[numbers 1-8 are here...]
9. I love how our church tries to deal with all the timber in the world... all the logs in our own eyes. O, I know we are not perfect at this, but I see people all the time being honest with themselves, confessing their sins to one another, trying to eradicate (by the grace of God) those redwoods that stick out of our eyes.
10. I love how people in our church choose to have relationships with one another simply because we are in this church.
11. I love how friendly our church can be on our best days. We are not perfect at this, but I love those Sundays when new folks come and 10 or 42 of you find them out, welcome them, spontaneously invite them back to your home for lunch, find some way to help them or just walk over and shake their hand.
12. I love the way the men of our church are trying to be servant leaders... being the first to set up or take down chairs without complaint, volunteering for jobs that aren’t very nice, taking leadership positions, leading out in prayer, etc.
13. I love the way the woman of our church are more concerned about sharpening each other in the things of the Lord than they are with discussing the latest hair styles or episode of Oprah.
14. I love the youth in our church! What an incredible bunch of teenagers! Where else do you see a bunch of kids sitting up front, taking notes, asking questions, contributing to discussions, choosing to be friends with each other, avoiding all cliques and backbiting and silly teenager stuff? And I love that they are trying to live that way at school too, not just here on Sundays!
15. I love the Middlers! What a fun group of kids, who love the Truth, love each other, love the games Josh can make up on Wednesday nights, love to talk about what the Lord is teaching them.
16. I love the Juniors! I mean, who couldn’t?
17. I love the gym and the fact that we can set up chairs different ways to help guard us from falling into unhealthy routines that deaden our worship. I love the fact there are windows in our gym and that we can see some nature while we worship the Creator of that nature. I love the fact that it is a gym and that we are constantly forced to consider that worship is a matter of the location of the heart, not the location of the body.
18. I love the families in our church and that they are trying to live godly in this present age. I love that they are trying to love their kids and that they value children and are doing all they can to train their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
[still more to come...]
I'm finding reading this list very refreshing and encouraging. It's nice to see a pastor who loves his congregation. Thanks, Paul.
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