1208 saturday night

It was overcast and the wind was picking up as my parents dropped me off for the Saturday evening service at SBCC. I was a bit early, so I chatted with some friends in the lobby. The service started on time at 5pm, with worship led by Pastor Nathan.

After worship and opening messages, the sermon opened with a dramatic sketch. Two young girls (Girl-A and Girl-B) walked on stage with a park landscape in the background. They talked about their love lives and Girl-B talked about the great guy she just met. Her description of him sounded just like that of a dog. Sure enough, a young guy bounded onto the stage on all fours and nuzzled right next to Girl-B.

Girl-A was shocked by this behavior, and the guy just growled at her. She argued a case that the guy was only with Girl-B as long as his immediate needs are met, but won’t be around when Girl-B really needed him. It was a funny sketch, but it reminded us that human relationships are temporary and unreliable.

Pastor Gary came onstage and continued his series on “If It’s A Wonderful Life ...” with this weekend’s installment of “... Where’s The Love?” He talked about how God did not intend for man to be alone. Genesis 2:18 reads “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’

Yet loneliness is a state that man faces quite often. Even Paul felt this shortly before his execution. He wrote in 2 Timothy 4:9-11 “Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”

But he also added, in Verse 17: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength ....” No matter how alone you feel, God will be with you at all times. Pastor Gary emphasized the importance of being a part of the church family and the SBCC family is no exception. There are lifegroups and ministries that people can be involved with.

I am reminded of my own Koinonia lifegroup. which meets tomorrow afternoon, and I will be unable to attend that meeting. Koinonia is my second family, with seven sisters and brothers in Christ (Sheri, Liz, Wendi, Sam, Stephanie, Jennifer and Eric). They are people I can turn to in difficult times and I know I can count on each one of them.

After the service, I wheeled to the kitchen to grab some of the Supper Saturday being served. There was chili dogs, spaghetti, rice and salad. Dessert was pecan pastries, bread pudding, and something chocolate.

At 7:30pm in the kitchen, Mike convened a meeting to discuss the framework of the upcoming Faith Lessons, scheduled to start on Saturday, February 16th, and will meet for five weeks. I will be handling the a/v booth duties and the five lessons will be moderated by Mike, Carol, Judy, John M, Carlton, and Steve T. Kiyomi will be handling the greeting for each meeting.

The meeting lasted for a couple of hours and Mike was able to give me a ride home. It was just starting to rain again ....