Church #17. Knox Evangelical Free Church

So this would be my  2nd Knox church that I have gone to, the first one was pretty impressive and the second one did not disappoint!

 This was probably one of the most round churches I have been in it was almost theater like, if one could imagine the globe theater that Shakespeare’s works preformed in. I took many Photos. So this one had a balcony. 

and this really cool domed roof.

I also snuck up to the front and got a view from the alter.

I had a feeling this would be a good service right from the get go, epically when i was given the information pan-flit for the service and this was on the front cover.

( apparently some famous piece of graffiti art  done by Banksy Fan) 




So I did my count and there was about 50 people in the mostly of the 50+ age range however I did notice a trend of  allot of parent and child groups. Ex. 50 year old lady there with her 70 year old mother etc. It was a very “spring” themed service and we were told at the start of the service that we “hope that you have come here to grow!”
 The service started out with singing and then prayer requests. Most of them do them a bit latter in the service, but guess this place runs on a different schedule. I actually took up the microphone along with 5 other people that morning that knew someone in their lives that needs "lifting up" as they say. Let’s just say I have a friend that real needed praying for that day.  And then after everyone publicly stood up and made their requests then they sat down as the pastor ( who must have been taking notes) led the prayer and addressed all the individuals mentioned and prayed for their specific needs. 
I also noted a young east-Indian fellow just a s few pews over from me with his head down reading his bible and chowing-down a sandwich at the same time.  Gotta get your breakfast :P

This pastor that we had to day was quite well written. He had some good quotes such as "as Iron sharpens Iron"-Proverbs and things like "god is my judge" which is  the meaning of the name Daniel. That made a lot of sense because the daily bible story was from the book of Daniel. He also threw in "Gods not Dead" PS. good movie! I totally recommend it! 

So as i mentioned today's lesson was from the book of Daniel. So when most of you think of the book of Daniel you probably think of this. 

Let’s just say the story we got today was a bit less “kid friendly" . The part of Daniel we read had to do with a king who had conquered the Holly city of Israel, taken all the goods out of the Jewish god’s temple and brought them to the palace. He was throwing big dinner party to celebrate his victory of the holly city and decided he wanted to impress his guests so he brings out this vessel of some sort that were form the holly Jewish temple, fills it full of wine and passes it down the table for people to make a toast to their pagan gods. You just know by the sound of this that it can't end well, So after this happens suddenly a disembodied hand (and yes there is a reason why it was a disembodied hand) magically appears and writes a elaborate and cryptic message on the wall. So the dinner guests are all in shock and the king turns white and almost passes out. 

But first I have to explain why god would use a disembodied limb to help get his message across. This King had a way of counting how many enemy soldiers he killed, and that process involved sending people out with a sword and a bag to collect one hand off of each enemy solider so they could get an accurate count. So when god decided to this visual to send his message he wanted this king to know that it was directly from the god of the enemy that he just killed. 

So the writing on the wall and a bunch of the men try to run over and read it but it has been written in some cryptic form and none of them are sure how to figure it out. Then the kings mother comes out and suggest they summon a man that used to be a very famous intellectual and at one time worked for the king. Daniel. So they find this man and bring him in and the king tells him that if he can read the inscription he will give him power and gold and a purple robe etc. Dan makes it clear that he has no interest in talking payment for his helping the king. He takes a moment and then reads off the inscription when basically says that the king has committed a great sin by worshiping foreign gods with the use of his holy objects and as punishment he will lose his kingdom. Despite the harsh news the king orders David to be loaded with his rewards and then sets off to ponder his situation. But it was too little too late. The king got assassinated that night.

Then there was a prayer for god to remove the pride from our hearts so it does not lead us astray. 

After that i encountered something very different. The Church lead went on to suddenly start talking about WWII battlefield strategy and the French army. But even this had meaning! LOL
I just have to say, there was some amazing old art in this church. One piece that of which I have seen a few times before but never bothered to ask about. It looks something like this. 

Apparently it is based off a quote in revelations which says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”. Referring to gods sprit entering into a persons heart.
That glass panel was replaced, but there were some older ones up to that were not, and frankly, despite the damage, they look amazing.

Over all, a good Sunday. Ps. found another Church in my neighborhood that i didn't even know was there! It's amazing what happens when you take a slightly different path home from the grocery store! I might hit that one next. Until next time, Peace be with you!