Great, great sermon this morning, the first that's really spoken to me in quite some time. Given that it's late at night and I still have to work on Mondays (last time for a little while), I will share on it later when I have more time to meditate on it. I almost never listen to the sermons when they post them online -- I think I've done it exactly once since I joined the Vineyard -- but this one bears listening to again.
I wanted to write because one of the things my church is doing for Lent is having us pray for three people that are currently not following Jesus. As I've been thinking about the the last couple weeks, two people immediately jumped to mind, but it was only today that the third person came to mind. The first two I've known a long time, both of whom I've had various discussions regarding faith, spirituality and religion. The first believes (sort of) but doesn't practice, having been emotionally abused by the church and still left bitter by a lifetime of bad experiences. The second neither believes nor practices. But every time I see his heart I see that some of the Christ's dearest characteristics are deeply embedded.
The third is someone I know far less than the first two. But when I saw him relatively recently I found I was drawn to him while conversing with him. I sense that he has gone through a lot of pain, and that because of a possible higher sensitivity life affects him more.
My church is not asking for me specifically to pray that these three come/return to Jesus. But my church is asking for me to pray for God to bless them. My personal wish is for them to experience God in a tangible way. I consider myself blessed in that during the rocky middle years of my journey (2004-2009) I got to experience him at least twice. I can only hope that others (particularly these three people) can have this benefit as well.
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