What a good weekend we had at the church!
With our lunch on Saturday to honor area First Responders and our 9/11 remembrance Service yesterday we had a great time. Thanks to all who worked so hard to make those events go so well. Several of the first responders both on Saturday and Sunday expressed how thankful they were for our church and our support.
Great crowd in morning and evening services yesterday. If you weren't in the evening service you missed a first. I had prepared one message on Matthew 24:4-34, but on Sunday afternoon after doing some research on whether or not God answers the prayers of the lost, I wanted to preach on that. So... I preached both messages. I'm not saying that was a good thing, but it was a first. I will post my outline on the second sermon on the blog today or tomorrow. I would be interested in your theological comments.
Next week, both our mission team to the Ukraine and and our mission team to Kenya will board their respective planes and head out for a life changing adventure. I encourage you to to be in prayer for them as they prepare to go.
On a personal note... yes, Donna and I did survive another Auburn // Mississippi State football game. (My wife pulls for MSU, I celebrate with AU.) We were able to watch half the game before we went to the church for the meal with the First Responders. I recorded the second half and pretended I didn't know what the final outcome was (I had followed the score on my cell phone during the lunch. Don't tell anyone.) Donna stuck it out and watched the second half with me when we got back home. I've got to say, she is a loyal fan... a sad loyal fan.
I don't think I ever blogged about my experience a week ago at the OSU game. WOW! I didn't think any school could measure up to the game day experience at Auburn, but I was wrong. Three hours before the game I went to something called the Skull Session, which essentially is the warm up session for the marching band. They closed the gates of the volleyball arena when the crowd reached capacity at 12,000 people! After that, we wondered over to the stadium and watched the game with 104,000 of my closest friends. I've never been somewhere with that many people. The Baptist preacher part of me kept thinking we should take an offering. The game was exciting, but the real excitement came when someone fell from the upper deck to the lower deck about ten rows behind me. They had to carry two people away in stretchers. If you were ever looking for a reason not to drink, you just found a good one!
Enjoy your day!
Noel Dear
