The day began with a full breakfast service, prepared and served by our young people and teens, anchored by pancakes, waffles, and sausages with coffee and OJ to boot! It was a bit cloudy and overcast for an Easter with a few slight drizzles here and there to keep us alert. Nevertheless, as 9:30 rolled around, a well fed and expectant group of worshippers and guests lifted their voice in song as the live band led us in our opening songs of praise and faith!
Afterwards, Stephanie Benson shared her special Easter message (with the help of some very special "easter eggs") and then allowed Bill Faris to interview her about what it was like to belong to a house church - making sure to invite everyone to come and join us any Sunday!
Next came the performance of a very special song, "Praise the Risen Lord" - an original piece written by a grateful neighbor after experiencing a surprising manifestation of God's love. The inspiration for her song was the sudden appearance of house church and other volunteers who came to help in a massive cleanup effort of her home after horrible mudslides smashed into her family's backyard, filled their swimming pool and damaged both her home and some of the surroundings (see previous "Sermon in the Mud" posts).
Ryan Lee, our worship leader for the day, did an excellent job in learning her song and then performing it and teaching us to sing along. How special to be able to feature a new original song born out of ministry that took place a few hundred feet from where we were standing as we sang "praise to the Risen Lord"!
The Mills (Paul and Michelle) of our Without Walls house church group shared their testimony of changed life as they related to the assembled crowd how God had called them to follow Him and how their faith has grown more than ever in recent times as they have been "forced to own" their spiritual development as members of a house church. It was clear from what they shared that they are just beginning to touch on the things God has prepared for them to do, be and share with others at this most vital time of their lives thus far.
Bill Faris brought a message of hope from the Scriptures with a focus on the surprising love and power of God (peppered with a call and response of "Surprise!", shared between speaker and audience!). The message ended with a focus on three things that are characteristic of what happens when God surprises us with His presence as He breaks in to our lives in surprising way:
* Your future is no longer just a logical extension of your past!
* When God breaks in, new life breaks out!
* Death no longer gets the "last word" in our lives. God does!
As the message and the closing worship dissipated into the somewhat chilly air, we knew we had been with the Lord and that He, the Risen King, had come to meet with us in a (beautiful) everyday place just as He did in days of old! Surprise!!!
Easter 2011 was a Great Celebration! Hope to see YOU here next year!
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