Sunday, September 26, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, Christ Community Assembly of God Church~

Greetings in the name of the Lord! 

This is Pastor Bruce Bilkey writing.  In just a few short minutes, I will be preaching; I can't wait to see the smiling faces of my church family and the staff! 

Today our church reopened after months of repair due to the devastating flooding that we had back in May.  We lost our church, but God still was on the throne: he found us a temporary home in an abandoned warehouse.  While we were grateful to have a "home-away-from-home", it somehow didn't feel quite right.  We still tried to make the best of it; soon, people forgot they were in a warehouse because we ended up having "church"!

Today, to celebrate our homecoming, we are having special praise and worship music, and I will be preaching about how God gets us through the valley and on to the mountaintop! Today we sit upon the mountaintop because God's gotten us through a rather difficult trial!  Afterwards, we will have a "dinner-on-the-grounds" for our congregation, as a way of saying thanks for being so patient with us during these times of repair and uncertainty.

I can hear the music booming from the sanctuary; it sounds fantastic!  I am sure the people are celebrating right along with the music team and our choirs and singers!

I am sure that the pews are filled to the brim with happy, smiling people.  I just can't wait to see our sanctuary sparkling new and welcoming for those who have stepped inside our church doors!

Well, I hate to go, but it's about time for me to start preaching.  Pray what I say reaches deep down into the hearts of the people, and pray that the Lord does a mighty work in our church home and in the months ahead!  It is exciting to think what He has in store for our congregation, let alone, our church!  May God bless you as much as He's been blessing me and my church!

~In His Service,

Pastor Bruce Bilkey.