It has been a lot of fun to speak to so many of you after the services during our current series.  It is pretty exciting when you get a grasp of what it means to be awakened by God and journey with him. And I am finding that many of you have made a decision to start your own journey with God.  But how many of you have declared this to the rest of us, and begun to deepen the impact of the journey?  Here are a few ways that you can do this.

How many of you are interested in being baptized on the weekend of April 26-27?  Why not send me a response as you read this?  If you have found yourself awakened during this series or you just have never decided to be baptized, then contact me and join the group that will celebrate that weekend.

Before you decide your weekend activities, remember that this Saturday morning you can join us for one of our core Discovery classes.  If you want to explore membership and find out why we believe that developing community is part of the journey of awakening, then come to D¹ - Discovering Community.  If you want to get a better handle on the disciplines associated with your journey and understand why knowing God is the first step, take D² - Discovering Spiritual Journey.  And if you want to take a step into service and catch the fever of bringing hope into our world, then come to D³ - Discovering Ministry.  Keep in mind that these are sequential classes.  Sign up today.

I have been to Cuba twice in the past five years.  During each trip, I fell more in love with the Cuban people, and left inspired to learn further about the history and current affairs of this neighboring island.  As you can probably imagine, it was with great interest that I watched Fidel Castro step down earlier this year.  As I listened to him address his people, I wondered how he considered his 49 years in power: whether he looked over his career and evaluated what he had really accomplished.

A museum opened in Havana last year to commemorate the Castro years.  In a news article covering the event, a reporter commented that on the Saturday he visited the building, he found it completely empty but for a lone, bored attendant who asked him for an antacid (since “medicines are very scarce”). In this caricature of the country’s larger problems, I can’t help but think that Castro’s revolution died well before his retirement.

Meeting the needs of people is a critical lesson that Castro should have learned.  Let’s not make the same mistake at home.

Jesus is our cornerstone.  He is relevant and compassionate to each generation. God’s Word and our faith should continue to meet the practical needs around us, because the incredible work of Christ will naturally see people around us changed, just as we are transformed.  Friends and strangers should walk through these doors because they want to experience a relevant, a compassionate, a practical love.

I don’t want anyone to live less than a full life — do you?

The first four-service weekend went extremely smoothly, and I want to thank all our regular attenders for helping with this transition.  I was concerned that the 10:30 service would be crowded, but in the end all three services were evenly attended and we topped the 2 000 mark for combined attendance at all four services (not including the children in Promised Land and Kids Klub Church).  Remember that we will now continue with the new weekend service times of 6pm on Saturday, and 9am, 10:30 and noon on Sundays.

During the next five weeks we will continue our new series, Awaken.  We will see how Scripture tells of lives that were changed when a connection was made with the risen Jesus.  And this weekend, you will actually hear more than one account…

This week I read that the Gospel of Luke speaks about the poor and our responsibility towards them an average of one in every seven verses.  Now, I haven’t counted the verses myself, but I will definitely be studying them further.  And if it is true, then it’s an issue we need to think much more about as a church.  If you want to join me in your own personal study to see what Scripture has to say about the poor, I’d welcome the chance to hear about your findings: send me email me at bloghannold@princetonalliance.org or just hit reply if you received this entry in your Inbox.

I’ll be enjoying time with my family next week.  I probably won’t post another entry for a little while, but you are always in my prayers.