A Great Day

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1: 3-4).

Today was a great day. Twas one of those blessed days for a pastor where he gets to see the Holy Spirit display His fruit before his very eyes.

Preaching on Grace. This morning I received the opportunity to preach on Grace as The Reason to Carry on (Luke 17:7-10) -- Grace is easily the doctrine that fires me up more than any other.

Elders Presented: I also had the blessing to present our two new (and...only...) elders before our congregation -- as well as two other godly gentlemen who will continue to meet with the Elders as "Elders-in-Training." These are men who have displayed such genuine care for one another (and for me) over the past few months. At the very end of the service, I asked everyone to get out of their seats and come further toward the front to pray for these men. Many remarked at how powerfully the Spirit was working in this morning's service! Praise God!

Baptizin': Lastly, we not only had our first public baptism at SCC but I had the pleasure of baptizing the first person who has trusted Christ (that I know of) since coming in January. I sat down with Linda and another person in early February when she asked me, "How do I become a Christian?" YES!!

What a gift of grace today has been. I pray this might be even a small encouragement for any reading -- that He longs to be gracious toward His children. Praise be to the giver of all good things!