Journey With Jeannie

January 11, 2026, Sunday

Today was our first Sunday on board. There are many activities scheduled all the time, all day, for people to choose from. There are gym classes, spa specials, Trivia, music, Bingo, art classes, jewelry making, special guest lecturers, guest musicians, magicians, and well you get the idea. So on a Sunday morning, I understand people are on vacation and the choices are overwhelming. The ship provides a space for a nondenominational service to take place. But it is “unhosted ” which means no one from the ship staff will be there to facilitate.

Why go to a church service anyway? At home we love the contemporary worship experience and Bible teaching. We give and receive social and spiritual support, encouragement and friendships.

We were surprised/not surprised to see about 12 people out of over 600 show up. The ship had provided a handful of handouts for our use. The handouts were several pages of what the volunteer leader would read, followed by a group response. It seemed “catholic” to me, but I’m not catholic so I’m not sure. After 10 minutes of sitting in silence, Joe volunteered to lead/read the handout. The readings were mostly a public confession of faith and asking for repentance and prayers for others.

Afterwards, Joe shared a little of his previous Sunday experiences on cruises and how he maintains his quiet times while on board. He asked if anyone wanted to share anything. We had wonderful fellowship as people spoke about what God is doing in their lives. One lady shared that people must think our faith is a secret club. She said we have been made to think we can’t talk about our faith in Jesus and this just isn’t true. The common theme was exactly what I had read recently in my quiet time.

In Mark 13 and Matthew 24 Jesus speaks about the future. He told the disciples “you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. These things must take place, but the end will not follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. BUT THIS WILL BE YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TELL THEM ABOUT ME. For the Good News must be preached to all nations…. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers.”

Tara-Leigh Cobble wrote “Bad things will happen, but we have a kingdom assignment..to talk about the Good News of Jesus. It boils down to talking about whom you love. Our relationship with God is personal, but it’s never supposed to be private.”

There’s just something about the connection that believers have because of the Holy Spirit residing in us. It was a sweet time.