The Green Room

For tonight we are meeting at the same time same place as always. Jon and Maryanne are our of town so we are on our own but we plan to meet as usual and finish what we planned last week which is all of part one. Make sure you bring both your book and workbook and be ready to begin at 7pm sharp!

See you all tonight!

Here is the assignment for Monday July 23rd.

Please complete the entire first part of the book.
Complete the corresponding pages for section 1 in the workbook. Do your best to answer all the questions... this makes for better discussion.

I hope to see you all on Monday at 7pm sharp!

So our first meeting together to discuss our fabulous book, "The Pressure's Off" was last night and it was great!!! I think this book is going to challenge all of us to check our hearts and our intentions as to why and how we follow Christ. I can taste the end result and I'm excited about the transformation already taking place. There's nothing we can do except seek the PRESENCE of GOD!

The following is a quote that I've had around for a while but never really understood it until now... this is what the book is talking about. This should be our goal. There's "do A to get B" about it... just basking in the presence of God!

“As He lives inside us He promises to transform us from the inside out, but the changing is not our goal—it is a by-product of the adventure. The beauty of this reality is we are released from the obligation to change ourselves. We do not have to pretend to be someone better. We no longer have to find our own way to reach the face of God, or to forgive others, or to escape addiction, loneliness, or lack. The Spirit—the Presence—of God enters the inner being of the Follower and begins to rebuild the heart from the inside out. The rebuilding, healing presence of God reshapes even our motives so we can live and love like we have always imagined. The only discipline the Follower has to commit himself to is the work of remaining in the presence of God and enjoying the relationship. God performs the transformation.”

– Ben Paisley

As I reflect on Friday night, I think of all my tears, over time, for the lost. The times pleading with the Lord of the harvest, praying for workers.

To see something birthed out of Hope, with a heart for the lost, young men and women who are answering our Lords call to be the light to those who sit in darkness. Well I can't express what it meant to me, I am forever grateful for being allowed to be a part of that evening. May the Lord shine even brighter in all of you,

- Brian

Well it's 1:30am an I just go home a little bit ago from our outreach in the city. I of course ran straight to Gina's room (roommate) to tell her all about it and mid way through i just started to cry.

Tonight was amazing. As we packed up to leave, I was afraid and hesitant and actually almost backed out. But the Holy Spirit was very present and lead us all through till the end.

I started out just making sure i had something in either hand to hand out. And i made sure I was standing very close to another member of our group. I just observed. I felt so out of place, this lifestyle these people are living is so foreign to me. I saw drug deals made, and people using them just steps away from me. The smell of urine saturated parts of the street, everything seemed so dirty. People were setting up their temporary homes for the night in doorways and along the wall. People were selling trinkets on the sidewalk and begging for money on the corner. What was I thinking coming to this place?

Our first encounter was with a family who had been evacuated from their apartment building because the fire alarms had gone off. They had small kids and they were all very friendly. We handed out our treats and asked to pray. One of the kids prayed the sweetest prayer over us first and then we prayed for them. The mom was so full of life and was so thankful for our interaction. It was a good warm up.

I still wasn't sure what I was doing. I watched Brian Bennett do his thing and was just blown away! It is so awesome to see people in the element God created them to be in. He was so comfortable and had such a Godly confidence...He really was being Jesus' hands and feet to those people and it was a blessing to watch. I asked him for some suggestions and he said just let the Spirit lead you.

I still didn't know how to approach the situation so I just prayed in the Spirit. What a comforting tool God has given us. When you don't know what to do, in any situation, i suggest praying in the spirit because a peace will come upon you and the next right thing to do will be obvious.

And it was. Justin and I were kind of just standing and waiting for our group to start moving again, when my Holy Spirit Radar locked in on this woman about 20 yards away. "Come on Justin, let's go." We prayed for her and it was AMAZING. She received every word that was spoken to her and it truly was a divine appointment, I don't even remember what we prayed.

At this point I felt like I was walking with some confidence. God was in control. Natalie led me to our next prayer partner. His name was Raymond and he was a preacher at heart. I was blown away by this man's heart for the city and by his appreciation for us. We all prayed for each other to be more like Jesus and to have wisdom and for the city to be revived. He said "We just had church right here...that's what I'm talkin about!" It was so GREAT!

As our night came to a close Natalie and I prayed for this woman who had just had an accident in her pants and we think she may have had a false leg. She was embarrassed by her situation but was eager for prayer and a pair of socks. We prayed for her and I was ready to bolt because I knew she wanted her privacy to get cleaned up. But Natalie stayed back a second and asked if the lady needed any help and if she was going to be alright. The ladies eyes got big and she sat and thought about the question for a moment..."yeah, I'll be alright." She was fighting her tears and so was I.

At this point I went into deep thought and thankfully Teri Bennett was there to talk it through a bit with me. But it wasn't until I told my experience to Gina when all the thoughts and emotions surfaced.

Through tears I explained the anguish I felt for these people. A brokenness i had never experienced before. I know I can't save them. But it's just so hard to hand a person a pair of socks, pray for them, and leave. I get to go home and get into my warm bed and sleep without fear. I get to get up in the morning and eat breakfast. I get to get in my car and drive to the store and buy food. I get to go to church and have friends and family to support me. These people have nothing.

But having nothing doesn't make them invisible or insignificant. They are loved by God and deserve salvation and hope for their eternal lives just like we do. I am so thankful that my eyes have been opened, not just to a need, but to an extension of my spiritual family...God continue to break my heart for the lost. Continue to use ministries like Hope for the Homeless and the Green Room and anybody who feels a burden for the lost to venture out onto the streets and share God's love. Jesus haunt those people we touched tonight, multiply the food we gave them and overwhelm them with your presence. Thank you God for using people like us to do Kingdom Work. All Glory and Praise to You!

Well tonight's the night we go out and share the love and hope of Jesus Christ with the hopeless. As you prepare to share your hearts, please pray for a covering for all who'll participate. Pray that we would walk by faith and not by sight! What you say today could change someones life forever!

Please read the following. I was inspired by it and thought it might inspire you! Note the power in three simple words, "Jesus Loves You"!

This guy used to be on the streets of San Francisco for a totally different reason. Now he's out sharing the love of Christ with others!

Best,

Jon

A little more than two years ago I was stinking, no shower for six months, sitting on the sidewalk. The Grace of God came to me—a lady came to me pushing a baby, right to the corner where I was sitting drinking with my friends, but she didn’t talk to them only to me. She said to me, “Jesus loves you, and He has something for you, and something for me, and something for everybody—don’t lose your time!” That same day three other people told me Jesus loved me. I was puzzled that I began to change, I began to drink a little less. After two days, I took a shower. One guy in a car called out to me, “Hey, Jesus loves you—you want to change your life?” And that’s how I got to Grace Healing Home. Now I believe God is a great God; I know He is real and sometimes I still ask why me? But I know He says, “Because I love you"
UPDATE: Agustin has finished his three years of Assemblies of God Bible School and is now Assistant Pastor of the Homeless Church. He is directing the afternoon Sunday service at La Raza Park, and has his daughters Karen,. Genesis and Jessica, and son Agustin, living with him and going to school here. His heart is open to anyone he sees who needs Jesus.

For everyone who wants to be involved with Friday nights outreach trip to San Francisco here is some basic information (more detailed information will be given in an email):

- Meeting @ Panda Express in Rohnert Park at 6pm
- Meet at the Moore's house at 5:30pm if you would like to carpool to Rohnert Park so we don't have to take so many cars down there.
- Dress accordingly, but comfortable, make sure you bring a sweatshirt... it is San Francisco!
- If you would like to hand things out, I was told that the following would be good suggestions... but please don't feel obligated to bring anything, but it does help facilitate conversation:

• Socks, nothing fancy, just a few pairs of clean socks
• Bottled waters
• Individually wrapped snack foods

For Monday July 16th, here is what we need to have completed:

- Purchase both book and workbook (information for both provided below)
- In the book read "A Parable: Night Question," "Introduction: Two Paths," and "Part 1: There's A New Way To Live." Pages 3 to Page 22.
- Workbook covers all three of these items on Pages 5 to Page 21.

Please do your best to complete as much as possible as early in the week as possible so you will have time to think and pray about what you read, so that our meeting on Monday will have a lot of awesome input from everyone!

See you on Friday if you are going to the city, but if not see you on Monday July 16th for the beginning of the new book!

P.S. Remember, come fed, and on time, we start sharp at 7pm!

Hey everyone, just so you all know if you are going to order your books on Amazon.com your total will be about $48.02 with the normal shipping and handling charges when you order them together. Plus, it only took them 2 days to get the books to me, so don't worry about getting them on time, just make sure you have your orders in by the beginning of this week and you should be fine!

Remember, there is no meeting Monday the 2nd, but we are meeting the following Monday the 16th for our first meeting to start the new book! So get the book, get it read, and get ready for the new season of The Green Room!