Matthew
5:14-16
“You
are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light
shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in
heaven.”
Colossians
4:5-6
“Be
wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you
may know how to answer everyone.”
It
was interesting to visit a church building we have been to with a new church at
home. I would have thought there would be little to comment on as far as the
physical plant, but there was a glaring change in addition to the name sign: there
were directional signs at the two turns to get to the church. We had a long
running joke about “the church you can’t get to” which Northbridge addressed
right off. The second thing that jumped out was signs cautioning to slow down
on the neighborhood streets leading to the church. I would think this is a
gracious example of thoughtfulness to the neighborhood.
Another
interesting change is a countdown on the screen showing the start time for the
service. There was no cross, but hopefully one is still to come as this church
is still moving in. The volume is still loud (for us), but I brought ear plugs
for the music and liked what I heard with them.
I
was blessed to have a young family sit right in front of us: I was playing
peek-a-boo with their children then we had a very nice conversation with the
parents after the service. Two people noted my Marine shirt and thanked me for
my service…always humbling, and appreciated.
The
message was presented on the screen by Charles Stanley’s son Andy. I felt
Christ used him to speak to me directly (that has happened a lot lately). The
sermon was about the church making a difference, not a point. We are
embarrassingly quick to judge non-Christians, and invite them to change and be
like us. It brought to mind the old comic strip Pogo: “We have met the enemy
and he is us.”
There
was a thought toward the end of the message that we as a church should walk
toward the messes, another correlation in my mind to the Marines running toward
the gunfire. I need to do more of this for Christ.
I thought
the next time t-shirts are printed they might consider exchanging “Guest
Services” for just “Servant.”
This
building was formerly occupied by Grace Community Church, which has moved into
their newly-built facility, and Northbridge is very excited to be here. Since
we had visited this location when it was Grace, we remembered our way around.
However, it was easy to know of whom to ask questions: just look for someone
wearing a bright yellow t-shirt that read “Guest Services” on the back.
We
were greeted at the door, at the visitor desk, and by several others who were
not official greeters, including one young family who sat in the row in front
of us. Mom and Dad let their 1-year-old play peek-a-boo with us, and then took
the time to chat with us after worship.
Although
this service contained the usual elements of praise music, prayer, announcements,
and offering, there was something that was a first for me: a recorded sermon by
someone other than a pastor on staff. And more than that, the preacher was Andy
Stanley.
I
have known of Andy Stanley for some time, however today was the first time I’ve
heard him preach, and I’m very glad his sermons are available online because he
is worth listening to. He is knowledgeable, he makes sense, is open and honest,
and is incredibly good at engaging the congregation even from the screen.
His
sermon was called “The Separation of Church and Hate.” (Love the title!) He
began by stating that he grew up as part of a denomination that was against
everything, so when he was 28 years old there was much ado when the city’s gay
parade was scheduled to be out front of their building just as church was
letting out. Everyone was upset, and when the time came and parishioners were
confronted with the parade as they exited the church, and what they saw was that
the church across the street from them had set up tables containing glasses of
water which they were handing out to those in the parade. This made him think.
(It makes me think, too…)
He
went on to say that as he studied he learned that the only people Jesus or Paul
were against were those who were against everything, and he then gave examples
of how both Jesus and Paul leaned relationally toward those with whom they
disagreed the most.
He
pointed out that Jesus and Paul shared other similarities in that they were not
concerned about guilt by association and they refused to be dragged into
debates that distracted them from primary issues.
There
was so much in this message that I can’t outline it and do it justice, but the
bottom-line point was that when dealing with people it’s always easier to make
a point than to make a difference, but if we live our lives loving others and
giving grace, we will have made a point because we made a difference. Making a
difference IS the point.
I
would like to return to hear a message by the pastor from this church, but
today I was incredibly blessed to hear Andy Stanley’s message. It was precisely
what I needed to hear.
Father, we pray You lead this church to get down and dirty to reach those who don’t yet know how much they need You. Keep them from being a “clean hands” church, but let them experience the joy of serving You as they are called, and make a difference. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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