My first thought would be to say that the service that I had spent a couple hours planning didn’t go any where near the way it was planned. But God had another plan and the service actually turned out well.

I had really been praying about the message that God would have me bring tonight. I knew we would have a heavy ratio of students to adults and I was concerned that the message wasn’t what it needed to be. That all changed as the service began. I had a chance to start preaching early. Here is what I originally wrote, but there was much more in the sermon I preached.

After the sermon, I had each person take a piece of paper and place a confession on it. “If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” We collected them and then burned them. I wasn’t quite prepared for what happened next. I had more flame and heat than I was expecting. I was concerned about the heat on the altar cloth and wooden altar table. Pam tried to blow the flame out (bad idea). I finally ended up covering the bowl with the communion tray lid, which put out the flames. The picture above is the remains of the ashes that Pam blew. While I wasn’t planning on having anyone receive ashes, Pam and I inadvertently received them as they floated back down to the altar table. After that we read Psalm 51 responsively and then I pronounced the congregations sins forgiven. I then issued a challenge to the congregation that had gathered. I opened the altar to anyone who wanted to serve God with all of their heart, all of their mind, and all of their soul; and that their soul desire was to reflect Christ. About 8 students and leaders responded and warmed my heart. I prayed for them that Christ would work in their hearts. Like I said, not what I planned but God had a greater plan in mind and I liked His. Please pray for those who made commitments this evening. I really believe this was a milestone moment for our church.