Wow! Last night the family went to our special meeting in Lebanon. It was amazing. Vernon Joyce has grown dramatically in the ministry. He spoke of the great joy of being used by God. It was truly helpful. He spoke of joy and peace and hope. He spoke about making right choices. He spoke about how that even if we make wrong choices, we can turn again and make the right choice. It was a vibrant sermon. I think that it was even the more dramatic because I was not expecting it of him. I do not know why I would not expect such a sermon from him. Maybe it because I knew him as a boy and remember him in that context. It was not only the delivery of the sermon, but that it was so positive and hopeful. We need those kinds of sermons. It really reminded me of Howard Mooney. We miss him, but God does raise others, often in unexpected times and places. I love it when I truly feel that it is good to be alive and want to be used by God. Sermons like Vernon’s help me feel that way. But, like he said, it is God’s work.
