Jason & Beth Sessoms Share About Rosa

Dan asked Beth and I to write a little bit about Rosa Porter. This has created two dilemmas for us. On the one hand, it is almost impossible to put into words how great of a lady she is. So no matter how hard we try, we will fall short at expressing to you how wonderful she is. The other dilemma is that in trying to be honest about how special she is, we will most certainly come across as making her out to be perfect. But the truth is, she is as near perfect as anyone we have ever met. No, really.

Some background for you, she is the wife of our former pastor, Roy Porter. And to say he is our former pastor is not an adequate description of our relationship with him. Our family spends birthdays, holidays and other special events with the Porters throughout the year. And although we are no longer members of the church he pastors, he will always be a spiritual father to us and we grow closer as friends with each new day.

Now about Miss Rosa. If she has ever had a negative word to say to or about someone, then we have not heard it or heard about it. She is probably the only person we can say that about, and she certainly is the only redhead we can say that about. Though she must have flaws, we have never seen them or heard anyone else point them out to us. She has the rare ability to make everyone feel like they are the most important person in the room. She speaks with a soft voice but people listen. She gives wise counsel. she invests in people's lives. She is precious, simply precious. You must meet her to know.

Praying For Rosa Porter

Here is Pastor Roy Porter's link to stay updated about his wife Rosa's surgery: http://www.rnporter.wordpress.com/

Let's continue to pray for them.

O Almighty God, who art the giver of all health,
and the aid of them that turn to thee for succour;
We entreat thy strength and goodness in behalf of thy servant,
that she may be healed of her infirmities, to thine honour and glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

-A Prayer for Healing
The Book of Common Prayer, 1789 AD

All Saints Day Celebration

This Sunday, Nov. 1, is All Saints Day. I know, your first thought might be, "What in the world is All Saints Day... isn't that just some Roman Catholic thing?"

You might be a bit surprised, but many Protestants celebrate this holy day including Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans, and other "liturgical" churches. But admittedly, it hasn't been very popular among most "non-liturgical" evangelicals, such as Baptists or Pentecostals. I'll be honest, I didn't think much of this holy day until a few years ago. That has changed.

Some of my beloved friends (many of whom are listed as links on this blog) may think I've gone completely (and liturgically) nuts, but I'm going all out for this little holy day in 2009! So this Sunday at Servant's Heart Fellowship we will explore the value of All Saints Day, celebrate the redemptive work of Christ in the whole church, and even sing a new song, specifically written by Jason for our celebration of All Saints Day.

See you all Sunday! I'll be wearing robes. Not really.

Sunday Quotes!

Last Sunday we celebrated one of the most important verses in Mark's gospel: "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." -Mark 10:45.

As usual, my old friend JC Ryle was helpful:

"By that death Jesus made a full and complete satisfaction for man's countless transgressions. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. When He died, He died for us. When He suffered, He suffered in our stead. When He hung on the cross, He hung there as our Substitute. When His blood flowed, it was the price of our souls."

"It is true that we are sinners, but Christ has borne our sins. It is true that we are poor helpless debtors, but Christ has paid our debts. It is true that we deserve to be shut up forever in the prison of hell. But thanks be to God, Christ has paid a full and complete ransom for us. The door is wide open. The prisoners may go free. May we all know this privilege by heartfelt experience, and walk in the blessed liberty of the children of God."

Maybe I need to add Ryle's name as co-pastor of SHF...?

"With Man It Is Impossible, But Not With God."

The late great CS Lewis once said, "It was not until I tried to clean up my life that I finally realized how truly sinful I was."

Too bad this was not the experience of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-27. Instead of realizing his own sinfulness, he actually thinks he is good enough to save himself. Even after Jesus lovingly exposes this young man's sinful heart, he still ends up walking away unchanged... and still unable to save himself. This encounter prompts our Lord to inform his disciples that it is impossible for people to save themselves. Only God can do this.

This Sunday we will apply this passage and celebrate His saving grace!

Youth Lesson: "Substitution of Christ on the Cross"

Last night Jason Sessoms taught our youth about the substitution of Christ on the cross. I firmly believe that there is no topic more important than this one. He has made his lesson available here. I urge all of you to download the lesson, read it over carefully, and then once again be utterly amazed by God's incredible and generous mercy.

"Sermons You Need To Hear"

No surprise to those who know me well, but I listen to a lot of sermons. So I decided that one new way I could serve you better is to pass some of these along to you! I'll call it "Sermons You Need To Hear" (creative, huh?).

Just finished listening to my friend Jim Upchurch's sermon about serving. In it he mentions that he uses the word "great" way too much and subsequently, if everything is great... then nothing really is. His point was obvious: Jesus defines "greatness" very different than our culture does. It is an excellent sermon and I recommend you go listen to it. He has a one-two punch combo near the end that should cause you to repent of serving out of selfishness... I know I did.

You can find this sermon here.