Sunday Reflections

Let me come out and say that this blog will not do justice to the day I've just experienced, but I must try. God has been so good! I prayed all week that the power of the Lord would be present today in ways that we at GCC had never experienced. Let's just say God is faithful:) Allow me to share just a few highlights:

• The GCC band was on it today! They are coming together as musicians and are learning what it means to worship through music.
• Barry taught us a new song today. Beautiful the Blood by Fee. All I can say is wow!
• I can honestly say I felt the anointing of God upon this message. He wanted this message out!
• At some point during the first service, Jeremy felt the Lord prompting him to grab some specific leaders and begin praying for one of their new senior high students who had yet to accept Jesus. They prayed and after the service, this young man came to Jeremy and said he wanted to give his life to Jesus and be baptized! We baptized him during the second service and it was awesome!. Please pray for Carey as he begins his new walk with Jesus:)
• During the invitation time a young man I highly respect in the Lord came and asked me to pray for him. In so many words he said he wanted "More". Oh how I share his desire!
• And then in the second service, something took place that in all my years in the church, I can't say I've ever experienced. I had just shared a few words preparing us for communion and I was preparing to enter into prayer when I saw a friend raise her hand as if she had something to say. Without hesitation I gave this young lady, a college student at UofL who I've grown to respect in the Lord, the green light. She said the Holy Spirit had laid a scripture upon her heart and she wanted to share it. She read from James 5 and talked about the value of public confession. And as she poured out her heart you could have heard a pin drop (and the children's ministry rockin' it downstairs...which is great). She then proceeded to confess two specific sins that she had been dealing with. She wanted to bring to light what had been in the dark, robbing satan of his power. She confessed that she struggled much with fear - "ridiculous fears" as she described them. She also shared how she often compared herself to other women and how she knew this was not what God would have her to do. Oh my word this was powerful!!! I've never experienced anything like it!
• But it continued...even after the service. A woman who has been attending Greenville since last summer waited on the front row to speak with me. Her hands trembled with excitement and awe as she told me that since her first visit to GCC she had been praying that I would share the very message I shared today. She said as I progressed through the sermon it was all she could not to scream with excitement.
• And then there was Ryan. He shared about his spiritual journey and how he had recently come back to the Lord after a season away. He described that he had always viewed Jesus as Savior but I was so blessed to see that recently had he made him Lord as well. God did a powerful work in Ryan's life today and he left with a clean conscience. That's priceless:)
• And then the afternoon ended with my family having lunch and spending the day with the Suttons (Anita, Patrick and girls). What a family! I look forward to getting to know them even better in the months to come.

Overall, this Lord's Day will go down as one of the most powerful and memorable Sundays that I've ever experienced. And I'm confident that we're only scratching the surface. There's more!