she received just over $1000.00 and was not only able to finish funding her own way, but provide 70 of the crisis care kits to take along and pay for most of another student's cost who could not have gone otherwise. I not only read her e-mail with tears but most of my cong. was moved to tears of thanksgiving and joy, too. What a neat thing this cong. has done. We look forward to when she can come home and report to us of her trip and of what God is doing in her own heart as a result.
Print will never be able to communicate the presence of our Lord we are sensing here, but God is moving. Last Sunday, after all those who found help at our altars, and after the testimonies and the rest of the service, as we sat down after lunch in the quite of our home, my wife said, "We are seeing some powerful spiritual growth in our congregation." It is all because of God's amazing grace!! What a wonderful and gracious Lord we serve.