WEDNESDAY

After getting up fairly late on a warm Wednesday morning, I was wondering how I can kill that much time, but that wasn't even a problem considering how fast it was going despite doing very little of anything important. I spent a good deal of the time before the festival started figuring out where the showers and everything was, and while venturing out I met a handful of new people - especially from around the Philadelphia area, including one girl from New Jersey that chose to come solo. I also ran into several people I met from Tuesday.

I also met two people that I normally see on the Creation forum (Terry, Tmac; and Dave, AT-AT Commander) late that afternoon in front of Chocolate World. It wound up being a small meet of only three people because not too many people knew exactly where our meeting spot was because it was changed the landscape of it from a circle of bricks to flowers and trees. Since it was almost time for Creation to start, I've decided to go to the Hershey Park Stadium, where they held the Main Stage events.

When I arrived at the main stage, I've noticed Michael Tait from the celebrated band, DC Talk. He was doing his sound check for that evening's performance. I also saw Paul Baloche do his sound checks, and before I knew it, the festival is just about ready to start! It started with Pastor Harry Thomas speaking, and a young lady that sang "God Bless America".

Grits goes down as one of my most favorite rap groups because of their funny and yet Christ-centered approach in their music. They sang several favorites from their Art of Translation CD including "Here We Go", "Ooh Aah", "Runnin'", Believe, and Be Mine. They also did remixes using various secular songs. Man... you're talking about an awesome set.

Michael Tait is the African-American guy we know from the Christian-pop band, DC Talk. He brought his own band that he formed several years ago, known as Tait. His rock style makes for a cool set. He also performed several classic DC talk songs including "Jesus Freak".

Paul Baloche is the powerful and underrated singer and songwriter from you may never guess... Maple Shade, NJ - about 15 minutes or so from me. He's written popular worship songs including "Open the Eyes of My Heart". I really enjoy his lighthearted music style, and it's definitely worth a stop at the worship tent for a relaxing time with the Lord. He performed at various times on Wednesday through Friday.

Eastman Curtis is a nationally acclaimed minister from Destiny Church of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He also hosts the popular music-video show called "This Generation", which is shown on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) every Saturday night. I've always enjoyed his over-energetic, humorous approach while keeping his messages interesting. His message was called "Making a Difference", and it explains about how we should become better people in Christ.

Here's the comedian I've been waiting over a year to see.... Brad Stine! I only had the chance to see him for his short, 10-minute set, but he definitely had his audience laughing. The one thing about him is that he can be funny without being offensive. Comedians like George Carlin, Chris Rock, and Robin Williams are very funny, but the way they present themselves is very vulgar.

Rebecca St. James is a very powerful singer with an unmistakable voice, and a variable style. Her set is fairly long, and includes the best songs from her Worship God, Transform, and Pray CDs. Her set also includes a few songs from her new best of CD titled, "Wait for Me". Her set seems a bit more rushed this time around, than when I've first seen her perform near Toms River, NJ back in September of last year. It's possibly due to the time restrictions that are made in an event like Creation. Despite that, she put on an awesome show, and I was happy to again be very close to stage again to see her perform!

Third Day is a really cool rock band that mimics the style of secular band, Creed. I've seen them once before, but their set here at Creation really rocked!

An artists that paints over a huge poster in black paint, which says, "All My Sin".

After the Third Day set, Paul Baloche came back again for more praise and worship music along with Communion and the dramatic "Jesus Painter" simultaneously. Communion is taken much like in any church, and as communion was taken, Pastor Harry Thomas narrated as the "painter" panted over the words, "All my sin". This was a representation of the blood of Jesus removing all of our sin. This definitely made for a dramatic end to Wednesday night.

Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory to his name, make his praise glorious! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.

Psalm 66:1-4