THE BEST CHURCH SERVICE EVER

This might be overstating it a little bit, and I do admit I am a little prejudice. I am sure that if I was at your church on Easter Sunday, I would say the same thing about your service. But, I really think that yesterday, here at Grace Baptist Church in Westlake, Ohio, I experienced the best church service ever. Maybe I should just say that it was my personal favorite and not the best one; but this is my blog, so I get to write whatever I want!

Let me just briefly tell you why I think it was the best service ever. After the opening video clip of the resurrection from the movie: "The Gospel of John", with Newsong's "Arise My Love" playing in the background, we entered into a 3 part Easter service. First, I talked about the statement Jesus made that everyone has to make a decision about whether they believe it or not: "I am the Resurrection and the Life".

In that section, I had the privilege of baptizing 9 people (5 adults, 4 children) and this included my daughter Breanna! There were testimonies given of how God changed their lives, so that they came to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and then decided to take this step of obedience through baptism. Each testimony was unique and heartfelt. Even one of the men shed tears as he shared his story - it was awesome!

After some traditional Easter worship with the choir leading, we entered the next section of the service. The second section was about the disciples of Jesus who were a part of the first church; and because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, they experienced incredible fellowship as they set out to serve God together. In this section, we heard 8 additional testimonies from people who had been baptized in the past, but were now interested in joining with us as members, for accountability and partnership in the gospel.

I never get tired of hearing how God has changed lives. Again, these testimonies were varied, as some were young, some older, coming from a variety of backgrounds. I realized, as they were speaking, that what I hoped for was true: any message I could have spoken (I spoke for about 15 minutes all together) paled in comparison to the messages spoken by changed lives. These testimonies by those who were already followers of Christ were great presentations of the good news of what Jesus did for us. I was thinking about and praying for those non-believers that were present at our Easter service, listening to these powerful "messages".

Our worship team led in some great classic worship songs for Easter: In Christ Alone and The Power of the Cross. These helped me focus on what Jesus did for us, as well as how the resurrection made such a difference. This led into the 3rd and final section of the service. I talked about the Apostle Paul and his pursuit of growing in his relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of the power of the resurrection, Paul faced his sins and weaknesses, and gave his full effort to know Christ and serve Him faithfully.

Before our closing song, we finished the service with 22 cardboard testimonies. Although it is not our church, you can see somewhat what is was like by looking at another church doing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

But, I testify that watching this on video, although moving, doesn't come remotely close to how moving our 22 cardboard testimonies were. The reason is, of course, that I knew the people that were sharing these things. The idea was that the person had written a "negative" thing on one side of the poster (i.e. working hard for the praise of others; unexplained infertility; Old life - foul mouth). And then, because of the power of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, a positive change was listed (i.e. Resting in God's acceptance as His child; We're pregnant, trusting God's plan; New Life- new vocabulary by the power of Christ).

Again, there were a variety of ages involved and a variety of testimonies: some about physical healings or struggles; relationship problems; personal, spiritual growth; and just the change brought about by salvation. I cannot explain in this writing how I was feeling as I watched each person go up and "share their testimony" by showing their poster. All the while, in the background, the songs were playing: "Hallelujah to My King" and "Lift High". To see people sharing their personal struggles and how God is working in their lives is exactly what I go into ministry for in the first place. And the great thing is: it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the ongoing power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

We ended our service by singing together our song for the month: "Hallelujah to My King". Even for me, it was hard to keep the tears back, based on what I had just experienced. May God use those powerful "messages" in the lives of those that were there to witness it. The power of God still changes lives. I'm counting on it!

I'm sure this didn't convince you it was the best service ever; but then again - I don't care - this is my blog! (and my reading audience is not that big). Hi MOM!

Greg