I love it when God’s presence is so prominent in a worship service that everyone in attendance is aware of it. Yesterday was one of those times. The day was not without its issues and our sound system was one of those issues again yesterday. But it was a good to very good day, some of the reasons were …

-Early in the service there was a real sense of God’s presence.

-People came to the altar to pray while the congregation was singing. This was an answer to prayer. A prayer for there to be much greater freedom during worship and for the altar to become a prominent place in our worship. I especially love that it was without any human prompting.

-Our attendance was good and the attendance of what is a “regular” Sunday has gone up dramatically in the past few months.

-People are noticing and seeking out people when they are absent. I love the sense of accountability and care that this shows.

-There was a great time of conversation and real fellowship after the service as people took their time leaving the building. I believe people hanging around to converse with one another is a good sign.

-There were some additional people who expressed interest in serving in our children’s ministry.

-I am very excited to see what is going to happen in the next month or two in our church. Yesterday was the beginning of a new series on prayer with a daily devotional to go with the series. There seemed to be some genuine excitement from some people for this study.

-Even with the excitement that I sensed from some people I was disappointed with the number of people who did not take a copy of the devotional study.

-Our small group was very good again last evening. There was some very vulnerable discussions about our personal prayer lives. I am interested to see what is going to happen in our group during this study.

-This morning feels like I have crashed. I pushed so hard through the weekend in preparation for this new series and this morning I am feeling the impact. I am having to remind myself that part of this is a natural effect of recovering from pushing so hard last week.

-This week I need to get going quickly because I will be gone 3 days at a conference.

Here’s hoping you are enjoying your reflections of yesterday. Here’s hoping you have someone to encourage and someone who will encourage you today. Here’s hoping that you sense God’s presence in a powerful and tangible way this week.

Dennis