The Son of Encouragement

Hello everyone,

Quickly, I want to put a note out there before I go away to Soul Survivor and can't get to my computer for the next week.

This morning Penny and I led the service at GSG and it went really well. We were discussing the falling out between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15. Barnabas wants to take John Mark along on the next journey, but Paul refuses because John Mark had abandoned them once before. Paul, though he's a great hero in the church, gets it wrong here, I think. It's Barnabas who chooses to invest in John Mark when he was a "risky investment," which, of course, is a real Christ-like way of treating him. I mean, how many of us have deserved Christ's love? Um, none. And yet, he loves us and pours his Spirit into us regardless of our history. As Christians, then, it's our responsibility to pour into others in turn, just as Barnabas had done for Paul (Acts 9) and then for John Mark (Acts 15). Anyway, that's what we talked about. The Lord was really there and I think it really impacted some people in a positive way.

Tomorrow Penny and I leave for Soul Survivor for a week. I've still got tons of washing and packing to do before then. But please pray for us and the youth that are coming along. Pray that we all be touched by God there. Thanks everyone. I'll report on it all when I get back.