The following are words given by participants at the streamed meeting. 1 Corinthians 14:29 says that "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others weigh carefully what is said." 1 Thess 5:19-21 tells us not to despise prophecies, but to test everything and retain what is good.
Scripture Reading Psalm 95:6-7 - "Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his flock."
Scripture Reading Jeremiah 24:1-3, & Jeremiah 25:15-16 - "The Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. This was after King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the artisans, and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. And the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten." For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them."
Scripture Reading Psalm 148:13-14 - "Let them all praise the name of the Lord! His name is greater than all others; his glory is above earth and heaven. He made his nation strong, so that all his people praise him - the people of Israel, so dear to him. Praise the Lord!"
If we are genuinely living out God's way, then the result will be good news for everyone. The way we live will make the community around us better and more whole. God invites us to be part of his work to heal the world. He invites us to bring joy to the city.
Scripture Reading Psalm 108:5-6 - "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens and let your glory be over all the earth. Give victory with your right hand and answer me so that those whom you love may be rescued."
Scripture Reading Psalm 132:1, 4 & Psalm 130:1, 4-6 - "Remember, O Lord, on David's behalf, all his affliction. I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to eyelids until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob." "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning."
Prophecy - "Remember. my people, this is Good Friday, Good Friday. It's not a time to be gloomy. It's not a time to be depressed. It is a Good Friday. What happened on the cross, my people, was a choice that I made in order to bring redemption upon my people. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. Spend time with me. Come into my presence. But be joyful people."
Prophecy - "My children, tonight I desire that you come to know the food that I am offering, good food; food that heals, food that nourishes and strengthens, food that will encourage and bring new life. But there is also bad food in this world. Many choose this bad food and the sword will be pierced against them because of it. But you, my children, who have chosen this good food, I'm going to pour my blood upon you, my blood that is pure, my blood that is holy. Drink and eat, for this is my Body and this is my Blood and I give it to you to ransom you from all your sins, to ransom you from the effects of evil and to protect you on your journey towards Paradise."
Scripture Reading Philippians 2:6-11 - "Jesus being in very nature of God did not consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Ron entitled his talk, "From a Distance?". The first line in a song, "From a Distance", says that God is watching us from a distance. Ron thought that this was pretty good for a secular song mentioning God. The more he looked at it, he thought that they missed the boat completely in the rest of that song. When they said that God was watching us from a distance, it sounded like God had a scowl face looking at us. That's not the God we know. It was like Jesus looking at Ron and saying, "Those are very harsh judgements, Ron. I don't judge like that. It's not who I am. And I know that's not who you are. So, go back and look at it again. Be more hopeful this time." God watches us all the time. The Creator of the universe is watching us personally. He watches us from a distance?? There was a different aspect to what they said. They used the word, distance. They didn't say far away. Distance is the measure between two points. It's something that you can measure. Could they be hinting that he's really there, actually physically there? Ron posed a question to us, "How can I let God change my heart from harshness to hopefulness?" When you hear that phrase, "watching from a distance", is there a Scripture that comes to mind? It's the parable of the Prodigal Son. In the late 70's, Christ the King prayer group put on a play. At that time, there was a family whose son had left home and later on came back. There was reconciliation and the relationship in the family was even better that before. Someone had the idea of inviting the family to share their experience and put on a play about the Prodigal Son. Ron played the part of the older son who stayed home. Ron thought that he could introduce some harsh reality in the last dialogue between himself and the Father like, "I don't like being here. I work myself to the bone day and night. I never get the chance to have a beer-bash barbeque with my friends. I really don't like it and the reason I stick around here is what I am going to get out of it. And when I get that, I am out of here." So on the night of the play when it came to the last scene, Ron said to the father, "You know, I don't like being here," and then his mind went blank. He was so frustrated and so at the end, he threw up his hands and walked away. Afterwards, Ron was told what stood out for them was that the body language was perfect; they felt the frustration of the older son. What stood out for Ron was the last three seconds when he turned away from the father, he saw that he was smiling. Ron asked him about that. The reason that he was smiling was not because Ron had forgotten his words but because one of his sons had left and came back. He could see him in the distance and recognized the messy hair. He said, "That's my boy, never learned to use a comb. He's come back and now it looks like my older son is going to walk away. But I know my children. They will have a change of heart and they will come back." Ron said that the smile summarized the entire parable because the Father is watching us, but he's smiling.
Scripture Reading Acts 4:29-31 - "Grant to your servants, even as they speak your words, complete assurance by stretching forth your hand in cures and signs and wonders to be worked in the name of Jesus, your holy Servant. The place where they were gathered shook as they prayed. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's word with confidence."
Maria K. praised God for the three amazing days she had with God in a remote cabin. God also, showed her his love through her son who came out to spend some time with her.
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