Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,…
I wonder if we were being led elsewhere today since our 20 minute trip took an hour and we arrived a little late. I like to be early enough to give people the opportunity to say hello: it is hard to get a feel for the friendliness of a church without that time. After the service is over there may not be any greeting, like today.
I thought this was a small country church and was surprised by its size. It boasts great woodwork and stained glass with a lighted cross. One of the women who spoke to us was very knowledgeable about the church.
Contemporary worship must be new to this congregation…I was hard pressed to find anyone singing along with the enthusiastic leaders. I hope the church warms to this form of praise; I am always in awe of the passion in contemporary worship.
A highlight for me was in the pastor’s prayer as he asked God to work “through me or in spite of me.” A prayer for all of us, that God’s will be done in spite of our efforts.
The message dealt with the breastplate of righteousness, clarifying and defining Paul’s reference and the important part, that Paul is referring to Christ’s righteousness.
I did get to speak to one of the praise singers and hope I was able to encourage her. We found this church from a notice on a grief share group, but I had no occasion to talk to anyone about it.
We arrived a little late thereby missing the opportunity to chat with anyone prior to worship. The ushers were attentive and helpful when we reached the sanctuary and pointed us toward vacant seats.
We did catch part of a presentation by a representative of Choices Pregnancy Services detailing their work and how to help them make a difference in the community.
The dark wood all around, including the decorative ceiling joists, set off the intricate stained glass beautifully.
Even from far back in this large sanctuary I was still able to read the words on the screen.
The contemporary music appeared to be a recent addition to the service judging by the lack of enthusiasm from the congregation. In all fairness though, I’ve been around contemporary Christian music for quite a while and both songs were new to me as well as being slow and quiet. I noticed congregational participation picked up when the traditional hymn began.
The bulletin is printed on a single 11x17 sheet of heavy stock and tri-folded. It’s amazing how much information can be incorporated, including the words to the contemporary songs and Scripture read throughout the service.
The sermon was entitled “A Mighty Breastplate” and continued the study of Paul’s language in reference to the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13-17.
Toward the end of the message he spoke of grace and pointed out that we cannot show grace unless we have received it…grace transforms us.
Since better writers than I have published books on the topic of grace (read “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine” by Max Lucado and “Future Grace” by John Piper), let me just say that I could not agree more that our grace cup must first be filled before we can pour it out for others, and only God is capable of filling that cup to overflowing.
Lord, we lift this church up to You. We pray You will encourage their missional efforts and warm their hearts to any music that praises You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
1 comment:
Bob and Jan, thank you for your comments and for your visit. As a pastor, I always appreciate hearing people's first impressions of our fellowship and my flock. So, thank you for your input.
Just a few notes. Depending on how one defines "new" one could perhaps say that we are new to praise music, though it is something we have incorporated into worship for the past 6-7 years. Compared to some congregations that I know who have incorporated praise music into their basic DNA from the get go, that definitely puts us into the newer end of the playing field. That said, I have felt that we have done a good job of integrating praise music into a traditional setting without it seeming stilted or awkward. Jan, your observation is correct, though, both songs were slower and while the first one wasn't totally new, it was a newer piece and the second praise song was completely new to the congregation, I am pretty sure. Perhaps not the best combination, but the praise team wanted to give them a try, so that is what we did. As we move toward summer, it is also a bit trickier to get people out for practices and such as life gets really hectic. Had you been here the week before, you would have found the praise team playing something much more familiar and upbeat, and the congregation being more participatory.
I should note as well, for anyone reading this blog, that the Choices Pregnancy Center is a pro-life group; sometimes the name throws people off because we are so used to hearing the word, "choice," associated with the abortion movement. We are solidly pro-life as a congregation and, as you noted in your prayer, we are very missional not only in our work with supporting full time missionaries but also in our own short term missions trips. We have also had quite a few of our "native sons" go full time onto the mission field as God has called them.
A final note about us for your readers. We are an old German Reformed congregation (founded in 1835) that is (to the best of my knowledge) the last remaining remnant of the old German Evangelical Protestant movement that still intentionally identifies themselves in that way. That movement dominated the Ohio valley in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, though by the end of the 19th century and by the early 20th century, almost all of the churches merged with various denominational groups. Some with the Lutherans, some with the Dutch Reformed, and some with the Congregationalists. Our church fathers did not want to see that take place and chose to "stick to our constitution and to our confessions" and have remained "non-synodical" with respect to affiliations. We are not "independent" per say, as we work closely with other like-minded churches in the area and are confessional in nature. We are not bound to a denomination, though, in any sense.
We would certainly invite you to visit with us again and I pray that you were blessed in your time of worship with us. If I could offer a word of pastoral encouragement. While I do appreciate your insights as they help us to be better aware of the impression we are giving to first time visitors, pastorally, I believe the Biblical model is for us to identify ourselves with a local church body, to use our gifts and graces in that context, and to sit under the teaching as well as be under the authority of the governing church body. My counsel is to make sure that you are connected to a church body and perhaps to share your visitation ministry with other congregations on a monthly basis instead of always being on the road. That way your home congregation can also benefit from your discoveries. Hopefully you receive these words in the spirit of love that they were intended.
May God bless both of you richly and again, thank you for your insights.
Blessings in Christ, Win (Sr. Pastor, St. John's (Burry's) UEPC
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