Monday, December 17, 2007

Novelene's Confession

Yesterday, I preached on Genesis 45 and reconciliation. In Genesis 45, Joseph gets creation right. He gets us back to Genesis 1-2. The overarching theme of Genesis is this--God created creation to live in relationship with God and with each other. Joseph had every right to respond with an eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth mentality. He had the power. He had the authority. But instead, Joseph wept and reconciled.

There were a few responses to the sermon. A young wife and mother confessed in tears that her relationship with her in-laws is rocky right now. We laid hands on her prayed. Another woman wanted our prayers for her sick nephew. But it was Novelene's request that melted my heart. She said that she has a sister that she hasn't talked to in years. She felt compelled to attempt to call her yesterday to try to make things right. Yesterday was her sister's birthday. She also cried, as she verbally confessed to not loving Narcine (the woman I talked about last week) the way that a Christian should. Many of us held our heads in shame. She was speaking for us all.

God was present. God was active.

Last night, I sat in a room of people that have been walking lives of faith for decades, yet they spoke with great conviction about their journey to find disciplines that draw them nearer to the heart of God.

Needless to say, I went home a blessed man. This is a great church! More than that, God is doing some amazing things in our midst.
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Any testimonies/stories of God working yesterday?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes! When you got to the part where Joseph made everyone get out of the room as he wept at his reconciliation with his brothers, I could not possibly stay sitting down. I stood up and stayed there till you were done. Fortunately I was in the sound booth so I guess no one noticed. It would have been a bit odd in the pew. Then to hear Novelene's confession, it was like a wave going across the room.

mchristophoros

Anonymous said...

One of the regrets that I have in life is not reconciling with a former friend. The details of what caused our friendship to sour and who was right(and wrong) really do not mean anything now because they died suddenly. You always think that you will have tomorrow with someone and you really do not.