Scripture is Acts 16:16-25 Title is "Songs In The Night". Acts 16: 25, " And, at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto GOD, and the prisoners heard them". Beaten and imprisoned on false charges, Paul and Silas refused to give in to despair. They saw their situation as simply "another opportunity" to Praise The Lord!!! Dont know what hymn they were singing, but it was certainly music to the ears of the other prisoners who were used to hearing groaning and cursing rather than singing and praising. This scripture "picture" reminds me of a line from an old Rolling Stones song of many decades ago. Dont know the title of the song (if you do, let me know), but one line said, 'man you ought to heard them just about midnight', assuming from that that a party must have been going on. Well, I dont know why the folks from that song were having a party "just about midnight", but i doubt if it was the same as Paul and Silas, who in their deepest gloom were singing praise to GOD!! What a testimony, Amen!!! And, as Paul and Silas sang, something awesome happened. The foundation of their dark bondage was shaken. GOD responded to their Doxology by delivering them from their peril and saving the jail keeper and his family as well, not saving them from physical danger, but saving them from eternal danger, the final and utter separation from GOD. Key in for a moment on a phrase from the previous paragraph. The "foundation of their dark bondage was shaken". There are a lot of folks today who are not in physical prison, though some of you who read this may have been, but they are in bondage of many forms. The peril of their bondage is just as deep and dark and filled with despair as was that of Paul and Silas. So, what did they do? The Word tells us that they sang praises. Praise can be a demonstration of our Faith. Praise makes us aware of the powerful presence of The Living GOD. Praise under duress also serves as a powerful witness to an unbelieving world. Now, if we were physically in church, I was going to pause right about here and just ask for words of praise from the congregation. So, if you have any, go ahead and speak them out. Maybe just only you and your family will hear them, or you can "cyber-space" them to others if you choose. Go ahead, think of something you have to praise GOD for. Think of some prison you have been delivered from. Think of some despair GOD has seen you through with victory in Jesus on the other side. Isnt that a neat feeling? Isnt GOD good. A scripture verse in I Thessalonains says, "Faithful is He who calls you, and He will bring it to pass". If GOD has called you and you have accepted His call and given your heart to Him, He is going to be faithful to you. Think about that. We have to receive by faith, and when we do, GOD is faithful. If GOD was not faithful, we would be in a whole lot of trouble. Here is a personal question. If you (or when you have) suffered persecution, which hymn do you sing? What Gopsel tune or chorus or contemporary Christian song gets you through the dark hours of the night? Do you have one? Worship and Praise help us to focus on the Lord instead of our own circumstances. The prayers and praise of Paul and Silas helped usher a jailer and his family into the eternal kingdom of GOD. It is not written, but perhjaps other prisoners as well wanted to know about this Jesus of whom they sang praises to, and perhaps some of them also accepted the love of GOD thorugh Jesus because of the praise and testimony of Paul & Silas. Prayer and Praise unleash GOD's Power even in the darkest night of the soul. Dear Heavenly Father, help us to praise you even in the dark times. * end of message * If we were in church, we would have the Lord's Supper now. Cant do that on cyperspace, but as soon as we meet physically together again, we will do so. thanks for "listening". This message is not copywritten, so feel free to reproduce and share it if The Lord so leads you. Potter's Place has grown to the size that we are looking for a larger space for our worship services! We hope we have found a suitable building to renovate in downtown Saint Leonard, providing God and the county are willing. Stay tuned for more encouraging developments in our missions. To see the schedule at right more clearly, you can click on it and save it as a picture to open in your image viewer and enlarge it.
On Thursday evenings, starting at 7 p.m., we hold a Bible study for adults and older teens at a member's home in Lusby. Our next area of study concerns 'wrestling' with issues central to our Christian faith to enable us better to do our work. This Bible study course will start on 14 January. If you are interested in joining this good 6-week study and fellowship, please contact the pastor so we can order the books and give you directions. The book is "Fellowship with Believers'.
The crack-of-dawn prayer meetings at the Auction House at 0630 on Thursday mornings continue throughout the year--all are welcome to get their day started right there. See map for details. The Adult Bible Study will be held on Thursday nights at a home in Lusby. Please contact him (below) for directions. If the schedule on the right be hard to read, you can 'right-click' on it, 'save the picture as' something on your machine, and enlarge it with your computerized image software. We want to meet you where you are and hopefully help you grow in a meaningful relationship with God, through Jesus. We are people who struggle as we face the daily pressures of life. We are also people who are experiencing the life and joy of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. We would like nothing more than to have you join us as we seek, learn, and grow together in our spiritual walks with God.
Whether you're seeking God, curious about our fellowship, or attend our worship regularly, there's something for you here. Our church exists to minister to the real needs of people with the authentic love of Jesus Christ! We invite you to experience the genuine worship, encouraging messages, friendly people and enjoyable atmosphere that are a part of our community. We hope you will come to worship study and celebrate with us often. And, if you do not have a church home, we would be honored to have you consider becoming a part of our fellowship.
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