Tonight believers from across the community joined hands and hearts as we welcomed the 2008 Pond Springs Thanksgiving Fellowship. What a night!
Everyone arrived at Northwest Fellowship -- this year's host church -- at 6:00PM and immediately were met with a bevy of exquisite sights, sounds, and aromas.
Walking in, what you immediately saw was a melding of hearts. Believers from across the community were smiling, shaking hands, and sharing stories. The mood was light, festive, and full of joy.
The low buzz of voices soon turned into a growing wave of excitement as conversation picked up, as children began playing, and as scrumptious food began making its way from the serving tables to the dining tables.
Many took the opportunity to venture out of their comfort zone and to find new people to meet, new stories to hear, and new excitement to embrace as the work of God in people's lives became evident.
After finishing off a fine meal with some of the best deserts of the season, the real action began. Not only were we blessed to share in the fellowship of a shared meal, we also began to share testimonies of the goodness of God. This part of the service was funny, thrilling, sober, exciting, moving, and altogether wonderful.
One child was humorously thankful for turkey. A mother, with eyes full of tears, was thankful for her children and their father. A passionate man brimming with faith was thankful for "coming down with cancer" and being able to minister to others whom he had met along the way. One man was thankful for the "riches of Christ" made evident in this very gathering. One woman was thankful for God healing her ankle. An introspective man was thankful for his mother and her guidance. A man full of hope was thankful for the way God had brought him to Christ through the untimely death of a young girl whose story had touched his broken heart. Many church leaders and pastors were thankful for the work of God in the community and the power of the Spirit in their churches.
Everyone who shared a testimony had something important to say about the work and will of God. He was the spotlight of the night. This chorus of testimonies swelled in tribute to the power, love, mercy, and grace of God. There were many more, but this small glimpse is enough to stir your heart in praise!
After testifying to the power and grace of God, our thanksgiving gathering rose to our feet to sing and worship. We sang with hearts and hands lifted up to the Most High, reaching towards heaven with a hope for the witness of Christian unity to continue to spread.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
What an anthem of celebration and worship! But, it doesn't end there. After this melody to the Master of Life, there were two more blessings of God waiting to unfold.
First, as we've done in the past, we gathered in small prayer circles comprised of representatives from all the churches. Here, on an intimate and tender level, we shared our prayer needs and then prayed for one another. The whole room was alive with entreaties to the Father of Heaven and Earth.
In my own little circle of petition, we praised God for his work of mercy, we thanked him for our loved ones, we celebrated new friends, we asked for the work of Christ to abound, we praised God for his amazing grace, and we thanked God for the power of the cross to tear down dividing lines of creed, color, and class. What a blessing it was!
Finally, at the very end of the evening, after two hours full of food, fellowship, and faith, the entire body of believers encircled the sanctuary, held hands and prayed to God as a final expression of our blessings, our thanks, and our allegiance to be one in Christ.
Driving home was like riding on a cloud. What a blessing it is to be part of a growing story of unity.
Perhaps you're a believer in the Pond Springs area looking for an opportunity to be a part of a growing movement of unity among God's people. Look us up one Sunday in the coming year (if not sooner). We'll be praising God, sharing Jesus, and fellowshipping together as we are led towards an ever-deepening unity of the Spirit.
Maybe you don't know Christ yet or maybe you have some questions about him. We would love to share with you about how He has transformed our lives. Each of us has a story. Jesus has blessed each in a special way. For us Jesus isn't about religion. He is about a relationship. We know Jesus from His word. We know Him in our hearts. And, we know Him from the work He has done in our lives. We know Him and the power of His resurrection and for this, we are thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Everyone arrived at Northwest Fellowship -- this year's host church -- at 6:00PM and immediately were met with a bevy of exquisite sights, sounds, and aromas.
Walking in, what you immediately saw was a melding of hearts. Believers from across the community were smiling, shaking hands, and sharing stories. The mood was light, festive, and full of joy.
The low buzz of voices soon turned into a growing wave of excitement as conversation picked up, as children began playing, and as scrumptious food began making its way from the serving tables to the dining tables.
Many took the opportunity to venture out of their comfort zone and to find new people to meet, new stories to hear, and new excitement to embrace as the work of God in people's lives became evident.
After finishing off a fine meal with some of the best deserts of the season, the real action began. Not only were we blessed to share in the fellowship of a shared meal, we also began to share testimonies of the goodness of God. This part of the service was funny, thrilling, sober, exciting, moving, and altogether wonderful.
One child was humorously thankful for turkey. A mother, with eyes full of tears, was thankful for her children and their father. A passionate man brimming with faith was thankful for "coming down with cancer" and being able to minister to others whom he had met along the way. One man was thankful for the "riches of Christ" made evident in this very gathering. One woman was thankful for God healing her ankle. An introspective man was thankful for his mother and her guidance. A man full of hope was thankful for the way God had brought him to Christ through the untimely death of a young girl whose story had touched his broken heart. Many church leaders and pastors were thankful for the work of God in the community and the power of the Spirit in their churches.
Everyone who shared a testimony had something important to say about the work and will of God. He was the spotlight of the night. This chorus of testimonies swelled in tribute to the power, love, mercy, and grace of God. There were many more, but this small glimpse is enough to stir your heart in praise!
After testifying to the power and grace of God, our thanksgiving gathering rose to our feet to sing and worship. We sang with hearts and hands lifted up to the Most High, reaching towards heaven with a hope for the witness of Christian unity to continue to spread.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
What an anthem of celebration and worship! But, it doesn't end there. After this melody to the Master of Life, there were two more blessings of God waiting to unfold.
First, as we've done in the past, we gathered in small prayer circles comprised of representatives from all the churches. Here, on an intimate and tender level, we shared our prayer needs and then prayed for one another. The whole room was alive with entreaties to the Father of Heaven and Earth.
In my own little circle of petition, we praised God for his work of mercy, we thanked him for our loved ones, we celebrated new friends, we asked for the work of Christ to abound, we praised God for his amazing grace, and we thanked God for the power of the cross to tear down dividing lines of creed, color, and class. What a blessing it was!
Finally, at the very end of the evening, after two hours full of food, fellowship, and faith, the entire body of believers encircled the sanctuary, held hands and prayed to God as a final expression of our blessings, our thanks, and our allegiance to be one in Christ.
Driving home was like riding on a cloud. What a blessing it is to be part of a growing story of unity.
Perhaps you're a believer in the Pond Springs area looking for an opportunity to be a part of a growing movement of unity among God's people. Look us up one Sunday in the coming year (if not sooner). We'll be praising God, sharing Jesus, and fellowshipping together as we are led towards an ever-deepening unity of the Spirit.
Maybe you don't know Christ yet or maybe you have some questions about him. We would love to share with you about how He has transformed our lives. Each of us has a story. Jesus has blessed each in a special way. For us Jesus isn't about religion. He is about a relationship. We know Jesus from His word. We know Him in our hearts. And, we know Him from the work He has done in our lives. We know Him and the power of His resurrection and for this, we are thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
2 comments:
John 17:11-23 (New International Version)
11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Yes, firefighter19! It really feels good for a church family to be a part of an answer to a prayer -- especially, when it's a prayer of Jesus!
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