Day 2 - Church at Mallow Bible Fellowship and Passing Out Flyers in Estates

Luke 14:26-27, 33

26 - If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 - And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

33 - So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Revelation 4:1

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Church at Mallow Bible Fellowship

It was fantastic to be with our fellow brothers and sisters in Ireland this morning! For the four of us that went on last year's trip, it seemed like it was just yesterday since we were here. The attendance was a little low due to the fact that this weekend is a the last bank holiday prior to the new school year, but that had little impact on the atmosphere. It is always good to be in the house of God with God's people!

After Pastor Bob Hutton started the service, Dan & Ray Klein, Geoff Weaver, Andy Speight, Jackie Klayko, Jeremy Martin, and I had the privilege to lead God's people to worship God through song. Here's two links to some of our favorite new songs we sang...

• 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwIT8JjddM
• In Christ Alone by Keith and Kristyn Getty -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mPrqltkJyw

Doug Kilchenman preached the message out of Acts 4, and the title was "He is Worthy!". The message from God was that we must go and speak the message of salvation to the world, for He is worthy of all we have to give! Our family, friends, co-workers, and strangers may not like what we have to say, but this life is not about us... it's about humbling ourselves, laying down our lives, and being obedient to God's commission to go and speak the truth to everyone, everywhere (2Pt 3:9; ). It was simply amazing to see how God beautifully orchestrated the music and the preaching. All we can say is, "Wow!"

Passing Out Flyers in Estates

After eating lunch at "Peppers" (one of my favorite places to eat! -- http://www.peppersmallow.com/), we split up and passed out Holiday Bible Club flyers and a new edition of the "Mallow Bible Fellowship Revelator" (a unique publication from Bob's church that contains upcoming church events, thoughts, fun facts, etc). As we were passing out the flyers some of us had some great opportunities to meet and talk with some kids and adults on the street. Since there is a heavy "literature distribution" presence from the Jehovah's Witnesses in Mallow, many adults are very skeptical and hesitant to talk about spiritual things while they are out and about. Even so, it was clear that there were some "divine appointments" scheduled just for us... :)

Back at Annabella...

After our dinners in the evening, our group is having a short devotional on Jude 22 led by Bob. We learned tonight that the word "compassion" goes much deeper than just a feeling; compassion has the intent of being with someone in their suffering. The greatest example of compassion (someone that is with another in their suffering) is found in the person of Jesus Christ, for he became sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2Cor 5:21). Not only did he become sin for us, but he bore the sins of the whole world (1Jn 2:2) knowing full well that not all would receive the gift of salvation that was purchased by his own blood (Acts 20:28)! That is the kind of passion that we must have if we truly want to make a difference. We should not be "change makers", we must be "difference-makers"... and that means we need to have true compassion.