BAPTISM!

Wow! What a great day for GCF!

Yesterday more than 100 people crowded the shoreline at Haithco Park as six people went full-bore public with their faith in Jesus Christ. They were baptized in the clear pleasant water, and when they came up out of the lake the crowd cheered!

As soon as I get some pictures I'll post them here. In the meantime, let's continue to be excited about these people and what God is doing:

Isaac Negranza
Ryan Kingham
Karra Owczarzak
Bradley Landon
Lesley Wager
Sue Townsend

Also, when you see my wife Linda, give her a BIG HUG! She's the one who put the afternoon together, and we all had a great time!

Pastor Ron

The Blues

Hey.

What a great service Sunday. The band, as my wife says, was HOT! We are so blessed to have a great group of musicians under the humble and capable leadership of Doug. Thanks, guys.

Some of you asked me where I got the "Blues Primer" I used Sunday. Here's a link: Blues Primer. My special thanks to guitar teacher Stephen Compton for this hilarious bit.

Some of you also asked for the lyrics to "Evangelical Church-Going Blues," although I can't imagine why. It's the band that made that song any good! But, here are the lyrics:

Woke up this mornin, I was late for church (2X)
Woke up and realized I forgot to wash my shirt,
And now this wrinkled button down is showin all my dirt,

I got the evangelical church-goin blues. (2X)

Pulled into the parkin lot, sometin missin from my life, (2X)
Got out of the car and realized, I forgot to bring my wife,
She waitin back at home and I am gonna face some real strife,

I got the evangelical church goin blues. (2X)

Preacher at the pulpit, he got up in my face (2X)
He told me where I goin and he put me in my place
He said, “I want your InfoCard, or you are a disgrace”

I got the Grace Christian Fellowship,

Amelith Road,

Sunday Mornin,

People Lovin,

Evanglical church going (BIG FINISH!) blu—es!

Have a great week. Don't forget about our car wash push this Saturday at noon. Meet at the church!

Pastor Ron

Psalms So Far

I realize the blog had not been a regular part of the summer for me, and hence probably not for you. But I've been enjoying the series on worship, "here i am," and I'm wondering how you are feeling about it.

Here's where we've been. We've talked about worship as the intersection of God's greatness and our brokenness. We've discussed how worship amplifies God's character, and in so doing diminishes our place in the universe. Worship is a humbling experience.

Because of all this, worship needs to be honest. In fact, any other approach to worship nullifies it. In other words, if you worship in deceit, if you're trying to fool God when you're praising him, if you "put on airs" during worship, it's not worship at all. You've reduced God to someone who can be scammed, and you've covered yourself in lies, and that's not worship.

And last week we looked at emotion in worship--one of the things that Psalms are all about. Joy, happiness, contentment, peace, anger, depression, grief, frustration, and even jealousy all show up in various psalms. Talk about honesty!

Here's the thing that blows me away: God allowed all that into the manuscript. God, through the elaborate and elegant process of inspiration, shows us how honesty and vulnerability operates when we come face to face with him in worship.

Psalms are the songs and poetic content for the worship of the people of Israel, and serve as a model for our worship. So how does your own personal worship, whether in church or without, compare to what's going on in Psalms?

Let me hear what you're thinking.

Pastor Ron