Sunday Night Rejoicings

Wow, what a GREAT day today this was at Cobblestone…

• I was a little stunned in both celebrations at HOW MANY MOTHERS we had when I asked moms to stand for prayer! Wow.
• As always, great job today, Under Cover! I knew when I finished writing today's message a couple weeks ago that I wanted an extended worship set to follow the message, and WOW was it powerful today. I have a feeling I don't quite know how powerful, because I was immersed in worship and don't know how many people came forward to worship at the front or kneel or whatever, but I sensed the winds of the Spirit blowing all around me. Thanks, Cobblestone, for your heartfelt response today!
• One of the most responsive worshipers this morning, I learned after the first celebration, was my one-year-old granddaughter Mia, who stood front and center with her mom during the second worship set, and lifted her hand like other worshipers around her! How I wish I had a photo of that!
• Got to welcome a bunch of new folks today, and was thrilled to spend extended time in prayer with people after each celebration. Hallelujah!
• Thanks so much to Bill, Ryan, Mike, and Steve for letting me use them as models this morning. Especially to Bill and Mike, who I mistreated royally!
• God has been really visiting blessing on me in recent weeks, and I'm right now just going with the flow! What joy I'm finding in preaching, worshiping, greeting, serving, praying, learning names...all of it! Thank you, Lord!
• I'm still learning how much of a challenge--and offense, even--grace is....even (maybe especially) to Christians. Throughout this series from Galatians, I've been hearing people struggle with the concept and application of grace (which I understand, since I struggle myself). I was even told this morning that someone has left the church because they were offended by my message last week on Galatians 2:11-21. It IS a struggle. It IS a challenge to understand. It IS unnatural to us. But it's us church folk who struggle most, more than people who are relatively new to the faith. And it seems the longer a person has been around the church, the more baggage of "ungrace" and sometimes outright legalism we have to deal with. I know this personally, because I've been in the church for 52 years now. But HOW I PRAISE GOD for the scandal of his grace...BOTH the grace that saves AND the grace that keeps and changes!
• Also, yesterday's ShareFest outreach was wonderful! What a great way to serve the community, a way in which EVERYone wins and EVERYone benefits. Thanks to Gary, Denise, Zach, Amy, Gib, Sam, Mike, Michelle, Becky, and John for their support!
• I'm already looking forward to NEXT week, when I get to speak on "Free to Receive."

Finally, to all Moms--and especially to those I didn't get to greet personally this morning--Happy Mother's Day! I hope your day was a HUGE blessing to you.