We had a Response Time Sunday at Riverbluff and it was particularly sweet.
We may lose our orthodoxy papers from the SBC for this but we don't have a "walk-down-the-aisle-public -'just-as-I-am' Invitation" every worship service.Haven't for years. We do give an invitation at every service but the invitation is to meet with one of us to talk about salvation, re-dedication, growth, or any other issues. We have a prayer team available at the end of every service to pray with those who need someone to pray with or for them. We also have a Response Sunday once a month (thanx to my friend Greg) where we offer multiple possibilities for public commitments.
The whole point of writing the last paragraph was to explain the wonderful service we had Sunday.
We gave the invitation to be saved, to repent of sin, to publicly thank God for what He is doing in one's life or around them. One could pray with our prayer teams, confess sins nailing them to the cross, or take communion.
This morning at our staff meeting we read the sheets people had put into baskets all over the auditorium where they see God working in their lives or around them. It was wonderful to read so many who have experienced genuine growth personally. The number of people who were seeing God at work was amazing. Mostly in the lives of the poor and needy. There were also words about healings and jobs and other things.
When we read the sins that people repented of and nailed to the two crosses, it was heart breaking. Sin still has too much of a hold on Christians and we prayed long and heard about recurring sins. Sin is still destructive. What was wonderful was the people who repented of sin and made a commitment to grow stronger and avoid that sin in the future. They threw themselves on the mercy and grace of God and you could see their sincerity in the notes they wrote.
These response days are sweet to me and to the staff and leadership here at the River. We thank God for what He is doing in us, through us, and around us. Our prayer is that God will do great things in us and around us and that He will use us to change the world.
Just thinking about it...
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