Monday Morning Musings ...

The last Monday of the year. Which amazingly made yesterday the last Sunday of the year. Funny how that works. Yesterday felt somewhat disjointed. I think some of it had to do with having all of the Christmas decorations down in our worship center. That just made things feel rather stark and bare. We were missing some musicians which impacted our singing during worship. Our attendance was down from the previous Sundays, but it was 18-20 above the last Sunday of last year, so that is not bad. Even with all of that it was still a good day. The Spirit was good during the entire worship service, we had a good time of prayer, I didn't blow the message (hey, it has happened before) and people really hung around to talk with each other after the service. That is a great sign of good atmosphere in a church.

Last evening a young adult lady from our church shared about her mission experience. She is 3 months into a 10-12 month missions trip in Germany. She is part of a team that is helping to launch a new church in Germany. I love that we are beginning to become a sending church. We have helped send off 4 people in past 18 months on missions trips ranging from 6 weeks to 11 months in length. They have gone to the Middle East, South Africa and Germany. We are to be about reaching the world, next door and across the waters. I pray that the spirit of missions will continue to grow in our congregation and that we will see increasing numbers of people going on short and long term trips.

Friday evening I had the priviledge of baptizing an older man who, because of physical reasons, cannot participate in our regular times of baptism at outdoor ponds. He is older and recently has acknowledged his faith in Christ and began to ask questions about baptism. He had his kids and grandkids there to be his witnesses and it was a special time. My favorite part was seeing the look on his wife's face after the event.

Don't give up on people you are praying for, you never know when they may make their decision. Baptisms and baby dedications are a couple of my favorite things in ministry.

Here's hoping that you have a great New Year's Eve and can enjoy the memories of the evening tomorrow. Here's hoping that you will sense God's presence in a fresh way this year. Here's hoping that more people will come to faith in Christ this year as a result of my life, witness and ministry.