May 23 – “LTSI”

We woke up to some pretty severe thunderstorms yesterday.  Lots of lightning, but really just a steady, really good rain.  Just what we needed.  They all cleared out about 7:30, though.  Coincidentally … just about in time for us to have our baptism at church.  Wait.  Coincidentally?  Nah.

 

The baptism was particularly exciting to a group of nine ladies who were there.  They were a group who have been meeting through group texts and zoom for Bible study and encouragement.  What makes them so unique?  They live in Texas.  And Rhode Island.  And Ohio.  All over the U.S.  They were in Galveston for a ladies’ retreat at the home of a lady who has been coming to Seaside whenever she is in town on a Sunday for a long time.  One of them (a Rhode Islander) had become a Christian through the ministry of the group, and after hearing about it from the Seasider, she wanted to be baptized in the Gulf.  I really enjoyed meeting all the ladies, and their spirit of praise and worship really added to our worship time. 

 

Kel’s sermon was a continuation of his Sermon on the Mount series.  We received a pretty stark warning from the scripture, too.  Don’t be a LTSI.  That stands for “Log-Totin’ Speck Inspector.”  Of course, that comes from the passage about judging others in Matthew 7.  Get the log out of your own eye before you go trying to get the speck out of someone else’s.

 

After church we stuck around at Kel’s request for his first new members’ class.  Eleven or twelve others stayed as well.  He used a curriculum by Sam Rainer, a Florida pastor and prolific writer.  Pretty good content.  I think everyone left with a good handle on where Kel was coming from … basically, the Bible. 

 

Oh, and one last thing … Mari, the Good Guys (Astros) won yet again.

 

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

 

Father, thank you for Carol, the brand-new baptizee.  Help her to continue to grow and learn and find a way to serve you.  And thank you for the sisters in Christ you have surrounded her with to walk with her along the way.  Amen.