So this weekend we treaked over to Wintergarden to attend the Florida Fellowship Meeting. It was a great weekend of visiting with new and old friends, eating great food, and best of all enjoying worshiping the Lord.

Friday morning we picked Bro. John Yadamec up from the airport, it was a fun trip. Especially when Gary missed our exit and just kept driving on the toll road. It was a nice time to catch up, the only down fall was that we missed the morning service. However, by all reports Brother Ben Winslet preached a very blessed sermon on John 3:16, and then Brother Marty Hoskins followed him. Everyone said that it was a wonderful way to start the meeting.

After lunch was more serious. Elder Randal Cagle preached on sucide. He talked about it not affecting the Lord's work and where we spend eternity, but gave us encouragement to not follow that route or for those who had family members who had. Next, Elder Charles Kitchens preached on having comfort for those who had pasted or had family who had pasted.

Friday night was closed with Elder Tim Montgomery preaching on peace. He talked about being at peace with the Lord, because of the work of Christ and then discussed four points of having peace of the Lord here. I'm eager to get that sermon on tape, because it was very interesting and I missed the tail end of it taking Britt out. Next Elder John Melvin talked about the old man, the new man, and what we should be as one of the elect. He made the comparison that the old man is Windows 1.0, and then when the Lord changes us, calling us and giving us the new man that we are now Windows 2.0. He said that we are still windows but we have a new facet, we now have both within us. Then he said we are to strive to be Windows 3.0 more perfect, more Christlike, in our walk. He preached it in a way that I had never heard or considered.

Saturday morning started out just as strong. Elder John Yadamec preached on Good Works, not only that we were created that we SHOULD walk in them (Eph 2:10) but also what those good works are. They aren't only the public things like giving to the poor and care for others, but the more difficult things of being a better more Christlike person in our attitude and actions and thoughts. It was a very good sermon. Then Elder Ronald Lawrence got up and talked about the power of God. It had already be preached during the meeting that we needed to do good works and to do them we needed a passion for the things of Christ, the peace of God to walk here, and the love of Christ, but he pointed out that we also need to lay on the power of the Spirit. He went to many good scripture but the first one, and one that sticks out because I learned it many years ago is in II Timothy 1:7, "God hath not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." He said we need to know something about the power that God has given us.

Saturday Afternoon I got almost none of. Britt was pretty fussy that service, oh so tired, but wouldn't go to sleep (he also got in two new molars the night before), but Elder Hall from Mississippi preached and Elder Shannon Whipp from Nashville. There was a speaker system in the nursery, but there were several sleeping babies with Mommas in there, and we didn't go in to wake them.

Finally, that night Elder Jon Mizell and Elder Doff Payner preached. They both had very powerful sermons about the guilty of transgressing the law. Bro. Jon talked about how when we break the law we are guilty and sentenced to death, and that we often choose wrong ways to deal with the guilt - blame, denial, realitivism (where we say there is no wrong), or flat out saying there is no God to judge me, just myself. He showed us how we are wrong, but that 1) Jesus not cancelled our debt but satisified it so that we have no eternal consequences, and 2) that we can even get rid of that guilty feeling here when we own up to our mistakes and ask forgiveness that he extends it in a timely fashion. Then Bro. Doff preached on being set free from that feeling of guilt. He drew a very good visual between us and Barabbas. How Jesus was before Pilot and had been found blameless and so Pilot asked who would they have him release and the people yelled "Barabbas, Barabbas" and then he asked what they would have him to do with Christ and they yelled "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!" He told us to imagine Barabbas sitting in his cell and that all he would have heard was "Barabbas, Barabbas" and "Crucify Him, Crucify Him" and would have known he was guilty and deserved it, and thought they meant him. Bro. Doff then told us but the good news of the gospel is that as he thinks he's going to die, and the soldiers come clinking to his cell and open they door and say "you are free". He told us that we should be happy to share our knowledge with others, because many of God's people are out there struggling with burdens like trying to be good enough or make up for our past mistakes. But we can lift that burden with the good news that Christ took care of it, "you are free."

Finally on Sunday morning, Elder Carl Stanton preached on the missing link. He talked about Acts 3 where Peter and John are walking to the temple on Monday morning after a fantastic Sunday where the church got tons of members, and as they walk up there is a beggar. They tell him to "look on us" and tell him they don't have any gold to help in his situation, but they are about to change his situation, and they tell him to get up and walk, give him a hand and hoist him up and immediately he is healed. That this beggar all of his life could go no further, he couldn't enter the temple and worship; but now he goes in leaping. He told us that we have the same ability as the Church of Christ to change lives, that we can tell them to come and look at us, that our Church is different and give them a hand, encourage them to join, and that this walk is life changing. But that too often we don't know who is lame, who just needs us to reach out. He said that there was a good probablity that Peter had walked by this man many times on his way to the temple, but that today he made the effort to reach out, and the power of God changed this man's life. He encouraged us to be more aware of one another in the Church and of those we meet that we could share something that could change their life. It was a wonderful sermon, but one hard to follow.

It was a very good weekend, with many thought provoking messages. It has been wonderful to hear men that last heard a few years ago, and see in amazement how the Lord has blessed them and how they have grown in their gift. We left feeling refreshed and encouraged.

We really enjoyed being able to stay with Bro. Luke and Sis. Mary Lawrence over the weekend. They have two adorable kiddos Lorianne 2 and Nathan 2 weeks that Britt just loved. It was wonderful to be able to visit some with these folks. Hopefully next Little Union Meeting, we can have them over our way.