It was a wonderful start to a new semester at Mt. Hermon! There, we spent three days in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains, and soaked in God’s challenge to us to be true disciples in the upcoming year. For some, it was a brand new call that warranted a brand new decision. During the first message, Pastor Ed taught from Luke 14:15-24, and we saw through that passage that it was often the good things, wealth, accomplishments, romance, –that keep us from turning to God. We think what we have is so great, and that what God has to offer is bland. But the reality is that He is inviting us to a banquet; a banquet of true joy. After all, he is the God of creation–a creation that is teeming with life and variety and abundance. Pastor Ed poured out his heart for us, and indeed it was a banquet for the soul. In addition to great teaching, we enjoyed scrumptious meals, such as pork and beef roasts, baked sweet potatoes, and colorful salads. Over these wonderful meals, we enjoyed fellowship with members of Gracepoint across all of the departments, from all over the bay area.
But perhaps the deepest fellowship we enjoyed were through the personal testimonies that many bravely shared; stories of how God rescued them from a place that they could not free themselves from. We heard from many of the older ones who are now huge blessings and sources of love in our community. It was freeing for many to hear that yes, while sin happens to us all, grace, mercy, forgiveness and redemption can happen to us all as well, if we will let it happen. Through these testimonies many found the strength and courage too, to come out into the light and get the prayer and support they needed to go from unfree to free. And who can forget the praise! Joe Horness, a talented and godly praise leader flew in from Chicago to lead us in worship and prayer. His passion for worship really led us into the presence of God. I guess you could say thats exactly what the whole weekend did: it brought us all to really experience the life-changing presence of God, and fired us up for the year. Jenn, Jessica, Jennifer, Crissy, and I had a grand time! We hope you can join us next year
