Eric's Sermon . . . and an Unexpected Blessing

Eric's Sermon
Yesterday Eric had the privilege of bringing God's Word to our church congregation. What an exciting way to begin the new year! Our pastor asked Eric to preach for him, so Eric greatly welcomed that opportunity! You'll never guess what God laid upon his heart to preach about . . . ADOPTION! Our pastor just concluded a series on the cross and the cradle, highlighting important parts of Jesus' time from birth to the cross. Jesus was so much more than a baby or a man or a good teacher . . . He was and is and is to come - the forever King of Kings! What better way to follow up that series than to speak about what God says about our adoption as His sons and daughters! God adopted us, and for that I am eternally grateful!

LISTEN TO ERIC'S SERMON BY CLICKING HERE.
Sermon title: A New Way of Thinking

An Unexpected Blessing
At the end of the service, Eric and I were blessed with an unexpected prayer time. Pastor Perry came to the front of the sanctuary for his closing service remarks. Yesterday his remarks were different than we are used to. This time he mentioned to the congregation that Eric and I are adopting, and he invited our church family to join him in praying for our adoption - the illustration of what God did for us. He didn't stop there. Pastor Perry called us up front and had the church family come to the front and pray over us in regards to our adoption journey. This was really special. Eric did not preach about adoption to bring awareness to our adoption; he was genuinely preaching about our spiritual adoption - the topic and Scripture passage God impressed upon his heart.

This prayer time was so powerful. Having our church family support us in prayer means so much! We know God has big plans for our adoption journey, but with a prayer time like yesterday's, we can't expect anything less than God to have big plans for our adoption journey! Adoptive parents are not the only one's on an adoption journey. The birth parents, the birth parents' families, the case workers, the adoption agency, our families, us, our support system, you, and our church family. During the prayer, Pastor Perry prayed for our birth mom. That part of the prayer meant so much. Many people forget about the birth mom in situations like this, but she is such a special person! God has plans for her life, too! God loves her, too! I was telling Eric that I felt SO close and connected to our birth mom during that prayer yesterday. I have no idea who she is, but I love her and care for her so much! I feel like I already know her. That's what prayer can do. Prayer connects people in ways that nothing else can! Prayer is powerful! I can't wait to see how God answers the prayers of His people!