Pastor Odie Kennedy's Pearls

We are in the last weeks of this year. It doesn't require deep revelation to know that 2019 brought some trials in your life.  I am sure you have seen a dark day or two.  You have had to cry when you hoped there would be laughter. I know I've cried some days when I hoped there would be laughter. Nevertheless, I don't need a premonition to know I still have the victory. Everyone goes through at one time or another, but I have some good news for you today! You are loaded with power .  When Jesus was preparing the disciples for his departure, he made them a promise.  He told that he would not leave them comfortless, but he would send the Holy Ghost and he was not coming empty-handed. Christmas is a time of giving.  Though we should be more ready to give than receive, it's feels good to be on the receiving end.  Jesus gave us the gift of eternal and the Holy Ghost loaded us with power.  This power isn't so that you can lord over others.  It i...

This week I bought a large jar of grapefruit.  I tried to open it, but the lid just would not budge.  I gave it to my son.  He's a big strong man, but he couldn't open it either.  When I tried to have someone else open it, my son was back at it again.  We passed the jar to one more person and it popped right open.  Why was it so easy for him? Well everyone else that tried before, slightly loosened the seal.  It just took one more person to get the job done.  While there are many gifts in the church, ministry still requires a sacrifice.  We should never take each other for granted. Just like that jar, everyone has something valuable to contribute.  It takes all of us to push the battle to the front.  You may be feeling weak today, maybe even discouraged.  I don't have to know you to know that the enemy has tried to distract you from your purpose.  God has given you a gift that will edify the body and encourage the l...

We have been studying faith for over a month now.  There are so many things going on around us that we must have faith to survive.  Faith is the ingredient that you have to have to please God.  We want to please God in spite of what happens around us.  Every day won't bring sunshine.  In fact, some days will bring fire! When I read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3ch) being thrown in the fiery furnace, I was upset. When I was fourteen years old, I had a problem with God.  I asked God, "Now why would you even put them in there in the first place?  Why would you allow them to suffer?" I thought he was teasing them.  It just didn't make sense that he allowed them to go through those problems, but as I got older, I realized that we have to survive the test! Have you ever asked God why he let your heart be broken? Or why did he let your health fail? God needs us to move from drinking milk to chewing meat.  We have to gr...

And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.   Mark 5:15 Early in ministry, our church seemed to have more young people than anything else.  Sometimes our congregation was criticized because we had gang members and unchurched people.  My late husband, Superintendent Lamar Kennedy was not phased by the mocking or judgment.  He used to tell us, "If you don't have some folks from the street, then you don't have a church. You got a social club!"  Today that might offend some people, but the truth is, the church is supposed to be a hospital.  It's supposed to be the place where people come to be healed, delivered, and set free.  Well, how can that happen if everyone in the church is perfect?  Whose sins did Jesus die for if everyone is sinless already? Jesus told us to go and bring in the sinner.  We have become so pious that we...

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...

When I think about the goodness of Jesus, I am amazed! I'm amazed by his grace and mercy when I allow my head to lead me instead of my heart.  Have you ever had to battle the voices between your mind and your spirit? The bible account of God sending Samuel to anoint David king shows us that we can be misled by our minds.  When Samuel went to the house of Jesse and laid eyes on Eliab, he was sure that he had found God's choice for king.  God quickly admonished Samuel to see beyond his preconceived notions and intellectual deductions.  In other words, God wanted Samuel to look at the heart of Jesse's son and not his appearance.  Have you ever been fooled by the way a person looks?  When you first saw them, you sized them up by the designer shoes, tailored outfit, and perfectly groomed hair.  Right away, you knew he was a preacher, a lawyer, or simply a good person.  You didn't look for any signs of compassion, sensitivity, or ambition.  Af...