Today we worshiped
at Alive! Community Church, worship held at South Pike Cinemas, 130 Cinema Way,
Route 356, Sarver, PA 16055, 724.816.2713, www.alivecc.com,
Dave Roddy, Senior Pastor.
Scripture
– NIV
Exodus
20:1-3
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you
out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before
me."
Mark
8:34-38
Then he called the crowd to him along
with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save
their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel
will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit
their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is
ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of
Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy
angels.”
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
were invited by a worshiper to come visit this church, and from the invitation
we expected only a few, so were pleasantly surprised by 50+ in worship.
The
church meets in a movie theater, which from what we learned is a win-win for
all. The theater’s sound system was too much for my ears but what a blessing for
the church.
God
has blessed them to be a church without the burden of a building. My only
disappointment was the lack of a cross; I thought there might be one displayed
on the large screen, but did not get to ask why not.
A
visiting couple, the Youngs, spoke about their ministry against human trafficking
in Europe and we were blessed to be there to hear a little about it and meet
with them afterward. I was pleased that the pastor would call the family
forward and pray a blessing over them. In all, the pastor’s prayers were a
highlight for me as he sounded very comfortable and willing to lift up prayers.
This
was week two of a sermon series on the 10 Commandments and God used this pastor
to clarify a seed He had planted in me. I thought I was called to grow a
half-acre garden on our hillside and donate the proceeds to feed the hungry. Last
year, while lamenting that it was killing me, it came to me that this was Bob’s
idea, not God’s. I kept putting off getting my little wood shop operational because
I was too busy with the garden and woodworking was just for fun. I came to realize
that was God’s whisper to get my shop in order. I still got carried away this
year…the garden is smaller but still way too much. Now I have rotator cuff tears
in both shoulders, and He has my attention.
Some
of that enjoyment in obeying God finally will be praising Him for His leading
to however He will use me.
Jan’s
thoughts:
After
receiving an email invitation to visit this church I found myself wondering
what worship in a movie theater would look like, as this concept was new to me.
I learned that this is far from a new idea: I was told that at least two national
theater chains have divisions devoted to arrangements between the cinemas and
churches.
As
we approached the building, the doors were held open for us and we were greeted
with smiles and bulletins. We found information about the church on a folding
table in the lobby, and several friendly people greeted us, including the
pastor.
The
restrooms were well marked of course and we easily found our way to the
appropriate theater where the band was set up and seating was excellent. The
words to the songs were projected toward the top of the screen, leaving plenty
of room for worship leaders to stand in front. The concession stand was open,
making it possible to bring drinks in and use the convenient drink holders
built into the arms of the seats.
Some
of the music was unfamiliar to me, but the group had a great sound. After the
opening songs the pastor spoke about the importance of the theology expressed
in the music, and I completely agree that accurate theology is vital.
An
unexpected visit from a missionary family was a special treat for us as well as
for this congregation. This husband and wife team, along with their 3-year-old
twins, are obeying God’s call to help stop human trafficking. The challenges
presented in this scenario would seem insurmountable without faith that God
empowers those He calls.
The
message, “You’re Not God,” is the second in a series about the Ten Commandments.
One of his most powerful points was a tweet quoted from David Platt: “The great
mistake made by most Christians is hoping to discover in themselves that which
is found in Christ alone.” I think there is much truth to this statement today,
even though this observation originated with and was credited to A.W. Pink, an
evangelist who lived from 1886-1952. Neither times nor people have changed much
since, which you can easily tell from a quick glance at Facebook.
The
pastor taught that “our ability to follow the other nine Commandments is based
on our ability to follow this one;” that God can be replaced in our hearts and
minds by His good gifts to us, i.e., our kids, our spouse, our job, our
hobbies. These “good things can become god things”…we can find ourselves worshiping
these good gifts from our loving God instead of worshiping God. But “God will
not share His Bride, the Church, and He prevents heartache by being the center
of our lives.”
I could only add that He not only created us but paid the ultimate price to redeem us;
He deserves to be the center of our lives.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we give You thanks for blessing this congregation that they are free to be a church
and not caretakers of a building. Amen.
