God uses a message on tithing to save Filemoni

It was a blessing to have a full house at our church services on Sunday. I taught a Sunday school lesson from Mathew 12 while Cathy taught Sunday school to the kids in a new shelter we pieced together.

This shelter is basically just a tarp haphazardly hung on 2 hooks and two posts and then secured to the car door. Its purpose is to provide some much needed shade while Cathy teaches outside. Unfortunately, it wasn’t adequate. So, this week I spent some time making plans to use a much bigger tarp. My only concern now is the wind.

In the morning service, Brother Greg preached a message about stewardship. He preached about tithes and offerings explaining that all of our substance belongs to God but that He only asks for a small portion. Talking about money is never an easy subject in church but our people received it with gladness.

In fact, during the invitation a 28-year-old man named Filemoni (Swahili for Philemon) came forward and told Greg that he wanted to be saved. I had the great opportunity to walk him down the “Romans Road” and lead him in prayer to receive Jesus Christ as his savior! Immediately after praying he asked about being baptized. I explained that the Bible teaches that Baptism is a picture of your salvation and that it has no power or role in salvation. After clearing that up, I told him that we would do another Baptism service soon. We have one scheduled for Easter but we may need to do one sooner (Lord willing).

Pray for us as we begin the process of buying a new piece of property to build a new church. We need wisdom, money, and patience (to deal with the red-tape).
Pray for our rental situation. Our landlord is beginning to talk about raising our rent again. The last thing I really want to do is pay more or move. So let’s pray that they are happy with where things are right now.