Christ Church at Grove Farm

Today we worshiped at Christ Church at Grove Farm, 249 Duff Road, Sewickley, PA 15143, 412.741.4900, www.cgf.org, Rev. Dr. Jared Ott, Rector/Senior Pastor.

Scripture – Psalm 33:8-22 NIV

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

Bob’s thoughts:

We usually feel that a holiday weekend provides an inaccurate picture of a church we have not been to before. The patriotic music from the traditional service caught my attention and might have negated that theory as it looked full of robust worshipers.

We were greeted at the door and during the formal greeting time but invisible the rest of the time, the downfall of multiple services. Someone did stop to shake my hand as he was entering the traditional service.

I enjoyed the large cross suspended above the stage and the stained glass window frame-type panels on the stage with different colors projected from behind. I also appreciated the presentation of a Johnny Cash song and the pastor’s patriotic stole.

There were some blue spotlights on the stage that kept hitting me in the eye when the parishioners that were blocking them moved….they made it hard to enjoy the familiar praise music. Maybe those “blockers” were also trying to shield themselves from the light.

The pastor spoke of needing to purchase sunglasses when the ones he had were hiding elsewhere. After trying on a few for fit, he found a pair that allowed the high definition he was seeking and he was able to see the undistorted scenery “like God sees it.” I pray we all have more opportunities to sit back and enjoy what He has created “as He sees it.”

The message dealt with the facts of the birth of our country and the undeniable guidance of Christ on the Founding Fathers. We have had the propaganda pushed upon us that the desire was a separation of church and state but statements made by our founders prove, and I firmly believe, just the opposite was true. They knew a country without Christ would fail. God had blessed their efforts to acquire freedom and made it to become a great nation.

We have been so caught up with the devil’s guile we push toward our own demise. This country cannot be great again until we plead for God’s forgiveness and prayerfully invite Him back. I think we all need to pray for a high definition view of what is happening to America.

It was a joy to be served Communion verbally with a time of confession that allowed a true personal communion.

Jan’s thoughts:

Not a lot seems to have changed in the almost two years since our last visit. Being a holiday weekend, the café was closed to give those volunteers a holiday as well; however I was glad to see coffee and donuts available. After enjoying these, we found seats in the contemporary service.

As is often the case with a contemporary service, when the music began the room was sparsely occupied, and by the time the music ended it was nearly full. This never ceases to amaze me.

While the offering was being taken the praise team presented a Johnny Cash song called “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” The words were a somber reassurance of the impossibility of escaping God’s judgment.

The Rev. Dr. John Guest, in his distinctive British accent, presented the message entitled “A God Blessed Nation.”

Before getting too far into the sermon, John stated that the Billy Graham Evangelical Association plans to hold an outdoor prayer meeting in Harrisburg on September 15, and this church hopes to send a number of people to participate.

John spoke of the “current climate around our country and the disturbing emptiness and despair resulting from removing God, His Ten Commandments, and prayer from our culture.” He pointed to the signers of the Declaration of Independence, “the extraordinary price they paid,” the historical fact of their strong Christian faith and utter reliance upon God as stated over and over in numerous and varied documents…a heritage many would deny with the cry of the myth of separation of church and state.

He stated “the answer to our problems, be they national, cultural, or even personal, will only be found in Jesus Christ” and referred to 1 Corinthians 1 in which we learn “God is committed to foiling plans that are not His.”

John seemed pleased to refer to himself as an ex-Englishman and to state his calling as that of a “missionary to the United States.” On that basis he said he prays intensely for the conversion of Barack Obama, for the upcoming election, and for a moral and spiritual awakening in this country. He urged those in attendance to “get on their knees and plead to God on behalf of our country.’

I appreciated being able to partake of Communion and found it meaningful to receive the elements with the verbal reminder that Christ’s gift was for me.

We appreciated the time one of the pastors took to speak with us and pray for us following the service.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, with a recent eye injury, I can readily appreciate “open our eyes that we may see.” Give us all the high definition look we are missing. “Come, Lord Jesus, come” be the center of our lives. Amen.