A couple of my brothers that meet in my basement on Tuesday night told me about a very impactful worship service put together by the church they attend on Sundays. Shortly after that, I was forwarded a video of it, and it is very worth the watch.
We showed this video this Wednesday night at our Oasis gathering (which was impactful enough because many of our people know many of those people), followed by my interviewing one of my brothers who shared and told the stories behind 5 of his "cardboard testimonies," which included:
from Trusted in Money to Dependent on God
from Porn Freak to Jesus Freak
fromTerrible Husband to Life Mate
from Quenched the Spirit to Hearing from God Daily
from Hated Thoughts of Evangelism to Lead 6 to Christ in Past Year
It was beautiful hearing the details of his transformation caused by Christ in each of these areas.
We invited others gathered to write down their "cardboard testimonies," too...in order to praise God, but also for some future Sunday morning service where we do our version of the Hillside service. Here are some of the beautiful, redeemed testimonies of people I am blessed to run with here...
from Sexually Abused Child to Child of the King
from Thought I Was a Christian to KNOW I am a Christian
from Can't Forgive Myself For Having 2 Children Unmarried to Learning to Ask God to Help Me Forgive Myself
from Time Spent on Collecting Worldly Things to Time Spent Finding the Kingdom of God
from Arguing with Mom and Angry to Praying to God and Letting Go
from Alcoholic, Drug User, Thief to Trusting God with My Issues
from Totally Checked Out Husband & Father to Plugged Into Christ, Wife, and Kid's Hearts
from Emotionally Unattached & Unaware to Attached to Jesus' Teaching, Guiding & Softening
from Ashamed of Christian's Hypocrisy to Full of Understanding, Grace, Mercy and Love
from Angry, Bitter, Untrusting Feminist to Loving, Submissive, Humble Wife
from Rejected by Man to Chosen By God (from young divorced woman)
from Me First, Only Me to God first only (from an 11-year-old)
from Unworthy Doormat to Daughter of the King
from Two Abortion, Unforgivable Woman to Forgiven by God Mother of Three
from People Pleaser to God Pleaser
from Fighting My Own Battles to Giving the Battle to God
from It's All About Me to I am a Free Forgiven Man
from In the Crowd but Alone to Intimate Brother
from Wounded and Scared to Healed and Confident
from Straight and Narrow, Condemning Others to Forgiven and Forgiving
from Hiding Under Rock to Get Away From Trouble to Finding the Rock of Salvation
from Secrets to Grace
from Hating God to Praising God
from Not Trusting Anyone to Knowing God Cares for Me
from Sexually Abused, Feeling Unclean, Injuring Self, Brother Drowning, Father Suicide, and Afraid to Trusting in God, Feeling Loved, Trusting in Others, Wonderful Family
You know these could go on and on and on...what is yours? What are yours?
Mine would be...
from Guilt Driven to Grace Driven
from Genuine Counterfeit to Honest-to-God Real Deal
from Unforgivable Cheater to Whole, Free, Forgiven Man
from Son of a Convict to Son of God
from Self-Righteous Judge to Self-Aware Lover
from Making Things Happen to Letting Things Happen
from Compelled to Change Others to Compelled to Change Self
from Ask God for What I Want to Ask God for What He Wants
from Defensive to Disarming
Again, what would yours be? And if you happen to be a member of the Southwest Church, I'd love to add yours and your name to the growing list of people who would be willing to hold up their cardboard testimony (see video) at a service in the future. Let me know.
I got two more turned in that only had one side, and they bring up an aspect of this exercise important for all of us...to remember that we are on a journey, and that there is hope. They said:
Unforgiving Wife...
Constantly Afraid of Being Hurt...
The sweet woman that handed them to me said, "I need to let God give me the other side of these."
Amen and amen. What is still undone for you?
4 comments:
Wow! I am floored by the wonder of God's amazing grace!
His peace,
Royce
Dear Brian,
Hi, my name is Cassie. I'm a recent member of southwest and I really enjoy your blog. I have a good friend who attends hillside, and I had already seen the video, and I must say I am really excited that we are doing it at southwest!!
When I saw the video a few weeks ago I did some soul searching about my cardboard testimony:
from Doubter to Devoted
I grew up in the church and I had a true relationship with the Lord. However about 5 years ago I found myself really doubting my upbringing, my faith, and whether or not God was even real. I am so so so grateful to say that I am coming out of that dark place. I believe that's God's hand is at work in this world, and my life. And I believe I am highly favored by my Father.
I know this is kinda long, thanks for letting me share my testimony! His power to transform lives and take people on journeys is incredible!
Cassie
Hey Brian - thanks for posting the vid.
I sent the link out to a couple of the groups I admin on Facebook. Within five minutes of sending the first message I get a reply from someone I've never met.
It was from a young man, and it said - "Thank you. You just saved my life."
I fought back tears.
Christ continues to work miracles today - even through videos His servants post on YouTube.
Thanks again :)
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