Thanks to all those who made this quarter's Men's "Mercy" Seminar so great! For those of you who missed it, it was inspired. We started off the day with a standard time of fellowship. Thirty-eight guys from various churches in the community got together to share their achievements, the struggles, and the Word of God with each other. A special thanks to both Jeff and Tim who provided us with an inspiring time of music worship. There's nothing quite like a room resonating with the sound of men's voices raised up to the Lord!
Pastor Tom started us off with an energetic message about what the Word says mercy is and why it is important in our lives. He reminded us what Jesus told us in Matthew 25:40: "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." We were reminded that we as Christians are to show mercy to others like Christ showed mercy to us.
While this was surely a hard act to follow, Chris Wagner stepped up to the challenge. Chris shared with us why it is important for us as men to show mercy to others. Citing examples from his own life, Chris reminded us that while we are the leaders and protectors of our households, we also are its chief priests and we are to always act in a way that is reflective of that. Chris reminded us to be in the spirit of the Lord rather than in our fleshly desires.
We broke for a great lunch provided by Jacquie and Don. Every man there had their fill (many of us more than our fill) of Jacquie's fresh baked cornbread muffins and homemade chili and Don's expertly grilled steaks. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better (or our stomachs any more full) the ladies of the church provided us with some amazing cookies and brownies.
We reconvened with Billy Weaver sharing with us his testimony of how as a former gang member and 70+ convicted felon the Lord reached into his life to not only get him released over 60 years early but gave him a wonderful wife, great children, and a job he could never have expected. Billy shared some moving moments of his life that he had never openly shared before to a rapt audience that began to understand just how much the mercy of the Lord can change a man's life.
We ended the day with Brother Mike teaching us about the mercy in a man's life using chapters 32-33 of the book of Genesis as an example. Through his retelling of the story of Jacob and Esau we learned how a man must be submitted to God, or God will bring him to submission. God being our father will teach us the lessons we need in life, and through that show us love and mercy. Mike went on through an amusing UFC analogy, to tell us that in turn we as men of God must show mercy to others and "get away from our 'tap, snap, or nap' mentality" as men.
Thanks again to all of you for making this event great. Most especially we would like to thank Brother Danny who organized this amazing event. We hope to see you at our next seminar on October 29th on "Service" from 10-2 at VCC. We would also like to invite you to our Men's Breakfast at VCC every second Saturday starting at 8am, where we are systematically studying and discussing the Gospel of John. May your day be blessed and the Lord be in your lives. Amen.
