As Skeeter Thomas wheeled his dad, C.L., into the worship center this past Sunday, C.L. immediately started singing “Amazing Grace….” It didn’t matter that C.L. is struggling, that he has trouble understanding what is going on around him, as soon as he entered God’s house at Manhattan Baptist on January 21, 2024 something lit an old spark and he burst into song.
It’s not that uncommon a story for those who suffer with those kinds of issues. And, while I am no expert, I believe it’s because, like C.L., for those who have spent their lives in the local church, the times of singing praises to God are often the most Spirit-filled times, and because of that, they are the times most deeply ingrained in our minds.
The Apostle Paul urged on the Ephesians, and he urges us on as well from Ephesians 5:18-21 to “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (ESV).
Filled with the Spirit; addressing one another; singing; making melody; giving thanks; and submitting to one another, these are the marks of the Spirit-filled life in the local church. And this is what C.L. did for more than 68 years at MBC. Sixty-eight years!
Friends, I came board on January 7, 2024 with a vision called Re-Plant, dreaming about a time soon when we will see young people being baptized and young families thriving in our church. And, as we sung with C.L. this past Sunday, I was praying that 68 years from now, MBC would recognizing some kid whose life was intersected, and transformed through the ministries of our church maybe next week, or the next. It will happen when we give our plans over to the Lord and asked Him to do a work of revitalization here.
As we move into February, I pray you are all excited about moving FORWARD as a church family. We will begin a new series Sunday, January 28, 2024 called “Encounter Jesus: from Galilee to Calvary.” We are going to follow Jesus and the disciples from early in Christ’s public ministry all the way to the resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Come with us on this journey, and along the way, be inviting your neighbors into discipling relationships, into Christ, and into the Christian life. And, of course, pray. A lot!
– Boe
