The Brush Of Our Master’s Hand

The sun’s golden red haze

sets ablaze the early eve sky.

Majestically it’s framed

in royal purples and blues.

So smooth is each line

so perfect each stroke

that shamed are the brushes

of Anglo and Vango.

Behind Lisa’s enchanted smile

flow envious tears

for not to have been captured

in such a beautiful array.

Yet beyond the comprehension

of our small minds to understand,

it’s such a simple simple painting

from the brush of our Master’s Hand.

-

Upon a black velvet canvas

shines a zillion tiny stars.

Yet when it is full

one shines oh so bright.

So pure is it’s glow

clothed in righteous satin white,

yet it is only a reflection

lighting the endless dark night.

It’s a symbol of His church

in this darkness called sin,

we each should be a reflection

of the Son He had sent.

Yet beyond the comprehension

of our small minds to understand,

is the story of each painting

from the brush of our Master’s Hand.

-

Among a dozen or more needles

He paints a perfect rose.

Such splendor a flower

to be placed among thorns.

It’s an example from our Father

A gift of His great Love,

to a world full of evil

He sent us Jesus His Son.

From the thorns and the cross

was flowing red cleansing blood

which He shed for the sins

of each and every one of us.

Yet beyond the comprehension

of our small minds to understand,

is the love in each painting

from the brush of our Master’s Hand.

Bernie Wheater

2-19-1998

Were you looking for photos of the Labor Day Pignic and Bonfire at GLBBC? Well look no further. Just Click on the red button below:

Note: Until the Pignic photographs are uploaded to the usual “Pictures” link on the main page of the www.glbbc.com web site, these photos will reside here on the blog. So in the mean time, the photos can be found under the “Pages” section in the right-hand column of the blog – look for the “Labor Day PigNic & Bonfire” page and click on it.

Things That Are Not Taught in the Bible

• A second chance to go to Heaven after death is not in the Bible.
• “Be good, and you will go to Heaven,” is not in the Bible.
• “Be sincere, and you will go to heaven,” is not in the Bible.
• “Be baptized in water to be saved,” is not in the Bible.
• “Join a church to be saved,” is not in the Bible.
• Confession to a priest or preacher for forgiveness is not in the Bible.
• Purgatory is not in the Bible.
• Limbo is not in the Bible.
• Burning candles for the sick is not in the Bible.
• Sprinkling or pouring for baptism is not in the Bible.
• Prayers to Mary or to any other saint to help us is not in the Bible.
• Speaking in tongues to be saved is not in the Bible.

A tip of the hat to “The Bible View” at www.OpenThouMineEyes.com

The other “pig skin”… yum:

Someone got too close to the bonfire:

Our music specials were performed by the Giardino family. Before the hymns, the foursome of Lori, Michael, Julia, and Ross sang “My Lord Knows the Way Through the Wilderness”, and all we have to do is follow was the hymn’s instructions. Following the hymns, Michael sat at the piano while Lori and Julia sang with him, “I Am Not One of These”. So stirring was the message that many came forward to the alter. As Michael continued to play, Pastor Giardino remarked that the song is about those who died for their faith and that we needed to take a moment to get right with God, to “start a burning revival in your heart.”

Matt 13:47-50 and Eccl 9:11-12 were the introductory bible verses that our pastor read from. His sermon had two titles, “Dragnet” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. He began the sermon with a story from Jack Webb, who played Sergeant Joe Friday (badge # 714) in the TV crime drama, “Dragnet”. The story was about what it’s like to be a cop, with all the pitfalls, frustrations, and problems. This thankless, glamour-less journey of a cop was one that our pastor could relate to, touching him emotionally as he first read the story alone. Pastor Giardino went on to use the badge and the badge number to make points based on bible numerology; 7 is God’s perfect number and 14 is the number of deliverance. The badge represents authority, just as a pastor preaches with authority from the Bible.

Pastor arrived at the second title of his sermon from Matt 13:47-50, where the “good” were gathered, the “bad” were cast away, and the “ugly” were those cast into the furnace of fire. Point 1 of his sermon, “The Good of the Dragnet”, was taught using Psalm 107:23-31, where God calms the storms of man and “bringeth them out of their distresses”.  After your personal troubles, Pastor Giardino told us, “finally God gets your attention.” “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:31 was the verse where Pastor had us realize the emotion involved with God’s grace and mercy toward us.

Pastor Giardino closed with  John 21:5 and John 4:31-36. Jesus was teaching his disciples that the “meat” to which he was referring to was “to do the will of him that sent me”. Harvesting souls is to do God’s work. Pastor said, “God need to employ you; God needs to use you to save souls.

One last thought: Sunday afternoon following service was our chance to say goodbye and offer prayers for Ricardo Caletz, U.S. Army, who will be deployed to Afghanistan in October.

Resurrecting a long ignored project, the men began again to pick up the task of planning and composing a bible tract. This tract is intended to be a specially designed tract for use by Gospel Lighter’s in our efforts at soul winning. (Steve Derefinko and Gabriel are working on a framework to reach every door of Gates and other surrounding towns.) Gabriel spent a few moments reviewing previous lessons and then brought us to where the group effort left off. The cover illustration will be created by Salina Giardino. The current idea for the illustration is to have a smiling mask being pulled away from a sad face underneath, with the face representing the reality. Written on the mask will be the earthly things that hide the problem.

(Tract Example Only)

The tract, as currently formatted, has 5 main categories: The Intro, The Reality, The Reason, The Remedy, and The Response. The tract will attempt to swing from the intellect to the conscience, using God’s commandments to provide examples of what sin is. (Someone mentioned playfully, “Turn or burn.”) Pastor Giardino explained why the text of the tract should be much shorter than tracts used in the past; in today’s world, people don’t read as much as they did in the past. He suggested that the tract needs to catch the eye, be shiny with an attractive font, yet pack a punch. Input was received from the men in attendance, who offered ideas and possible bible verses to be included. Gabriel ended or session by saying that a final committee will be chosen to work out the final tract details.

This coming Sunday, September 12, is Move-Up Sunday at Gospel Light Bible Baptist Church. Some of our children will be moving up from one Sunday School Class to the next. Expect something special that morning. Our 9:45 AM classes are organized as follows:

Ages 4 – 6: Orange Room upstairs

Ages 7 – 10: Blue Room upstairs

Ages 11 – 12: Media Office near Library

Ages 13-19: Library

Attention Miss Bonnie’s Sunday School Class:

Although Move-Up Sunday is on the 12th, we will be starting our class on Wednesday evening. If you don’t want to miss out, BE HERE Wednesday, September 8 at 7PM.

Do you recognize this building? Which one of the following choices is correct?

1. Gates Town Library, Western Branch

2. Outhouse in back of Gospel Light

3. Goodwill shed in the Gospel Light parking lot

4. Rey Caletz’s workshop

5. The Pastor’s Quarters at Camp Li-Lo-Li

Good morning. It has been quite busy at Gospel Light in the last couple of weeks! The Bard Family is here and are enjoying some really nice upgrades to our missions apartment. The new bathroom is sensational and it’s not even detailed in the finish yet. Some “clutch players” in this project are: Mrs. G, Bill, Bob Gadra, Mateo, Ermino…WOW these dear brethren got the job done. We had some late night busy brushers doing painting until almost midnight this past Wednesday night after service.

Here’s the deal for the Labor Day Holiday weekend:

1.) I’ll be preaching this Lord’s Day at 11am and Sunday night at 6pm. We’ll be splitting up in our adult Sunday School classes for soul winning by Sis. Gale Reed with the ladies and myself & Gabriel & Bro. Rey together in a class for the men.

2.) THIS SUNDAY NIGHT I’ll be covering “DELICATE UNION” and I’ll be handling sensitive adult matters regarding sex in marriage. Bro. Gabriel will be having the kids that I don’t want to be in the main service in another area of our building. Any adult in our ministry even nominal-in-attendance should benefit (be edified)….Lord willing….to this charge and sermon. Maybe you know of unsaved folks that could benefit from this opportunity. GET THEM ON THE HOOK asap by inviting them to our 6pm service.

3.) We also have our “PIGNIC” on Monday at 3pm! Last year many of our folks that signed up for dishes for the Pignic came wandering in much later that the start time…this frustrated me to see this happen…yes I remember. SOOOO we’re starting later for this not to happen again. Please be courteous and get here a little earlier so we can dig into the wonderful variety of foods that will be displayed and devoured! The Pig will be cooked all night Sunday night by Brian Baxter.

4.) WE NEED FOLKS TO SHOW UP SATURDAY AT 10am to help set up the pignic area. Party Tents, carts, trash barrels, Volleyball nets,  etc. etc.  PLEASE VOLUNTEER. The grounds of Gospel Light have never looked better so let’s get this area looking really nice. We’ll be having an awesome BON-FIRE as well Monday night.

5.) Our ministry is growing in a fabulous way. New families are getting involved and even NON church folks are interested in helping us out. Please do your part and keep the spirit of joy and happiness rolling into this early fall. Here’s a closing verse for you to ponder;as the “household” of Solomon’s servant attracted people from all over the world so should the “household” of Gospel Light!: 2 Chron 9:7 Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.

6.) Please pray for missionary Scott Allis presently on the next missionary trip as he brings mp-3 players into the “Stan” countries!

I CAN”T WAIT TO SEE YOU AND YOUR GUESTS THROUGHOUT THE UPCOMING WEEKEND!!

“It’s yet to be seen when you learn to lean”; I’m hooked as I learn to “lean” on Him.

Love my country….fear our rogue government…value my church,

Pastor Vince Giardino

Hip, hip, hurray! Our annual Labor Day Picnic is just days away: this Monday, September 6 at 3 PM. If 200 lbs of roasted pig isn’t enough to get your taste buds hopping, then think about all those tasty dishes that everyone will be bringing. If you have not already done so, please sign up to bring a dish to pass and a dessert on the back table in church.

To add to the fun, we will be having a gigantic bonfire behind the church. Don’t forget to bring marshmallows and a long stick to roast them on.

The occasion will be our chance to welcome the Bard family to Gospel Light. They should be arriving from Florida around the 4^th. Peter Bard will be the new Youth Leader at GLBBC.

Mark your calendars; we want everyone to come. Don’t forget to invite a friend.



One day in ancient Rome, a lion chased a Christian through the streets. Finally, it became obvious to the exhausted man that the lion was going to catch him. So he turned suddenly, dropped to his knees, and prayed, “Lord please make this lion a Christian!”

Instantly, the lion dropped to his knees too. He folded his forepaws in front of his face and prayed, ” Dear Lord, for this meal of which I am about to partake…”

Opening with I Peter 3:7, our key verse, Pastor Vince Giardino continued with his series on marriage, “Delicate Order”. Once again he used the auto union, UAW, to make analogies to marriage and union benefits. Since marriage is a union, it has “benefits that the Lord instills to keep it healthy”, he said.

Pastor Giardino described the situation of a divorced Christian couple that split because of a lack of communication. With the experience that comes with being a pastor, he could confidently tell us that there are “few good testimonies among Christian couples.” Breaking marriage vows in the church is off the charts”, he lamented. The UAW at least bargains and eventually works things out. A marriage union needs a mediator, and Jesus Christ is who that should be.

Pastor Giardino then read I Cor 7:2-4. Using the UAW acronym, he said “A” stands for “auto” or independent, one unit. “You and your wife are a self-contained unit”, he explained. “A” also stands for appreciation, attention, and adoration. Thus, we need to show our wives appreciation by attending to her desires; “money’s tight, but it’s better than alimony payments”, Pastor G. quipped.

Further in the lesson, our pastor used Deut 5:21-25 to warn against covetousness. The devil uses the “divide and conquer” tactic, so we must be wary not to desire people or things that displace love in our marriage. God’s wife was Israel, Pastor Giardino taught, but “Israel stepped out on God … The more God blessed Israel, the more she forgot God.”

“Marriage is a reward system”, Pastor said, where you are “heirs together of the grace of life.” A wife should esteem her husband, not focusing on the negative, and a husband should honor his wife as she is not a lesser thing. “Lean on each other”, he advised, “in every part of your Christian lives.” Marriage should be like a weld, binding and cleaving husband and wife into one flesh.

Note: Next time on Sesame Street at Gospel Light, we’ll look at the letter “W”. May God richly bless you, dear reader.

Good mo

ust be time to read the Word of God, amen. The Word was instilled all through Sunday morning’s sermon by Pastor Vince Giardino, so the decision to review my notes and write is a blessed alternative.Pastor G. continued on his theme of “hook, line and sinker” by first reading Luke 22: 31-32, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” and then praying that “God open the eyes of those who may be blinded”. Using the movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, Pastor made the analogy between the movie’s deep sea monster “The Kraken” and “leviathan”, described in

chapter 41 of Job, a frightening sea monster that defines Satan. “The devil wants to sink your ship”, Pastor G. warned; using snares and traps, the devil can get your testimony and morality even if he can’t get your soul. Pastor said that, if you are saved, the devil is limited, but he can still “sift” you, “work you over” with the many addictions that our pastor listed. “After the sifting, is there going to be any faith left?”, Pastor Giardino asked.

Thus, Pastor Giardino continued point 3 of his series, “Hook, Lean and Sitter” (concentrating on “lean”). He said that there are all types of hooks the devil uses; “people fall for all kinds of things”. He brought forward an artificial tree from the behind the stage and used that as an illustration of worldly things that fail when you need to lean on something. Using 4 men of the congregation to surround himself, he began to lean back and forth, and these Christian men were able to support him. Pastor taught that we are to surround ourselves with like-minded Christians, lean on the “staff” (Heb 11:21) of the Bible, and that Jesus is there to lean on. When hard times come, “it’s good to be in church”. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” Deut 33:27. Pastor said that you should “want God in your corner” and “lean upon the everlasting arms of Jesus Christ” because “there are going to be tests in life – it’s the Christian life.”

The apostle John leaned upon Jesus (John 13:23), his savior, maker, and God, and was given insights, for it was he that wrote the book of Revelation. In like manner, we also should “draw closer to God”. In Mark 5, the man whom Jesus had removed the legion sat at Jesus’ feet. Just as people feared that man, people will fear us, Pastor Giardino explained, because they don’t want to be changed, they still love their old life of sin.Not to mention our music special for the morning service would be especially egregious. Our Grayson’s Gospel Gobblers were at it again upon our pastor request, with the song “I’ll break the chains that bind”. Our 4 players were Julia with violin, Melodie with vocals, Josh with rhythm guitar, and Grayson plucking away at the banjo. The delightful sounds of praise emanated throughout our church. Praise God for the wealth of musical talent here at Gospel Light.

Brother Bob Brado was back this Sunday morning to finish his teaching on the life of Samuel. In last week’s adult Sunday school, we learned that Samuel ministered to God even before he had a full understanding, Eli taught Samuel how to hear from God, and Samuel becomes God’s new messenger. After his review, Bro. Brado picked up at I Sam 3:19-20, “

In I Sam 4, Eli and his two sons die; the end of Eli was ugly because he did not listen to the warnings of God. Brother Brado said we must discern hat is being delivered by God, “that is why you have a Bible on your lap.” So how did Samuel fare?” he asked, turning to chapter 7. Samuel delivered the tough messages to Israel, but also prayed for the people. Likewise, we need to turn to the Lord and fast and pray; “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7. Israel was delivered from the Philistines in I Sam 7:14 and in 7:15, “Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.” Br. Brado said he wanted to be known as someone who served God all the days of his Christian life. However, “when you stumble, you don’t have to quit, get back up and go.”, he advised. When Israel demanded a king in chapter 8, Samuel advised against it, but God said to let it happen. Saul was anointed Israel’s first king and Samuel counsels, “stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.” 1 Sam 9:27. We also need to “stand still” and listen to the Word because there so many distractions; “something is always being pumped in.”

Brother Brado spoke about the end of Samuel’s life and contrasted it to the way Eli’s life had ended. I Sam 12:1-5 is a testimony of Samuel’s character and with his last charge to Israel, Samuel leaves giving the whole counsel of God. Samuel finished his life strong and with conviction and is an example on how we should strive to finish.



Men’s Prayer Breakfast at GLBBC (08-28-10) began, of course, with breakfast. Our church’s master chef, Jeremiah Rodell, and his band of merry men, created a scrumptious meal of sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and an out-of-this world potato casserole (secret recipe – hashed brown potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese, green peppers, onions, and garlic).Breakfast was followed by enthusiastic, singing of hymns: “Are You Washed in the Blood”, “There is a Fountain”, “Saved by the Blood”, and “Nothing but the Blood”. We were then blessed by the opening prayer by Pastor Zac Dressner (Southeast Bible Baptist Church, Penfield) and welcomed by our very own Pastor Vince Giardino. Eleven visiting pastors and missionaries introduced themselves and were rewarded with gas cards for their efforts to travel to Gospel Light. Pastor Giardino, as promised, also awarded a gift (Cheesecake Factory gift card) to the person who brought the most gifts, which turned out to be Pastor Strobel. The music special for the morning was done by Michael Giardino, who sang while playing piano the song, “His Life for Mine”.

Pastor Strobel began his charge by reading from Rev 3:7-13 as a way to bring up his topic on pillars. He talked about pillars and columns in the architectural sense, describing various types in the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Gal 2:9 was used to show how the bible sometimes refers to people as pillars, in this case, James, Peter, and John. In similar fashion, in II Chron 3:17 pillars are given men’s names, “Jachin” (meaning “he will establish”) and Boaz (meaning “in him is strength”).

All this preaching on pillars was to make the case that “pastors need men in church as pillars.” “Pillars come in all shapes and sizes, so do men”, Pastor Strobel quipped. Thus, if you are to be a much needed pillar for your church, he presented several essential characteristics:

1.) First of all, you need to be saved. He recommended that you search your heart if you have any doubts.

2.) You need to be submitted to Jesus Christ, as Christ is the head of the church.

3.) We need to be anointed pillars; we need the power of God. He stated that to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” is a command of God. Evidence of this is “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” and “giving thanks to God” always (Col 3:16-17).

4.) Pillars are at the house of God. “A church needs pillars to hold it up… to support it”, Pastor Strobel said. The support he described included giving to, praying for, and participating in the church. “Saying ‘amen’ to your pastor (during his sermon) is like saying ‘sic ‘em’ to a hound dog”, he joked.

5.) “Pillars are straight”, Pastor Strobel said to an amused congregation. Clarifying “straight”, he spoke of righteous living and going “to war with your secret sins”, which are “robbing you of your blessings.” He warned that “wrong living leads to wrong doctrine” and backed it up with Gal 15:19, where heresy is show to be a work of the flesh.

6.) Finally, pillars are always there. By this, he meant “folks you can count on” to be there in the house of God every time you come. A pastor is looking for someone like-minded (Phil 2:20). “A pastor needs a band of men whose hearts God has touched”, he said.Pastor Strobel ended in prayer, asking God to give each church “men who will be pillars” and to “make us to be men you want us to be.” The invitation to come forward was given by Pastor Giardino and many came to the alter in prayer. Prayer requests were taken from each of the pastors and missionaries present and prayers were made for those requests by Pastor Joe Camilleri (Victory Baptist, Rochester) and Pastor Dave Underwood (Waterloo Baptist).

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with our dear visitors to Gospel Light and we look forward to future fellowship.

Flock Swapping

by Pastor Dickson Beam

Pastor Vince Giardino’s Preface:

Pastor Dickson Beam is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Medina, New York. He is a dear friend of this pastor. I respect his insight and tenacity as he plows and cultivates the field the Lord has given him.

Earlier this year he blessed me with this essay he wrote about how like-minded churches sometimes have to deal with very tricky and finely-detailed matters of ethics within our churches. I believe his simple yet profound words will help anyone in a good church to learn. Even pastors can take notice and learn from this pastor’s timely wisdom in these matters.

Please take time to read it and then read it again! It will liberate church members under authoritarian pastors and “sheep” that have feared to even pray about exiting a ministry where they do not belong.

To read the article, click here: Flock Swapping

Editors Note: Pastor Beam’s article resides conveniently under “Pages” on the GLBBC Blog front page.

This post will center on the missionary visit this Wednesday evening (Aug 25) to GLBBC. However, before I do, please allow me to write that our hymns were beautifully accompanied by a mini orchestra: Luke and Grayson with guitars and Julia and Nancy with violins. Surely our Lord was as pleased with their efforts to use their musical talents in praise as we were grateful for the skillful musical accompaniment. One other note, Michael played an outstanding and unique rendition of “It is Well with My Soul” on the piano during the second offering.

Our missionary visitors were Erick and Staci Knight, who will be staying with us in the “Gospel Light Hotel”. This delightful and dynamic couple are being sent into the mission fields of Thailand by Happy Valley Baptist Church in Georgia, lead by Pastor Eddie Wyatt (who Pastor Giardino referred to as the “task master pastor”). Brother Erick Knight spoke about his and his wife’s journey since being saved leading up to Thailand. They are hoping to be back in Thailand by this October. The big white screen came down, the lights were dimmed, and we were treated to a very colorful and informative video on Thailand.

The following is a quote from the Knight’s prayer card: “Thailand is 30% larger than the state of Texas and has a population of approximately 66 million people. Of those, 94.6% are Buddhist, 4.6% are Muslim, 0.7% are Christian, and 0.1% are other. There are many areas of Thailand where there is no Gospel witness of ANY kind. Our plan is to team up with Dr. Wayne Sehmish as he starts an Independent Baptist Church and Bible Institute in Nahkon Sawan to train national Pastors and workers.” Brother Knight stated that currently only 23 Independent Baptist missions exist in all of Thailand.

Brother Erick Knight was given 20 minutes to give the charge for the evening. Reading from Romans 12:1-2, Bro. Knight got right to the point. With being “saved” the most important thing in a person’s life, second most important is finding the will of God for your life, something found by reading the Word of God. His lament was that too often people don’t grow after being saved; “they never progress” and continue to be “babies in Christ”. The devil has “sidetracked people from church and from further growth”, he said. Likewise, because of the lack of maturity in the congregation, Baptist churches themselves show immaturity and contention.

Continuing through Romans 12:3-13, Brother Knight illustrated many of the attributes that are part of being mature and active members of the body of Christ. He said that people need to get to the place in the church where they are being used as God intended. Only then, as “each individual gives his reasonable service”, will the church be heading in the direction of God’s will. Brother Knight said that, to find God’s will for your life, there are three main points to consider: (1) You are going to have to want it (through desire), (2) You are going to have to work for it (seeking with wisdom), and (3) It will require you to wait for it. A process of “preparation to make you better not bitter” will occur in your life, just as with Joshua and David in the Old Testament and with our own Pastor Giardino.

Brother Knight said “the Spirit is telling you what is hindering you from serving the Lord.” He exhorted us to “keep pressing on; God can help you go through what you are facing.”

Pastor G.’s Decree: Toward the end of service, Pastor Giardino announced that Erick and Staci Knight are being added to Gospel Light list of supported missionaries. Several in the congregation volunteered monthly financial support. Later in the evening, a nosy blogger asked our pastor what motivated his decision. Four reasons were given: (1) They are connected with Pastor Wyatt, (2) Bro. Knight gave exactly the charge the church needed, (3) They are well trained, (4) They are a great investment. Praise God for people who answer the call to serve in foreign lands.

Hi Gospel Light Church and Friends,

Good  morning and what a weekend the Lord gave us. For those that are “regulars” at Gospel Light, you missed a tremendous moving of the Spirit of God Sunday night at Gospel Light. As I share this e-mail with you and my thoughts, I’m reminded of this all important principle as I “grew up” in the Lord over the last 35 years. This principle that needs to be constantly before all of us is faithfulness to your local church. If some of you were as “spotty” to your secular job as you are to the Lord’s Church you’d be on the street on your ear looking for new employment … money does drive ones ambitions doesn’t it?! Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

One of the traits the Lord looks for when promoting a Christian in service is how faithful his kids are to HIS Church…it’s that simple. It’s willingness to be faithful and where the action is or the spiritual-feeding-trough! Proverbs 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

Many that come to Sunday morning services think that’s good enough and excuse themselves from Sunday night and Wednesday services, fellowship, activities etc. I don’t beat up the sheep for this and pray that the Lord will open those eyes in their version of “spiritual hooky” regarding church attendance. I know how you might thinking about these statements I’m making, but before you let your carnal mind go too far on justifying YOUR LIFE, let me ask you a question: WHO’S YOUR FATHER? ( John 8:44). If you’re bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, then what’s the problem?

I’ve said several times as I was “cutting my teeth” on being in a good church, that if for some reason I missed a church service, I would make sure I ordered the message to try to “get in on the action” and ask someone I knew that was there, ”what went on in the church service?”. I was spiritually hungry and couldn’t get enough of what the Lord would have for me to eat! Well with that being said the “three coarse meal” from this Sunday filled us up, of which I’m thanking the Lord.

For using three voices: Pastor Bob Brado in Sunday School, yours truly at 11am, and testimonies from Teen Camp at 6pm. The Lord moved in edification, saving souls, and getting folks right – PTL!  Many missed out…some for good reasons….and some for petty, selfish, and lame reasons.  The evening service at 6pm was one of few service over the years where the Spirit of God REALLY moved….truly indescribable and touching. Bro. Joe Beilman has done a good job a capturing this past Lord’s Day on the Blog…CHECK IT OUT!

The Lord is blessing  Gospel Light: “Pound for Pound the Best Church Around”…just coined by me. So come and get some meat!

BE PRAYING ABOUT YOUR PART in the SPECIAL OFFERING THIS COMING LORD’S DAY for “BLING FOR THE KING”….these monies will be used for the new TEEN ROOM & ENTRANCE!

****THIS COMING SATURDAY A REQUEST FOR ALL MEN AND YOUNG MEN OF GOSPEL LIGHT TO BE AT THE MEN’S PRAYER BREAKFAST****

Hey all you people that know how to sing, or want to learn, GET ON BOARD WITH CHOIR. Bro. Mateo has a vision you’ll regret not being apart of if you don’t get in on it!

I’m copying in the e-mail I sent out to my event list about 1am this morning. This was after a wonderful visit Monday night with a family interested in becoming members!

WEDNEDAY AT 7pm… Can’t wait to see YOU!

Addicted to the Lord…. “Hook Line and Sinker” Love you guys, Pastor G

(Original e-mail sent 8/24/2010 10:20 AM)

No use in your blogger re-inventing the wheel, so to speak. Pastor Giardino sent out a comprehensive e-mail reminder to the pastors of other churches. The text of that early Tuesday morning e-mail is as follows:

Dear Brethren,

Good late evening! As I’m burning the mid-night oil a bit, I still have an inner excitement about this coming Saturday’s Men’s Prayer Breakfast at 9:30am (Aug. 28^th). As the summer of 2010 comes to an end, we’d love to have you be our guest for this exciting and edifying time together. Our guest preacher will be Pastor Scott Strobel.

Just think of sitting down to eat a nice breakfast and fellowshipping with a bunch of men THEN singing some hymns together! It is with great anticipation I’m looking forward to Pastor Strobel preaching to us. We’re coming off of a wonderful time together at our June gathering as Evangelist Dave Spurgeon preached to almost 80 in attendance. This may be the very sermon you need as you enter into the busy-time of fall.

Please remind your men in your church and the one who brings the most guests will receive a nice gift from Gospel Light BBC. Yes I’m bribing you a bit…why? Because I believe in men of like faith rubbing shoulders and edifying one another in this kind of setting! I’m truly persuaded of this (Rom 14:5b) so much so that we’re putting our money where our mouth is and will embellish this event by giving away gas cards to pastors, missionaries, evangelists that are present.

Pastor Strobel will be ready to preach so please be ready to come!

Would you be kind enough to let me know how many of you are coming so I can plan accordingly? Even send me a text message at: 585-370-4039 to let me know. Thank you beforehand.

A lover of good men,

Bro. Vince Giardino

Dear Lord, heavenly Father, how do I put into words the Gospel Light service I just departed from? I am truly humbled in this task; how does one put into words the glorious workings of the Spirit of God, who moved with such power in the hearts of our young people at youth camp and continued His holy work of salvation this evening.

Our service began routinely as our good shepherd, Pastor Vince Giardino, opened with announcements. We were asked to pray for Pearl and to remember to ask how we can be a help in her time of mourning. Pastor asked for prayers for increases in monies, especially in regard to gold and silver collection this coming Sunday. A point man is needed to help organize a “work day” for Monday August 30. Volunteer help is needed also for the Labor Day picnic.

Julia with her violin and Grayson with his banjo played “I’ll Fly Away”, a blessing to us and a delight for the Lord. Our teens, the counselors, and adults who attended Happy Valley Youth Camp this past week stood up together on the bleachers behind the alter and sang with gladdened hearts, “He Paid The Debt”. Pastor then had them sit along the alter steps to individually give their testimonies, which was the main reason for our gathering this evening. As Pastor Giardino would later say, it was obvious that the “Spirit is prompting these kids” to search their hearts and get closer to God.

So many testimonials were given, so much was passionately spoken, and so very many tears were shed. Please forgive your blogger for just listing the names, but my dear readers should fervently seek to listen to the audio when it is posted on our web site. Containing their tears of joy was next to impossible for our teens and adults who experienced the power and love of the Lord through the fellowship and teachings at camp. The testimonials came from:

Ross G. (saved Friday night, Bonnie would later say that he had a whole new countenance), Leticia G., Derek M. (saved Friday night with Grayson’s help), Abigail D. (saved this Sunday morning), Grayson K. (serving as a counselor), Julia G. (who had been lovingly praying for her younger brother’s salvation), Roberto C. (saved at last year’s camp), Madison D., Drew W. (one of our bus drivers), Analyse R. (saved on Wednesday and looking forward to baptism), Luke C. (in his new role as counselor), Madison C., Michael G. (“one thing God showed me was patience”), Leah G., Roxanne W. (our other bus driver, “It was a wonderful blessing to be with these kids”), Jesenia V. (who is praying fervently for her unsaved mother), Raquel C., Bonnie V. (who read the testimonies of Elisabeth C. and Abigail C., talked about the walkie-talkie comedy by Luke and Grayson, and mentioned the touching testimony at camp of Kyle M.), and our own Pastor Giardino (edified by Bro. Wyatt’s “junkyard” sermon).

Emotions were running high and God reigned in our hearts as the teens sang “God is Good” with Michael at the piano. Now was the time for our Pastor to pray, and with our head bowed, he gave the invitation to all to get right with God. As Michael continued on piano and sung, two young men were being led in back with the Word of God and we prayed for there salvation. Before our evening was out three souls were saved, Jim Reese (Mateo’s friend), Ethan Crane, and Lydia Giardino. One more soul recommitted himself to the Lord, Joe McClarrie. God richly blessed all at Gospel Light, demonstrating His love and grace through the hearts and minds of our kids, and cementing lasting bonds within our church family. It was hard to leave the building tonight, but I took solace in knowing that the opportunities to praise God along with my brothers and sisters in Christ will be plentiful. “Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chron 16:10-11