What happens when the power goes out?

So what happens when the power goes out in Shutka, a very large gypsy village on the outskirts of Skopje, Macedonia?

We have church.

This last Sunday night, November 23rd, due to whatever circumstances, the power was shut off to the gypsy village called Shutka. This village is where the church that I've been spending so much of my time is at. They hold their service on Sunday nights. If the power being off wasn't going to be bad enough, the caretaker of the church campus had unfortunately locked the church keys in his trailer and his key wasn't openning the door to the trailer.

There was a chill on the air and everything was dark except for the few houses that had enough money to have a generator or the shops that had candles lit. A few of the men and youth from the church had made their way for service any way. When we arrived, I was already planning on sharing my first translated sermon which I found out about maybe 2 hours earlier, but I had no idea what we would end up doing, especially if we couldn't get into the padlocked church building.

Well, to keep it short, we cut the lock, got inside and started a fire. We used cell phones to lite our way around the room. (This is exactly why I'm a proud member of the Facebook group that claims to use their cell phones to see in the dark!) Once the fire was going and actually making a dent in the chilly room, we circled some chairs around the stove and started worshipping.

I love the worship at this church. I've been to a lot of musically gifted churches. My home churches are not to be excluded, but I've had the privilege of being amongst some musically gifted South African churches and have been able to worship a-capella (without accompanying music like guitars or piano) and intensely enjoyed myself, but this took the cake. About 7 of us in all, we started to sing a few familiar songs, a-capella, in Macedonian. The most thrilling part was that younger boys were enthusiastically leading the singing over the older men that were there. Most of the time, boys and girls don't come to the service as a larger children's service is held on Saturdays, but they were there. Not only were the boys leading out boldly and enthusiastically, but they also insisted on singing a couple of songs in Roma as well. Even though I don't understand the language, I know they're far more passionate about singing in that language than in Macedonian.

As an English speaker, I think we take for granted being able to sing such a multitude of widely known songs in our own language for the purpose of praising our God, but for these Roma (gypsy) boys, they don't exactly have nor have had access to such a wealth of worship music. Any way, the worship in their heart language was very exciting for me to be a participant in.

After the worship, it was my turn. It was quite a different preaching experience and I'm still not really sure how I did, but as I prepared the message, one I was already very familiar with, God kept reassuring me that as long as I speak the message from his Word and not from my own view of how things are going, then it will be okay and it will work for any culture. I used my cell phone to read the passage I was sharing from and occasionally to check my notes, and as working with a translator for the first time tends to be, it was a little rough. Let's just say it didn't come out like my typical 3 point sermon, but it did come out fairly well. Oh, and the translator was my boss if the other things didn't present enough of a challenge. I kept waiting, for no other reason but lack of confidence in this new experience, for him to correct me on something and tell me it wasn't relevant to them or something of that nature. He didn't and I kept going without any interruptions. This to say, I don't consider the constant pausing for translation an interruption as, of course, it is completely necessary.

This experience was rich for me. I know sometimes these things are overglorified and fuel the stereotypes that many people have about missions and roughing it ministry experiences. But this is the situation that I and my colleagues are in and have been called into. Sure there are business type ministries here, and all different types of specified ministries in all different types of fields, but I've been put into this type of ministry in this type of field and it's a blessing on every side, even with the random challenges that may come up. It was and is very rewarding and an experience I don't believe I'll soon forget.

On another note, I have some updated pictures up on my Picasa site for those that are interested. You can find them at http://picasaweb.google.com/CRparky.

Expect a newsletter soon if you're on my mailing list, if not, it'll be posted here as well so don't worry.

Until next time...

A Brief Update on Life in Macedonia

I have recently moved into the apartment that I hope to stay in for the remainder of my time in Macedonia. It is a perfect size for me I think. It has a small kitchen but just big enough for me, it is almost fully furnished and what is left will be furnished soon. I don't yet have internet yet so my updates and internet time will be sparse as I have to logon at a friend's home, at my language school office, or at a coffee bar somewhere. Be patient with me in keeping you up to date and expect a full on letter soon.

As of right now, I've been refocusing my time on learning Macedonian more than anything else. I have struggled this last couple of weeks as I moved and had my schedule interrupted by all the new things and am still trying to discipline myself into a good schedule. Right now I am trying to get up between 6 and 7, having my quiet time and prayer, eating and showering up till around 10. I then study Macedonian and read, eating somewhere in between, shopping for either groceries or other household items that I still lack, and studying Macedonian some more. Mondays and Wednesdays I have Macedonian class in the afternoon and on Thursdays I have a private lesson in the afternoon. I still try to go to Shutka on Fridays but was so caught up in other things last Friday that I forgot and missed the first time since I've been here.

Pray that God will guide me in how I manage my time and will draw me close to him as most of my time is spent right now between He and I. Pray for friendships and ministry opportunities to be developed and for boldness most of all to go out and be proactive in every aspect of my life.

I miss you all and hope God is keeping you well. I welcome and treasure your emails and other like communications, but please be patient in my replying to them. Keep me informed of any prayer requests you may have and I will be sure to lift you up as often as I can keeping me fully aware of how God's family stretches to every corner of this world.

Photos Online!

I haven't taken a lot of photos from my time here in Macedonia or in the process of getting here, but I have found the way that I'll be posting them. I have a public page through google that is tied to all my google stuff. You can find my pictures by going to picasaweb.google.com/CRparky. If you don't think this is the best way for me to make my photos accessible, then leave me a comment about it and I may just put them on Facebook. Then again, my blog automatically downloads to facebook from blogger and picasa is a similar program as blogger. Needless to say, I don't know all the qwirks of picasa yet, so have patience and enjoy the current site as much as possible. I'll try to upload pix about once or twice a week depending on how frequently I take them. If you are able to make comments, and wish to do so, please use the utmost care in what you say. Macedonians will be able to see these pix just as easily as Americans. Please enjoy!

Prayer Requests

Hi everyone! As you probably know now I am finally in Macedonia. I don't have a lot to write about or a lot of motivation to come up with something, I can't figure which, but I wanted to request special prayer for some things.

1) The Muslim fast of Ramadan starts tomorrow and will go for 28 days. Please be praying for this area because a good percentage of its population is Albanian Muslim or Roma (gypsy) which are nominal Muslims. I am working with a guy that works with Albanians so we'll be in the middle of it. Pray for the people that God would reveal himself to them.

2) I still don't have a place to live and am currently living in a small apartment at one of the churches. It's nice and everything but it'd be nice to be able to have my own place. Unfortunately the US dollar has weakened since we made my budget and it seems I'll be cutting it very close, especially in the winter to have an apartment. Pray that God will provide!

3) My body is getting used to everything here. My physical body is adjusting to the time still (naps are a very splendid thing!) and my stomache is adjusting as well, to put it lightly. It's not that the food is bad or anything, it's amazing. It's not even that different or spicy or anything like that. I can't tell you the exact cause but I think it's just recovering from the travels that I went through a few days ago. Pray that my body gets to a more normal state soon!

4) I long to understand what people are saying so I can communicate with them as well. There's been plenty of interaction with English speakers so that's been a blessing, but I really want to learn the languages. Yes, I did say languages. It is imperative that I speak Macedonian, but I'd also like to learn at least some Albanian. Pray that God opens my ears to hear and understand these languages and that he touches my tongue to be able to speak it as well.

That's it for now! I'll try to take more pictures so it will be worthwhile to post them soon! In the meantime, keep me in prayer and feel free to contact me if you have questions. I'm doing my best to keep up with emails and comments etc.

Last Newsletter from Stateside

Newsletter: August 2008

Greetings in Christ!
Writing this letter brings me much joy, but I’ll get to the reasons for that joy later. First, I’d like to thank all of you for supporting me in preparations for Macedonia. Thank you for your prayers and your financial contributions. You have all been very encouraging.

From Home
Earlier this summer, Rebecca and I decided to break off our engagement. It has been a very joyful event because of our reasons for breaking up. We both desire to pursue and focus on God’s plans for our lives with everything we have and God is calling us to separate places so this is the only real option. God has blessed us in this decision, there has been no heartbreaking and we are both very much at peace.

What About Macedonia?
I finally received financial clearance and have purchased my ticket to leave for Macedonia. Praise the Lord! I am finally on my way! My ticket is for a flight on Lufthansa airlines on Wednesday August 27th from San Francisco at 1:00 PM. I’ll have a layover in London, another flight to Vienna, and finally a flight to Skopje, Macedonia. I’m scheduled to arrive there at about 3:30 Thursday afternoon. Brian will be in the states until late October so I will be getting settled in with another American missionary, Mark Orfila. I’ll be focusing on learning the Macedonian language and culture until Brian gets back.

Prayer Needs
1. Pray for me as I transition into the Macedonian culture. I have already felt anxiety and restlessness. Pray that God will give me rest and confidence.
2. Pray for Macedonia and the countries surrounding it. Pray for the missionaries and churches there as they continue to grow.
3. Pray for the church in Shutka that I’ll be working with. Pray for the church in Shutka to be completed and for the Bible school in Skopje to be completed and to open soon.
4. Pray for my finances. I am already going on a reduced budget. Pray that everyone that pledged will honor their commitment and allow me to stay once I get there. Pray that I will have just enough to do the work that God is sending me to do.
Thank you all for your support! This letter will probably find you after I’m already in Macedonia, but please remember to pray, and please remember to keep up with your financial contributions. You can still contact me via email as well as through my blog site which are both listed below.

Yours in Christ,

Christopher R. Parkinson
P0 Box 1012
Redway, CA 95560
Christopher.Parkinson@ma.agmd.org
www.crparky.blogspot.com

Sermon from July 13th

This is what I preached yesterday. I hope it proves of some use to my readers.

I. Intro:

1. Greeting

2. Recap

A. Last week we asked the question “What Is It Like To Be Called?”

B. We looked at Samuel’s call and what he had to do to be prepared for his call.

C. We looked at how he had to be training, willing, and listening.

3. Today, I want to pose the question: How do we turn to God?

A. Do we just turn around or even look up? Is it that simple?

B. What do you have to do?

4. We’ll be looking at 1 Samuel 7:2-6 and the question of “How do we turn to God?”

II. Scripture: 1Samuel 7:2-6.

III. Open In Prayer

IV. Point 1: Seeking

1. Text:

²It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord.

2. Context:

A. Last week we looked at what was the first real mention of Samuel and his ministry. Since he was called, a good twenty or so years passed and the curse came on Eli and his sons, and both died.

B. The ark got taken away by the Philistine army but the power of God was on it and He killed many of them so they ended up sending it back. It never did make it to the temple though and stayed in Kiriath Jearim.

C. Just like almost every other point in Israel’s history, they had slipped into idolatry and weren’t following the ways of God. They had lost their motivation because the Philistines had beaten them. The ark had been misplaced.

D. They had been distracted from God but somehow they knew they needed Him and began to seek Him.

3. Illustration:

A. How easy is it for us to get distracted and misplace the Lord in the priority of our lives. We don’t even have to turn completely away from him or be completely lost not knowing God at all. We don’t have to be an unbeliever to be turned from God.

B. Distractions come at us in many forms. For me, it’s my busy schedule! Some, like my dad, might laugh at that but I believe I’ve had a pretty busy schedule the last few weeks. I found out I’ve got to start getting things in order for my trip. I need to start packing. I started learning guitar and am striving to be capable of leading worship on it. I work 5 days a week from 9-6. And I even preach on Sundays! But the last few weeks, I’ve had close friends come back into the area and have been trying to spend time with them as well! I don’t know about you but I think that gets to be a pretty busy schedule!

C. We as believers even get distracted from God so easily.

4. Application

A. We are going to have many distractions come at us in our lives. We are going to turn from God if only in little ways.

B. We need to come to a point where we are constantly seeking Him. This is our fist step to turning to God. We need to seek Him.

V. Point 2: Committing

1. Text:

³And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

2. Context:

A. This text is the first that talks about any ministry done by Samuel since the day of his call that we looked at last week.

B. He calls out the Israelites in their seeking God and challenges them to do it fully and correctly.

C. Samuel challenges them to get rid of their distractions. For them their distractions were the pagan idols of Baal and Ashtoreth and many of them had several statues of each!

D. Only after they got rid of their idols, their distractions could they commit themselves to the Lord and serve Him only!

3. Illustration:

A. One thing I think of when I look at distractions is playing tug-of-war with a dog. You get them all excited and they’re totally focused and holding on with everything they have. They’re yanking when they think you’re not holding on tight and just keying in on what you’re doing. But the key to winning tug-of-war with a dog is breaking their focus, distracting them. You can poke them, or dangle another toy in front of them and they lose their focus and their grip and you’ve won.

B. It’s the same way with us. When we’re supposed to be fully focused on God setting everything else aside, all it takes is a little distraction for us to lose our grip. If you’re trying to read your Bible, all it needs to be is a quick glance at a picture to lose your focus. Or if you’re trying to pray, all it takes is a thought about what you have to do later. We have so many toys if you will dangling around us but none of them will give us the satisfaction of biting into God and really seeking Him above all else.

4. Application:

A. In order to really turn to God, we need to constantly be committing our attention to God above all other distractions. We can’t be coaxed away by all the pokes and prods or by the tempting but short-lived treats that are being dangled in front of us.

B. This is our next part of turning to God: We need to commit attention to Him.

VI. Point 3: Confessing

1. Text:

⁵Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the Lord for you.” ⁶When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.

2. Context:

A. After Samuel challenged Israel to commit to the Lord, he instructed them to come together so he could intercede for them. He wanted the blessing of the Lord to come back on Israel once more.

B. They assembled and humbled themselves. They realized their faults and what they had done. They realized they had let their distractions become their focus and they confessed to God what they had done.

C. When you’ve been distracted and turned your attention from God, to really be able to completely turn and recommit your attention, you have to realize your distractions and confess them to God. You have to build that bridge back from that distraction so you can stay aware that it’s there!

3. Application:

A. True confessing can only stem from realizing where we’ve fallen short. Or just realizing when we’ve fallen! We need to be able to be seeking and committing enough to be able to see when we are starting to stray.

B. We are all going to stray because you can’t avoid distractions from being there, you can only fight off the distractions.

C. Realize that we will be distracted but constantly be watching for and confessing your distractions, admitting and acknowledging your struggles so that God can help you regain your focus and continue to be turning to Him.

4. Illustration:

A. I’ve had several opportunities to share this with people but I want to share this personal realization with you today. To the world, I can tend to look like a slacker. I tend to get distracted and forgetful pretty easily. I can get wrapped up in stuff pretty quick and tend to over commit pretty often. The problem isn’t that I’m a slacker and am forgetful but that there are always going to be distractions.

B. If I get wrapped up in one thing and then finally realize that it’s not healthy for me, it’s no problem to get rid of that thing. But, soon enough I will get wrapped up in something else. I believe it’s how people are when they’re not focused on God and constantly fighting through distraction after distraction to get to what they need to do!

C. The real problem comes with not being able to see and admit the distractions because only after that can you fight them off.

VII. Conclusion

To really be able to say we are turned to God, we need to:

1. Come to a point where we are constantly Seeking God,

2. Be constantly Committing our lives to God,

3. Be able to be realizing and Confessing our distractions to God.

Close in Prayer.

This was the sermon I preached this morning. Let me know what you think!

I. Intro:

1. Greeting

2. The Last 3 Weeks Theme of Examples

3. What is it like to be Called?

A. Is being called the same thing as your mom or dad calling you home for dinner when you were kids?

B. What is it like to be called?

i. What do you have to do? Do you have to do anything?

ii. Do you know what it would sound like?

iii. Do you know what you would say?

iv. What would you do?

4. Today we’ll be looking at 1Samuel 3:1-10 and the things that surrounded Samuel’s call to serve the Lord.

A. We’ll look at his Training

B. We’ll look at him Willing

C. And we’ll look at how he was Listening

II. Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

III. Open in Prayer

IV. Point 1: Training

1. Text:

¹The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. ²One night Eli whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

2. Context:

A. Samuel had been given to the temple by his mother while he was very young.

B. Eli because of his sons was cursed by God along with all his sons.

C. Samuel was being trained up under Eli.

D. Clarification: You don’t have to believe to be getting trained in ministry!

E. This time in Israel’s history wasn’t one with many prophecies or miracles.

i. Just because you can’t see God working in major ways doesn’t mean He’s not at work. He works in everything.

F. You’re always training whether you are aware of it or not.

3. Illustration:

A. Everything in my life has been training for where I’m at and where I’ll be in the future. Everything I am doing now is training me for Macedonia, but for beyond Macedonia too! And everything I’ll do there will be training for whatever God has for me after that.

4. Application

A. God trained us our entire lives to be where we are now. The difference between us and unbelievers is that we are supposed to be active participants in our training!

V. Point 2: Willing

1. Text:

⁴Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” ⁵And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. ⁶Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.

2. Context:

A. Samuel and Eli were sleeping when God first called Samuel’s name.

B. Samuel was completely willing to serve the one who was calling him. He even got up three times in the middle of the night to do it! He just thought it was Eli calling.

C. He had no idea it was God calling him.

D. It took three times for God to call Samuel before Eli even realized it was God calling Samuel.

3. Illustration:

A. As I mentioned earlier, in my personal life God has been continuously preparing me for where I’m at now. He’s trained me with the knowledge and wisdom to understand His word. He’s given me the desire to have a closer stronger relationship with Him.

B. He’s also been calling me over and over again into serving in Missions! He called me the first time in Junior High. I didn’t answer. Then, He called me again in my Junior year of high school. Then He called me to serve numerous times while I was at Bethany. Only now am I finally getting ready to leave for the field in August because I am finally ready and willing!

4. Application:

A. How many times in our lives have we done something or gone through something that only by looking back later could we see it was God working in and through us?

B. Samuel was blindly willing. He had been trained to serve God and all of Israel before he even knew God’s voice.

C. We need to be willing to answer God’s call but we don’t have to blind about what God is doing. If we are properly trained, we won’t just be indirectly willing to serve God but intentional about serving God.

VI. Point 3: Listening

1. Text:

⁹So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

2. `Context:

A. Eli had finally realized what was going on. He saw that the Lord was calling Samuel and told him how to act.

B. Eli instructed Samuel how to respond to God.

C. Finally Samuel got to hear the voice of God and learn who was really calling him.

3. Illustration:

A. How many of us have been able to have the blessing of a spiritual mentor?

B. I’ve been blessed to have several of them. The most significant two have been my father and David Sanchez. They have shown me and taught me how to listen for God’s direction just like Eli taught Samuel.

C. It’s important to learn what it means to really be listening to God. It doesn’t just mean listening and nodding your head every now and then with a few single word phrases to make it seem like you’re paying attention!

D. Listening to God means having your heart lined up with what God is doing. It’s not just hearing. Spiritual listening is really extreme paying attention.

4. Application:

A. We need to be listening. We should consciously make the decision to listen for God’s voice. If we are already believers, we can and should ask God to open our eyes and ears to see and hear what He’s doing so that we can actively participate.

VII. Conclusion:

Samuel at this point in his life wasn’t an intentional participant in what God was doing. He was participating by default. The difference we have is the option to be active and intentional participants in God’s work on earth.

1. Training: We need to be actively and intentionally training ourselves…

2. Willing: We need to be constantly willing to serve God…

3. Listening: We need to be aware of God’s directions and be carefully listening for his voice and direction…

VIII. Close in Prayer

Abraham's Example of Faith

This is the outline I preached from last Sunday. Amazingly, without planning it to come off this way, it became a sequal to last weeks sermon. It seems I have a little mini-series developing here! Any way, here it is:

1. Intro:
1. Greeting
2. Recap of Last Week:
1. We saw Paul's example of righteous waiting.
1. He Waited
2. He Got Distressed
3. He Acted
3. Today we'll be looking at Romans 4:19-21, and Abraham's example of faith.
2. Scripture: Romans 4:19-21 (18-22 for context)
3. Pray
4. Point 1: Face the Facts (vs 19)
1. Explain the context of the verses pertaining to the book verses the context of this story.
2. Context: Abraham was promised offspring as numerous as the stars. He was already very old and Sarah was considered barren.
3. Application:
1. We are like Abraham spiritually; dead.
2. We are as good as dead because of sin.
3. We need to recognize that without God, we're worthless.
4. We need to face the facts of our human state of being.
4. Illustration: Missions week @ Bethany 1st semester was a flop but 2nd semester was a huge success because I recognized I couldn't do it; it had to be God doing it all.
5. Point 2: Don't Waver (1st part of verse 20)
1. Explain Waver
2. Context: Abraham could have hesitated and not believed what God told him. He could've given up because of his age and walked away from the promise of God. Instead he was strengthened in his faith.
3. Application: We need to stand and act in confidence in what God is having us do, in where he is having us go. We cannot doubt or "waver."
4. Illustration: How many times does scripture tell us to not doubt, to have courage, or stand firm when we need to do something? If we doubt or waver it just makes things worse for us. (James 1:5-8).
6. Point 3: Give Glory to God (last part of 20 & 21)
1. Context: Despite Abraham's physical circumstances, Abraham believed God was going to follow through on His promise and gave God glory for it. Unfortunately, he had to be persuaded to believe this. Remember Hagar & Ishmael?
2. Application: We've seen many examples about God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. We need to stay constantly persuaded and give glory to God because He will do what He promises.
3. Illustration: How many of us have experienced God's promises being fulfilled? What about beyond the examples in the Bible? Most believers can share personal examples. Ways from our own lives that God has provided and fulfilled His promises. There's been a number of times God's provided for me just when I needed it most, especially financially! In fact when I learned I needed to preach and speak at churches to raise my finances for my trip, God provided that ability!
7. Conclusion: We need to follow Abraham's example of Faith.
1. We need to face the facts of our humanity and thus our own inability.
2. We need to not waver or doubt God's abilities but instead believe more fully on Him.
3. We need to give glory to God because we know He has the power to do what He promises.
   

Preaching Weekly

A friend of mine, Pastor Tinsley Stetson of New Hope Assembly in Garberville has some stuff going on with him. He has a mechanical heart valve that was put in many years ago but he has lately had some complications with the aorta going into the valve. When they did the surgery, they just stitched the aorta back to the heart. Now that place has began to swell so he has to have it reattached because it may rupture if it keeps swelling. Thus, he cannot preach or do anything for that matter that may raise his blood pressure. Pray for him.

How this effects me? He needs someone to fill his pulpit until he's recovered from the surgery and has asked me to do so. I jumped at the oppurtunity because it'll be the first time I've preached multiple Sundays back to back and I need the practice to be able to put sermons together on a weekly basis. I'm excited! It's fortunate yet unfortunate circumstances so keep it in your prayers. Hopefully I'll be posting the sermons here so keep checking back here.

I preached at Tinsley Stetson's church, New Hope Assembly of God in Garberville today. I wanted to post the sermon outline that I used for all to see and hopefully give some feedback on. I hope you like it and are blessed by it. If you want to put it a little more in context, go ahead and read the passage from the beginning of the chapter to the end and you'll understand more about what's going on here.

I. Intro:

1. Today, we’ll be looking at Acts 17:16-17. It’s a short chunk of scripture that’s going to illustrate how Paul acted in a situation of waiting.

II. Read Scripture: Acts 17: 1-17

III. Pray

IV. Point 1 : Paul Was Waiting

1. Context: How did Paul come to be waiting? What was he waiting for?

2. Application: We all go through times of waiting of all kinds.

3. Illustration: I’ve been waiting for my trip to Macedonia…

V. Point 2: Paul Got Distressed

1. Context: Paul was righteously distressed; not by waiting itself but by his surroundings.

2. Application: We get distressed by the wrong things when we’re waiting. We get caught up by waiting itself!

3. Illustration: I’ve gotten frustrated by the waiting…

VI. Point 3: Paul Acted

1. Context: Paul observed his surroundings, saw a need for God and acted.

2. Application: We need to be watching for opportunities in the midst of our times of waiting and be willing to act boldly, in confidence when the opportunity arises.

3. Illustration: Prayer event story…

VII. Conclusion:

1. Waiting: We all go through a waiting stage.

2. Distress: We need to be righteously distressed.

3. Acting: We need to act when the opportunity is presented.

VIII. Close in Prayer

Religious Mess in the Balkans

I found an interesting article from a Balkans newspaper about the religious state of Albania. I think it's applicable to more of the region (including specifically Macedonia where I'll be serving soon) than just Albania. The lack of interest in religion yet the celebration of supposed religious holidays just because they are now allowed to celebrate them is amazing.

This article was taken from BalkanInsight.com

"Albania’s Muslim Easter
29 April 2008
For a long time, roughly half-a-century, celebrating a religious festivity was a pure act of rebellion in Albania. Former dictator Enver Hoxha in his attempt to create the homo-sovieticus had banned anything from Christmas to Carnivals. Any challenge to the rule and you could be drop-shipped to the gulags as priority mail.
By Besar Likmeta in Tirana
Otherwise what we had were tons of new-age, proletarian heaven celebrations, like Stalin’s birthday, Marx’s circumcision or the acid-stamped rave party for the electrification of Albania.

After the country emerged from a burka shaped lifestyle behind the iron curtain, religious festivities and ceremonies returned. Gone were the glorious military parades, where you would line up at the break of dawn to challenge NATO with carton-box missiles, and spook all the so called “draconian” democracies that mistreated the glorified worker.

Now, if you ask any Albanian on his religious affiliation; most of the time you will end up listening to a diatribe that sounds like this:

“My grandmother from my mother’s side was a Muslim, so was the grandpa from my dad’s, though my father does not believe in god. My other grandfather is Greek Orthodox, but I really don’t take religion that seriously. I think there must be a god.”

Well, quite devout as it may seem! However, such a long draught in religious festivities has turned them in something they would never dream of. Yes, to Albanians they are sexy, mystified by a long absence and a good reason to go out and enjoy yourself.

One such occasion that is drifting and lingering everyone’s attention is certainly the Greek Orthodox Easter. Taking part on the ceremony of the re-birth of Christ is somehow a good occasion to stretch for a walk at midnight, jabber with your friends and certainly light a candle in omen for good fortune.

So Muslims, Catholics and Greek Orthodoxs, are all the time celebrating and participating in each-others religious festivities. It’s a win-win situation. You could have colored eggs for Easter, baklava for Eid, and a glass of wine for Christmas- actually a personal favorite.

Albania still classifies as the only country in Europe with a majority Muslim population. With some “reliable” statistics from the 1930s the emotional split between Allah and Jesus facing east or west is as follows. Approximately 70 percent of the population is Muslim, 20 percent Greek Orthodox and the remaining 10 percent is catholic.

Having survived the Cold War, 50-years of a satanically styled communist dictatorship, not to mention some 40-years of being the first country in the world to proudly call itself atheist that stubborn little pile of numbers still defines us in the eyes of the others.

Theodor Billroth, the father of abdominal surgery, once noted that; “statistics are like women; mirrors of purest virtue and truth, or like whores to use as one pleases.”

Hmm, that’s a moral dilemma to ponder on-70 percent baklava, 20 percent colored eggs, a 10 percent glass of wine..."

For those of you that don't know, Macedonia is in large portion, Albanian Muslim so this will reflect greatly on the state of Macedonian people as well as Albanian.