When you go to a Gospel Sing on St. Patrick’s Day, you never know what might turn up being green.  At the Friday morning Prayer Breakfast, it was the donuts.  Yep, that’s right – green Krispy Kreme donuts!  The batter was dyed green but they tasted just the same.  There was also an assorted box of regular donuts that had green icing with shamrock sprinkles scattered on top.  After a time of fellowship, we gathered into the sanctuary for singing and preaching.

This morning, we heard a short devotion from the pastor of Jill’s church, Andy Lee.  (Jill is Jim and Mary’s daughter – for those who have been at the Homecoming, Jill’s in charge of the seating chart!)  Jim asked Jill to come up and introduce her pastor to the crowd, and she did.  Pastor Lee has spoken at the Prayer Breakfast many times; this year his text came from the Old Testament, the story of Elijah and the Shumanite Woman.  We have heard the story many times…  The lady makes a special room for Elijah when he passes through, Elijah prophesies she will have a son, but when the boy reaches a certain age, he dies after being in the field with his father.  The lady goes to Elijah and the prophet raises the boy from the dead.  All the while the story centers on this familiar phrase, “It is well.”  We know it from the famous hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” but this Bible story has the phrase in it, word for word.  Pastor Andy encouraged us to speak well, even when things are going badly in our lives.

Friday evening…

The evening was about to begin when Jim asked for everyone’s attention, then he called for his granddaughter, Keely, to come out and join him.  He said Keely practiced this song the whole way home last night to be ready for her grand performance!  Mic in hand, she sweetly sang “Jesus Loves Me” to the crowd.  The audience applauded and then she skipped off the stage.  The Truthseekers brought their former pastor, Jerry Shell, on stage to open the evening with prayer.  Before Brother Jerry prayed, he admonished the crowd, “Let’s not come for a get together, let’s come for a service.”  With that, he opened the evening with prayer and we were on our way for a great night with the Jim Brady Trio and Triumphant Quartet!

The Jim Brady Trio was first on stage and kicked off their set with “On My Way Home” and “You Can Depend On Jesus.”  If you followed the trio when they first formed, you’ll remember that their first radio single was a fast song called, “Stepping Out In Faith;” which came next.  After a rousing rendition of “Keep On The Firing Line,” Jim introduced his group.  He told the story of how their tenor singer, Layke Jones, was recommended by Bill Gaither and then had Layke sing the same song he auditioned with.  It is a well-known hymn, “What A Day That Will Be.”  They sang this ballad the way you would expect to hear it in church – no music, just the piano, which was played by Melissa.  Up next was a tune Jim had wrote for the Booth Brothers, a peppy song called “I Have An Anchor” and “Wherever I Am” followed.  As the track began to play for their closing song, Jim gave the signal to stop the track and said, “Actually, I’ve changed my mind, we’re not going to do that song.”  Instead, they did “The Greatest Of All Miracles,” featuring Melissa.  Melissa introduced the ballad by telling how her father came to know the Lord after a life of dealing drugs and running from God.  An amazing testimony you just have to hear in person…

When Triumphant Quartet walked on stage, a mid-tempo track started and the quartet sang, “We will remember…we will remember…we will remember the works of Your hands!”  David sang “Jesus Built This Church On Love” and the rest of their set was like a showcase of what any fan would consider Triumphant’s best hits.  Songs like “Saved By Grace,” “Somebody Died For Me,” the entertaining “Didn’t It Rain” and “Somebody Tell Somebody” all were sung one right after another.  After the group finished the later barn burner, Eric took his Bible and opened it to a familiar passage – Psalm 23.  I knew what was coming.  I had heard it at other concerts, but still, the story he told moved me the same way it did when I first heard it.  Even so, it was still good to hear the truth Eric pointed out in Psalm 23.  To summarize it, David wrote Psalm 23…the green pastures and still waters.  All wonderful things, right?  Yet, David also penned Psalm 22…the chapter that opens, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Though we don’t know how much time had passed between the writing of these two psalms, we know that God is the One who will give us strength both in the good times and in the bad times.  This transitioned in to their song “Amazing God,” and then they closed their set with “Hallelujah.”

Conclusion:  I know what you’re thinking… “They did a concert without singing ‘White Flag?’”  Nope, they just saved it for after intermission!  Each group came back and sang two songs during the second set and then the concert came to a close.  Friday night was a great time to be at the Truthseekers Homecoming!

For more information about the Truthseekers Homecoming (next year’s dates, schedule and ticket info) click here —> Truthseekers Homecoming Info