15 August Sunday Reflections
Here's a link to the sermon from Sunday.
Lots of interesting stuff from today.
*Great crowd and energy this morning. Loved it.
*We read (and memorized) the first and second most important commandments (according to Jesus). Mark 12:28-31. I also revealed what the third most important commandment is. Any guesses? Ask me on Facebook if you are interested. You won't find the answer in the sermon.
*It IS true that I recommended NOT loving your neighbor as yourself under a particular circumstance. If you hate yourself or think no one loves you or that you are insignificant, you should probably love your neighbor as you love someone that you admire. The key to "love your neighbor as yourself (the second commandment)" is to follow the first commandment and get your image of yourself from your relationship with God.
*I forgot my Steven Slater illustration in the morning worship. So you can read the sermon for that. It's at the end. Note: the last line should be read with sarcasm.
*We had a great crowd in the evening too, which always happens when there is a crisis.
*Mark (our worship leader for Sunday night) called around 2 to tell me that his ex-wife was in critical condition and he was flying out to Oz. Please pray for Mark and his ex. She is critically ill and likely won't make it for more than a few days.
*Andy jumped right in and did a great job tonight on short notice. And Marion added a wonderful voice. Thanks also to Den for being a possibility if I couldn't find anyone else. Worst case senario is that Stewart (me) plays for the service. It has happened 1 time in 2.5 years. And everyone said "Amen".
*Heard that our group trip to Nongbualampoo was fabulous! A group of seven from Intl Church went up to encourage and learn from Elisha Children's Home ministry. Looking forward to great testimonies about the trip in the near future.
*I'm beginning to think this "retreat" weekend is going to be huge. Lots of people are asking about it.
*Sad story of the night. One of our evening folks is a Sri Lankan Tamil. He's a refugee in Bangkok and has a hard life. He never knows where he's going to get his next meal. I hadn't seen him since the riots. Apparently he lost his ID so he's been in hiding (even more than normal). He mentioned the Canadian Story. 450 Tamil refugees floated on the open sea for 3 months. Arriving illegally in Canada last week. My friend told me the ship originated in Bangkok and that many of his friends were aboard. He said he would have been aboard too if he had enough money. The human smugglers charged $20,000!!! Our Tamil friend laughed, "I have 1 baht" he said. Pray for those who are desperate enough to pay that kind of money to flee their own country.
I'm off to Sukothai Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Be back Wednesday night.
Lots of interesting stuff from today.
*Great crowd and energy this morning. Loved it.
*We read (and memorized) the first and second most important commandments (according to Jesus). Mark 12:28-31. I also revealed what the third most important commandment is. Any guesses? Ask me on Facebook if you are interested. You won't find the answer in the sermon.
*It IS true that I recommended NOT loving your neighbor as yourself under a particular circumstance. If you hate yourself or think no one loves you or that you are insignificant, you should probably love your neighbor as you love someone that you admire. The key to "love your neighbor as yourself (the second commandment)" is to follow the first commandment and get your image of yourself from your relationship with God.
*I forgot my Steven Slater illustration in the morning worship. So you can read the sermon for that. It's at the end. Note: the last line should be read with sarcasm.
*We had a great crowd in the evening too, which always happens when there is a crisis.
*Mark (our worship leader for Sunday night) called around 2 to tell me that his ex-wife was in critical condition and he was flying out to Oz. Please pray for Mark and his ex. She is critically ill and likely won't make it for more than a few days.
*Andy jumped right in and did a great job tonight on short notice. And Marion added a wonderful voice. Thanks also to Den for being a possibility if I couldn't find anyone else. Worst case senario is that Stewart (me) plays for the service. It has happened 1 time in 2.5 years. And everyone said "Amen".
*Heard that our group trip to Nongbualampoo was fabulous! A group of seven from Intl Church went up to encourage and learn from Elisha Children's Home ministry. Looking forward to great testimonies about the trip in the near future.
*I'm beginning to think this "retreat" weekend is going to be huge. Lots of people are asking about it.
*Sad story of the night. One of our evening folks is a Sri Lankan Tamil. He's a refugee in Bangkok and has a hard life. He never knows where he's going to get his next meal. I hadn't seen him since the riots. Apparently he lost his ID so he's been in hiding (even more than normal). He mentioned the Canadian Story. 450 Tamil refugees floated on the open sea for 3 months. Arriving illegally in Canada last week. My friend told me the ship originated in Bangkok and that many of his friends were aboard. He said he would have been aboard too if he had enough money. The human smugglers charged $20,000!!! Our Tamil friend laughed, "I have 1 baht" he said. Pray for those who are desperate enough to pay that kind of money to flee their own country.
I'm off to Sukothai Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Be back Wednesday night.
