Thursday, October 23, 2008

Feast of Tabernacles 2008

Nancy and I just got back from the Feast of Tabernacles. It certainly was not a mere vacation. It was a lot of work. But was it fun!

We began by driving to Destin, Florida (Big Sandy Church of God Feast site) where I gave a sermon on the opening day. The sermon talked about why the world NEEDS the return of Jesus. People may THINK they don’t need Jesus to return, but they’re wrong. Jesus MUST return if this world is going to survive.

We then went to the United Christian Ministries Feast site in Sevierville, Tennessee. We stayed in a huge cabin in the beautiful Smokie Mountains. Staying there with us were Wynn Skelton, Kim Skelton, Wayne Weese, and Karen Weese (Nancy’s older sister).

While in Sevierville, Wynn and I both gave sermons. Wynn’s was titled “Time To Shine” where he talked about how important it is for a Christian to let his light shine brightly to the world. Mine was titled, “Evangelism in the 21st Century.” It talked about how there is not enough evangelism going on in the Churches of God even though it is important it is for us to be fishers of men to the unsaved.

Karen, Kim, Nancy, John Blevin, Vickie Mouland, and I put on three puppet shows.

And Wynn, Kim, Wayne, Ray Wooten, Carol Boyer, and I performed three songs.

It seemed to me that, every time I turned around, Wynn was playing praise music with some group of people before services, during services, after services, and during the fun show. The Sevierville site certainly had some of the best Christian music I have heard in a long, long time. Maybe the best ever.

The reason I bring all this up is that all of this material will soon be up on the DCM website! You can watch these things on video or listen to them on mp3. Our little group put a lot of time into preparing all these things, so I think you will enjoy them and be inspired by them. I hope these things will be posted on DCM by around November 1. Why don’t you make a note on your calendar to start watching for them soon after November 1?

And, believe it or not, our little group is already making plans for next year’s Feast! We are already working on new puppet shows, teen classes, and sermons. We are also thinking of recording a DCM broadcast before a live audience at next year’s Feast of Tabernacles.

I hope you had a great Feast too. If not, perhaps it is because you stayed home or perhaps you went to a site that did not fill the needs of you and your family. If that is the case, why don’t you start making plans for next year right now? Why not start saving your vacation time for this wonderful commanded assembly? Why not start looking for a Feast site which will bring joy to you and the ones you love?

I know it’s early, but have a great Feast in 2009!

--Wes