What a great weekend!

I think the services this past weekend represent who we are.  God is a God of first and second chances.  It was great to see those come forward who got a grasp on that.  Find Jesus.  Find life.  And that was only the first part of my thrill.  It was exciting to see how many of you came forward to pray for those who sought prayer.  At the 10:30 service alone 45 people were prepared to pray for others.  I don’t think I ever remember a weekend where so many were prepared to pray for other people.

Yeah.  That’s who we are.

And remember, we have designated the section in the sanctuary over by the stairs as the prayer mat.  After every service from now on you can pray and be prayed for there where the prayer banners will be stationed.

Actually, this weekend I was not there for every service.  I left to join Living Hope Alliance Church in Trenton for their service.  I had not visited them since they moved into their new building.  This is a building that the city donated to them free of charge for the good will they have brought to Trenton.  Amazing.  God does the incredible.  They have a building, a parking lot, and a yard that is large enough for two soccer fields.  Pretty cool.

And this weekend is baptism.  Come prepared to rejoice.  Come prepared to here how Jesus is relevant today.  And some of you should come prepared to get wet.  Just wait and you’ll see what I mean.

Whew!  See you this weekend.

Hope you got to know someone a bit better at the service last weekend.  It was fun to see the synergy from up front.  And it was as boisterous as an energetic song!  A couple of you did venture to share you ideas with me.  Stay in contact with your new-found partner in planning and let me know if you decide to pull anything off.

We are entering into the final two weeks of our Ecclesia series.  We will be looking at the two sacraments practiced by the Protestant Church – communion and baptism.  Communion symbolizes the doorway to the church.  Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paves the way for personal cleansing and a relationship with God.  Josh will be sharing this weekend and I ask that everyone be praying for a clear message and call concerning the sacrifice of Christ and the elements of communion that facilitate our remembrance of that event.  We trust some will make a decision this weekend to enter that door they have only previously gazed at from a distance.  Then we hope they will be baptized the following week.  We have several young people scheduled for baptism on the final weekend of the series and we would love to have more of you participate.  Matt will be bringing the message and I will have the privilege of baptizing everyone.

Let me ask.  Have you made a decision to follow Christ?  Have you followed it up with baptism?  These next two weeks could be excitingly crucial for you in taking a significant step forward in experiencing life to the fullest.

See you this weekend.

If you are following the 40 day Scripture reading schedule that we made available on our website, then today you will read Jeremiah 1:1-10.  God used those verses in 1983 to call me to Thailand.  I was asked by CMA leadership to consider Thailand as a place of service but had decided I was too young and inexperienced at that time.  I needed a few more years under my belt.  It was late one evening, the day before I was going to call the CMA and tell them “not yet.”  I opened my Bible to Jeremiah 1 and read this in verses 6-8:

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”  But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Pretty clear, huh?  I called the next day and 6 months later I was in Thailand.

I trust the daily readings are a source of encouragement to you.  The Word speaks today as it did when it was first written.  It is a living and powerful thing, inspired by the Spirit and designed for our direction and correction.  Make the effort.  Its worth it.

And speaking of Thailand, please continue to seek God for your part in partnering with the mission vision of PAC.  Checks made out to Princeton Alliance Church should include the letters “GCF” in the note section.  Pray for Timothy Jeng and Vision Thailand 2010.  Pray for David and Cindy Peace in New Delhi.  Ask God where he might want you to join in forming a team to go overseas this year or next.  This could be something big for us and for his kingdom.

Men, see you this Saturday morning at the breakfast.  Everyone else, see you this weekend.