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Today we worshiped quietly at home, as the ice prevented safe travel. We listened to sermons online from the past two weeks on the Centreville Presbyterian Church (Centreville, VA) website. The pastors are Rev. Rob Bromhead, Senior Pastor, and Rev. Michelle Fincher, Interim Associate Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

We had a lot of ice this morning and a steady rain adding to it, so we decided to stay in. Some of the podcasting churches were having music programs today, so we listened to sermons from Centreville Presbyterian in Virginia.

Someone recently raised some questions based on our blog, specifically about how we rate the aesthetics of churches we visit. From the little we write I was surprised at the conclusion, but hearing the question gave me cause to think about what we say and what we don’t.

I doubt God cares about the details of worship nearly as much as He cares about the heart. My concerns over where in the worship service the offering is taken should be of no concern. I can’t help but notice it, but do not feel I am judging. When I lament the lack of a cross in a Christian worship serivce, I am mourning the personal loss.

In listening to a sermon independent of the service, some things are clearer. All the rest of the service is part of worshiping God, but I think those elements can take on an importance of their own that takes away from our personal worship of God.

Often when I hear a message I am wondering, “Why do pastors have to keep going over some things?” We must get it by now.” I have come to realize that some of us don’t get it, and that all of us need reminded. Our memory changes, our situations in life change. Maybe it is a completely new message today because of these changes much the way the Bible speaks differently to my current needs every time I read it.

One sermon today was on how we don’t fall in love with marriage, we fall in love with a person. Immediately God brought to my memory how I fell in love with Christ, not religion. When we fall into love of religion, the trappings of our worship separate us from our love of Christ. We come to God with the world’s “Show me!” not with God’s, “Trust Me!”


Jan’s thoughts:

After hearing about a slew of accidents in the area due to icy roads, we decided to do what we did following Bob’s surgery and worship quietly at home. After what we heard online, though, we wanted to share it.

One of the Virginia churches we visit on occasion is Centreville Presbyterian, where we’ve gotten to know some wonderful people and very much appreciate the pastor, Rob. This church has a new Interim Associate Pastor who is also first-rate, although the opposite of Rob in nearly every other way. She speaks in even, measured tones and often with little emotion, unlike Rob whose vocal inflections change constantly and who seems to ad lib surprisingly often. I suspect they complement each other well and ironically the sermons we heard were interwoven in content.

As an aside, I subscribe to the podcasts of these sermons and one of the things I appreciate most is that the podcasts include the Scripture immediately prior to the message and the prayer immediately following.

First we listened to Michelle’s sermon from November 29 entitled “God Speaking in a Personal Way.” In this message she pointed out that faith does not come from having our questions answered, but more often as the result of a crisis. She spoke of how we all must overcome our personal obstacles to believing God, and about the difference between understanding and acceptance. Ultimately, God has invited us into relationship with Him, and that requires more than intellectual assent. It requires our hearts.

Next we heard Pastor Rob’s sermon from last week, “Coming to Terms.” Rob has a unique way of communicating his point to the congregation, and this week was no exception. He began by talking about being irked when people say they are committed to marriage. As strange as that may sound coming from a pastor, it was understandable when he defined his terms: he didn’t want his wife to be committed to marriage, he wanted her to be committed to him. The difference between a categorical commitment (to marriage) and a personal commitment (to Rob). And so it is with God – it must be personal.

He showed a video testimony (unfortunately we could only listen, but I was glad we could do that). A young man named Chris had been an atheist and told of his journey to faith. He had challenged God to prove His existence, and when God did not, Chris moved into his life as an atheist “with a clear conscience.” However, following a series of events, at 27 years of age he realized that he had been taking advice from the 17-year-old version of himself and decided in his heart he wanted to know the truth. So he prayed for God to show him – in His way and in His time – whether or not He existed.

Rob ended with, “God so loved the world that He refused to be a category and did something personal.” Amen, and praise God!