An Evening of Hymns and Praise

Voices filled the church like the trumpet of God resounding the four corners of our earth. Different harmonies sung by both male and female children of God. Faces like the angels that will sing to us on judgment day and lead as we take our departure home. As it is said in” Patriarchs and Prophets,” “Music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts which is pure, noble, and elevating; and to awaken in the soul, devotion and gratitude to God… singing, as a part of religious service, is as much an act of worship as is prayer.” Today the songs sung by each person had a powerful message behind it. Hidden deep in the words was a message for each of us. The famous Christine Sinclair sang for us today but not only did she sing she delivered. She sang a song and the words “Give me Jesus” helped me to feel exactly what I imagine she felt when she sang it. I felt sincerity, meaning, and truth. My friend Dominique Smith sang the song “The prayer.” I truly didn’t know she was that talented. She amazed me. I probably would never have had the opportunity to hear her sing if it wasn’t for the concert. A group of seven called Laos In Harmony ministered to us as well. “His Voice” brightened our hearts with two songs. Their last song was “We are blessed and highly favored.” To close the evening Christine Sinclair led us out with “He’ll do it again.” This was a wonderful program and to my surprise there were as much people in the evening as there was in the morning. I had a great time and I guarantee that anyone who could not make it missed one great evening and if they came they would have enjoyed it as much as I did. With this much spirit in the church I bet we’ll have a church in no time. All we have to do is keep singing and praying and God will answer us.

-Deneeka Leon

ominique Smith

Photos By:

Renielle Yankana

Know Thy Neighbor

Today to tell the truth I began my day doubting myself as a writer. I wondered if what I shared would be good enough, but then I remembered Philippians 4:13. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGHTHENS ME. After that my thoughts eased and I was able to relax a bit. The whole point of our A.Y lesson was to have the people in the church get to know each other. I can honestly say that I do not remember most of the people in my church name. Some of them have known me since I was a baby and it’s a shame that I don’t know them enough to remember their name. We were paired in groups of two, preferably young with old. In my own experience I was paired with a woman named Sister Guadalupe. I would see her every Sabbath and say hi. We would share a simple hello and that would be all. Week after week the same thing would happen, until this week, when I was given the opportunity to speak with her for more than a second. I learned so much about her. I now wonder why I never spoke more with her before. I believe this is an exercise all churches should try and I have a feeling they would truly be surprised to see what the outcome is. I can now call her whenever I need to0 talk to her. The funny thing is I never would have thought we would have so much in common. So just remember Philippians 4:13 whenever you begin to get the slightest bit of doubt or fear in your heart

A member of LIGHTHOUSE S.D.A CHURCH

• DENEEKA LEON