I
am always intrigued by the dynamics of how God moves us to where He wants us to
be for worship. From my wife’s conversation with our daughter she learned that
a singer she liked worshiped at this church. I mistakenly assumed that the
singer was female and wondered by the female I saw singing was drowned out so
her voice didn’t come through (the same with the violinist). But God used this
to get us where He could send a message.
The
sanctuary is bright with solid color panels on the windows. Other than the flag
staff, I didn’t see a cross anywhere.
During
the passing of the peace of Christ only one person said hello and I was forming
a negative opinion on the friendliness of the congregation, especially after
hearing of their missional efforts out in the community. After the service a
young couple came who had noticed my Marine jacket and thanked me for my
service. A simple and much appreciated acknowledgement, but enough to give
pause to my earlier evaluation regarding friendliness.
After
the service a young woman spoke to my wife and directed us to where the pastor
was. Of the 200 worshipers, these few people who took the time to greet
visitors helped me to get past the perceived unfriendliness.
I
imagine most pastors also preached on or at least spoke to the tragic shooting
in Connecticut, but I would imagine this is one of the few that called the
church to come together for extended prayer time, asking those in related
fields to come forward for prayer. It was encouraging that the deacons and
elders were willing to come pray without reservation for those requesting.
The
kind words and prayer of the pastor were much appreciated.
We
usually do not know until Sunday morning where we will worship that week, but in
a strange series of events, we had decided mid-week to attend church here…prior
to the events in Sandy Hook.
As
outward-focused as this church obviously is, and as friendly as everyone was
with each other, there seemed to be a hesitancy in approaching us: the greeting
time during worship took a little while because everyone was busy speaking to each
other, but few welcomed us at this time. After the service one young man
approached Bob (in his Marine t-shirt), shook his hand, and thanked him for his
service, and several others spoke with us afterward also.
We
also had an edifying visit with the pastor as we spoke about our mutual
experiences of grief and how God had led us to this church on this particular
Sunday. I was deeply touched by his prayer for us following our conversation.
The
fair-sized sanctuary filled toward the front first then moved all the way to us
at the back, a pattern I’ve never seen before.
The
music was well done, and I especially loved the drums and the violin.
The
emphasis of the untitled sermon was on prayer, mostly prayer for God’s presence
but also for “hope, for churches to have an impact, and that the shadows would not
have their way.” He stressed that we must follow Isaiah’s advice: seek the
Lord, call on Him, and know that we are in for a battle. The heart is dark, but
that’s not the final word: Christ brings light from darkness.
Indeed
the last few days have seemed pretty dark, and every time something like this shooting
happens, many people have things to say about the causes and how it could have
been prevented. Unfortunately the facts remain, and we must live with the
results.
One
of the facts is that the God to Whom we pray and upon Whom we depend did not
prevent this horrendous event, and the inevitable question is, “Why not?” It
seems so clear from our perspective…He should have stopped it before it
happened.
But
I’m convinced part of that clarity stems from our hearts’ belief that things
should not be like this…there is much evil in this world that God never intended.
I
don’t pretend to have all the answers, but this much I believe with all my
heart:
1
– God is Almighty.2 – God loves us.
3 – God gives humans free will, including the freedom to go against His wishes, aka sin. And until Christ returns, we will continue to have to live with the results of evil, and God is our only hope for this world and the next.
I
agree with his statement that what we most need is God’s presence. That’s what He
has given me in my grief, and that will be my prayer for those who grieve now.
Blessedly, He is enough.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray that this church continue to lead people to pray, to bring their
concerns and joys to You, that they are always comfortable to come to You in
prayer. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment