Early start today with a bad nights sleep due to a room that was too hot made for a challenging day today. It was also a very special day because when we reached the church in Antioch Pisidia Pastor Mark asked me to read with him St. Paul's first recorded sermon. So we took turns proclaiming God's love through the scripture using the very words St. Paul used in the very place he preached. Co-preaching the sermon was a truly amazing experience for me and I am thankful Pastor Mark was kind enough to include me in this way.
From there we went to Laodicea (see Revelation 3:14-22). We were able to visit some rarely visited sites and we saw exactly why St. John made the reference to being lukewarm in 3:16. Having studied and taught Revelation I am honored to be in the sites where these churches are.
We spent 7 hours in the bus today to accomplish seeing these sites. Needless to say I am tired and praying passionately that I will be given the rest and strength from the Lord to be able to soak in the gift that this trip is. Tomorrow is another long day with more important biblical cities.
Today was very special for me, one I doubt I will ever forget. I am thankful to my parents for the gift of the trip and my congregation for allowing time for continuing education, I am learning a ton.
With love,
Jon
Here are some photos.
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