Still Excited!
Well, I thought I'd share something that happened last night after church which I trust will be a blessing to you all. (As an aside, both services yesterday were really good...if you want to know more I can post the details). Anyway, after the evening service, the young people and I (and I do use the words to indicate two distinct classifications, for only two or three are college age, and the rest are in high school)...decided to go out to eat at a little local joint called Angies. We'd been there about a month ago, and had a great time, laughing, joking, etc.
Last night started out in a similar fashion with the usual jokes, laughing, needling (in the sense of "to goad or provoke") et all. But, when our food came, we got rather quiet. One of the guys, Aaron, suggested that we go around and each person tell how they got saved. Not only did everyone (there were about eight of us) agree to do so, but each one spent several minutes telling not only how they were saved, but a bit of what the Lord has done since that time.
The testimonies were great, and when they were finished, Veronica suggested that we go around again, this time mentioning one thing that we are very thankful to the Lord for. (Sorry, I know the ending of that sentence doesn't follow grammatical rules! ;) This turned out to be very encouraging as each one again took their time to share one thing that God had done directly in their lives that they were thankful for (See, did it again with the sentence ending thing!)
The reality of the goodness of the Lord was evident on the faces and in the testimonies from this group of young people. What an encouragement it was to hear how God has proved Himself faithful, how He has demonstrated patience, how He has provided and met the needs of His children. I tell you what, I was excited!
But, that is not the rest of the story! As we were finishing up with the testimonies, one of the gals mentioned a couple of prayer requests. A couple of the others also mentioned one or two things that we might remember to bring before the Lord. Behind our booth was a group of elderly folks. One of the men got up and came over to where we were sitting. He asked if we were a church group of some kind. When we answered in the affirmative, he said, "Well, I kinda thought so. You are all having such a good time, you're all clean-cut and no piercings or tattoos." Katie had a church tract on her and was able to give one to this gentleman, showing him the service times, etc.
That in a nutshell is the story. I am hoping that there will be an opportunity in the near future for these young people to share with the church what God has been doing in their lives individually. I know it would be a great blessing and encouragement, not only to their parents, but to each one in the church...and I trust this has been a great encouragement to you all as well!
Last night started out in a similar fashion with the usual jokes, laughing, needling (in the sense of "to goad or provoke") et all. But, when our food came, we got rather quiet. One of the guys, Aaron, suggested that we go around and each person tell how they got saved. Not only did everyone (there were about eight of us) agree to do so, but each one spent several minutes telling not only how they were saved, but a bit of what the Lord has done since that time.
The testimonies were great, and when they were finished, Veronica suggested that we go around again, this time mentioning one thing that we are very thankful to the Lord for. (Sorry, I know the ending of that sentence doesn't follow grammatical rules! ;) This turned out to be very encouraging as each one again took their time to share one thing that God had done directly in their lives that they were thankful for (See, did it again with the sentence ending thing!)
The reality of the goodness of the Lord was evident on the faces and in the testimonies from this group of young people. What an encouragement it was to hear how God has proved Himself faithful, how He has demonstrated patience, how He has provided and met the needs of His children. I tell you what, I was excited!
But, that is not the rest of the story! As we were finishing up with the testimonies, one of the gals mentioned a couple of prayer requests. A couple of the others also mentioned one or two things that we might remember to bring before the Lord. Behind our booth was a group of elderly folks. One of the men got up and came over to where we were sitting. He asked if we were a church group of some kind. When we answered in the affirmative, he said, "Well, I kinda thought so. You are all having such a good time, you're all clean-cut and no piercings or tattoos." Katie had a church tract on her and was able to give one to this gentleman, showing him the service times, etc.
That in a nutshell is the story. I am hoping that there will be an opportunity in the near future for these young people to share with the church what God has been doing in their lives individually. I know it would be a great blessing and encouragement, not only to their parents, but to each one in the church...and I trust this has been a great encouragement to you all as well!
posted by Derek Linder at 8:42 AM
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