An Advent Call to Worship

"God of power and mercy, You call us once again to celebrate the coming of your Son. Remove those things that hinder our love of You, that when He comes, He may find us waiting in awe and wonder for Him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!" -Advent Call to Worship, The Worship Sourcebook

This Advent prayer is an excellent reminder (for all seasons!) of our desire to be "waiting in awe and wonder" for our Savior's return!

A Great (And Uncomfortable) Reminder...

Erik Kowalker over at www.jcrylequotes.com shared this power-packed Ryle quote today:

"Men entertain thoughts in private, and say words in private, and do acts in private, which they would be ashamed and blush to have exposed before the world. There is an all-seeing Witness with us wherever we go. Lock the door, draw down the blind, shut the shutters, put out the candle; it matters not, it makes no difference; God is everywhere, you cannot shut Him out and prevent His seeing."

And just think... this was long before the Internet!

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...?