Pastor Odie Kennedy's Pearls

My church has gone through a tremendous transition.  As we continue to mourn the loss of my great husband, Superintendent Lamar Kennedy, we are growing in spirit, strength, and faith! Our services are filled with God's love, His praise, His revelation, His power, and His anointing.  It is our endeavor to truly please God, and we know that takes faith.  For the last few weeks, we have been studying faith.  When the children of Israel were delivered from Pharaoh, their faith waned.  Although God had sent plagues and killed the firstborn of the Egyptians to prove his sovereign power to his chosen people, the Red Sea ahead seemed to be too much for them. They began to complain and blamed Moses for the challenge ahead.  It was so overwhelming that even Moses was unsure of what to do next.  Although he reassured the people with a strong declaration of deliverance, Mose still cried out to God.  We know this because God asked him, "Wherefore cr...

There used to be a really popular toy called, Jack-in-the-Box. I'm not sure if children still play with it, but it had an interesting design.  Housed in a wooden music box was a clown.  When you cranked the handle on the box, music would begin to play.  The sound flowed out easily in the beginning, but the more you cranked the handle, the slower the music played.  All the while, the handle would get harder and harder to turn.  When it seemed like the handle couldn't move any further and nothing else could be done, the clown popped out of the box.  For some children, it was scary to see the clown pop up because it was seemingly unpredictable and unexpected. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.  The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink...