| Lay Witness Movement |
“ You shall be my witnesses. " Acts 1:8 |
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LAY
WITNESS MOVEMENT CELEBRATION DAY Saturday
9 April 2011 - Edgehill College A Lay Witness audience has got to be one of the most affirming and most scary groups a speaker can face. Affirming because he/she knows that everyone in the room is totally behind them and scary because he/she also knows that everyone has come wanting and expecting to hear from God. No pressure then!!
Our chosen speaker this
year was Rev Nick McKnight from Glastry. Nick
did not disappoint. He immediately
endeared himself to us all by testifying to the impact that Lay Witness had had
on his own life in both Glengormley and Glastry.
He then introduced his theme which was “Feeling the Gospel”.
Based on the parable of the Prodigal Son, Nick dealt first with the
“lostness” of the younger son. He
challenged us to care enough to be the sort of elder brother who would go into
the distant country and bring the wanderer home.
This was what Jesus had done for us.
After lunch Nick dealt with
the father’s joy at the return of his younger son. He helped us to glimpse the love and the longing in the heart
of our heavenly Father for each lost child.
At the same time he reminded us that the father in the story ached just
as much for the elder son who would not join the celebration.
There were different ways of being lost.
He warned us of moralistic religion that failed to grasp the extravagant
prodigal nature of the Father’s love. No report can do a day like this justice. There were moments of pure hilarity; there were times of spontaneous praise; there were tears and there was prayer for the next Lay Witness weekend in Derrygonnelly, Springfield and Churchill. And so the work goes on. An army of ordinary people – who delight to serve an extraordinary God.
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Such
an audience came together for our annual Celebration Day on April 9th.
