Category Archives: Church

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He’s a Healer: Man With Stage 4 Cancer is Healed While Restoring a Church…

Hello World,

From the Lonsdale Area News- Review

As we start the week of Thanksgiving, I know one man who definitely has to be thankful for God’s blessings…Greg Thomas of Montgomery, Minnesota…

In today’s times, sadly, it seems that a cancer diagnosis – from breast cancer to prostate cancer – has become more and more commonplace…But I still do believe that God is willing to heal sickness although some may not be healed this side of Heaven…

Obviously, God still has a plan for Thomas this side of Heaven…When Thomas was diagnosed with Stage 4 head and neck cancer in 2009, his family was told to start planning his funeral, according to KSEE 24 News. As he was left go from his job shortly afterward, Thomas had plenty of time to reflect on his life and began taking long walks out in his rural community. He finally came upon an abandoned, dilapidated church built in 1868 by Czech settlers.  As the doors to the church were locked, Thomas began praying on the front steps of the church. Over time, he realized that he would like to restore the old church that had not been used in over a 100 years.

After securing permission, Thomas painstakingly worked to restore the church in spite of the cancer treatments ravaging his body. Three years later, the church is now beautiful again and has even been used for a wedding and featured in the movie “Memorial Day,” according to an article in the Lonsdale Area News-Review. Thomas has been restored too…His cancer is now  in remission….You can read the whole story at southernminn.com and ksee24.com.

What do you need healing from today? Maybe Thomas’ story will give you the insight you need to get your healing…

Below is a video of his story…What a testimony!

Any thoughts?

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Fourteen Formerly ‘Shacked Up’ Couples Marry at the Same Time…

Hello World,

I love a good love story, and when it ends in a beautiful wedding, what is better than that?! Well, multiply one good love story that ends in a beautiful wedding by 14, and you have what happened at Concord Church in Dallas, Texas this past Sunday. According to WFAA.com, 90 days ago Concord Pastor Bryan L. Carter invited 14 couples in his congregation who were living together to get married at the church’s expense.  The church paid for the cost of the joint ceremony including the rings, dresses, tuxedos, reception costs, etc. along with 10 weeks of marriage counseling.

Pastor Carter told WFAA, “Our goal was to remove every barrier that was in place: Financially… timing…. all of that.”

Would you participate in a joint wedding ceremony if all the expenses were paid? Do you think more churches should sponsor similar joint ceremonies? Or do you think churches should stay out of grown people’s business?

Any thoughts?

Check out the story and video by clicking on this link…

 

 

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Why Did You Allow This to Happen, God? A church tragedy unfolds…

Hello World,

By now, many of you know about the tragedy that occurred at World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia last Wednesday? If you have not heard of it, let me fill you in. As Greg McDowell, 39, was leading a prayer service Wednesday morning, Floyd Palmer, 59, a former World Changers employee allegedly walked into the church and shot McDowell six times, according to the AJC. McDowell, a husband and father of two toddlers, died shortly thereafter.

Later on Wednesday, Palmer, who apparently has shot a man before and spent time in a mental institution, was arrested and will likely be punished for his alleged actions. Still, whatever satisfaction McDowell’s family may feel as the alleged shooter is now in police custody,  it does not answer the question, “Why Did You Allow This to Happen, God?”

The day following the shooting, I overheard some people at work discussing the shooting and they pondered why God would allow a man to be shot and killed as he was praying inside of a church no less. And it does seem ironic that a man who was obviously demonstrating his dependence on the Omniscient Power of the universe was not made aware of pending tragedy and spared from harm…

I’m not even going to lie. I don’t understand. I won’t even pretend that I do. But I do think that God will comfort McDowell’s wife and children and extended family in the days to come and give them insight as they seek His guidance and care. As one pastor said at a memorial service I recently attended, we won’t always understand everything that happens which is the essence of faith, but God will see us through everything that happens. My all-time favorite writer Catherine Marshall’s husband Pastor Peter Marshall, 46, died after suffering a heart attack when she was 34 years old, and she too pondered why God would allow this happen to them? She wrote about seeking God for answers to this tragedy in one of my favorite books “To Live Again.” She writes about feeling duped by God, being angry with God and questioning her faith altogether…She got all sorts of answers that can be read about in the book, but ultimately, she claimed this verse, my absolute favorite verse in the entire Bible, for herself and her nine-year-old son as they faced life without her husband…

And we know that in all things (good and bad) God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Why do think God allows tragedies to occur in the lives of Christians? This song seems appropriate this morning…

Any thoughts?