Bob’s
thoughts:
I
thought with so many churches closed due to coronavirus, this might be a good
time to write some thoughts without referencing a particular church.
Occasionally
circumstances force us to stay home and listen to sermons online. We miss the
interaction with other worshipers. We might hear more of the sermon but miss
the congregational response.
Where
do you draw the line between worship and just listening in, and is there a line
to be drawn? Is it the singing, fellowship, and prayers that make it worship? It
is no less worship if we fall to our knees in the middle of the forest in awe
of God’s majesty. There is a lot to be said for worshiping with brothers and
sisters in Christ, but there are also benefits of One-on-one time with the
Creator. Both in their own time is even better.
The
idiocy of the news media causing panic is pure demonic action. Buy as if this
is the apocalypse but hoarding toilet paper won’t help…only Jesus Christ can
truly free us from fear. In faith, offer from your over-abundance to the
elderly, needy, homeless. They may be praying for any of what you have in
excess.
I
don’t believe it is ever in our best interest to judge; we worship the One Who
will judge in all righteousness. I remember a pastor who preached of
inclusiveness and a nonjudgment mindset, even including a story about feeling
led to apologize for judging someone too quickly. But at the conclusion of the
service he berated us for not having a home church. We did not set out to be nomads,
but without question God has guided us through this experience.
We
have had a feeling for a while that God will bring change again, perhaps in the
form of a book about our experiences. If we are led to join another church, I
wonder what that would be like.
May
you be blessed to worship when and where you can as you are wrapped in the loving
arms of our all-knowing Savior.
Jan’s
thoughts:
The
circumstances of this virus have taken the world by surprise, and many of us in
the US have never experienced social distancing or quarantine, certainly not to
this degree. It’s at times like this, when everything feels uncertain and we
have no idea what will happen, that we must remember several things.
1
– Be kind and think of others…we’ve all been afraid sometime and could use some
grace. Do good and share with those in need (Hebrews 13:16).
2
– Offer others hope and faith…adding to the fear that’s already raining on us
helps only our Enemy.
3
– None of this has taken God by surprise and He is still on His throne. Trust
Him. Tell Him of your fears and needs and hopes. Use this time to move closer
to Jesus and He will move closer to you.
May
you experience His peace as you trust in Him.
Our
prayer:
Lord,
free us from what we are holding on to instead of You. Amen.
Yesterday we worshiped
at Woodlawn American Baptist Church, 2107 McMinn Street, Aliquippa, PA 15001,
724.375.6653, www.woodlawnamericanbaptistchurch.com, Rev. Howard Irwin, Pastor.
Scripture
– John 11:38-44
Jesus,
once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid
across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But
Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad
odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then
Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of
God?”
So
they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you
that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the
benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When
he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead
man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth
around his face.
Jesus
said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
were welcomed and invited to stay after the service for a Lenten Luncheon and
coffee.
There
is a great cross over what I assume is the baptismal font and another cross on
the Communion table.
This
church had a traditional and contemporary service at the same time but have moved
to a blended service. I guess some members seem to resist the contemporary
music. I wish the praise team would be blessed with a strong female lead; I think
it would help pull the congregation together. Most churches are slow to accept
change and it might help.
A
highlight for me was a young man with an active little one a few rows in front
of us.
The
pastor’s mic may be set wrong, but it was very loud and hard to understand. Even
turning off my hearing aids did not help. It may be loud just because everybody
sits in the back.
The
message wound around the ramifications then and now of Christ coming to raise
Lazarus. Too often we live in a spiritual shell, dead to Christ.
We
were blessed to have our grandtwins for the afternoon and blessed again that
another daughter stopped for the night with her two girls en route to
Connecticut. It was great to have a house full of laughter and a reunion.
Jan’s
thoughts:
We
saw no indication of a parking lot on the other side of the building, so we parked
on the street and guessed (well, as it turned out) about the entrance location.
Since everyone seemed to be in a Sunday School class, we found seats in the
sanctuary.
I
appreciated the time taken by one gentleman to sit with us and answer our
questions and tell us about the church and the denomination. He introduced us
to some folks and invited us to join them for the Lenten Lunch following
worship. This church is served by a husband and wife who are both pastors.
The
elongated sanctuary has lovely watercolor stained-glass windows and two sets of
monitors on each side for those in the center and back. The volume was fine,
but I admit I was greatly relieved when it was turned down after the pastor
began the sermon.
I
suppose it’s a sign of the times when hand-washing instructions are given from
the pulpit, and I appreciated the calm, commonsense manner in which the advice
was given. Fear serves no one.
The
current sermon series is called “Give It Up for Lent” and this entry was on “Grief.”
We can learn much about grief from the way Jesus responded to the news of the
death of His friend Lazarus: He wept. Even for the Son of God, Who knew He
would raise His friend shortly, grief in the face of such a loss was and is
real. Grieving properly means we must experience the sadness. We must also
remember that life goes on even in the midst of the grief. I would say it’s
that very fact that can help us remember there is hope and that we don’t have
to live the rest of our days spiritually and emotionally dead and without joy.
Christ
died so that we could have constant access to His joy, freedom, and peace,
which are just as real as grief. It’s possible to find our way, with God’s help,
back to a place of spiritual and emotional health. We don’t have to remain
stuck in grief and loss when Jesus constantly offers us life.
This
testimony comes from personal experience: Jesus Christ is our one and only hope
for this world and the next. Only through Him can we find true, lasting joy and
peace, whatever the future holds.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we all experience grief in our lives. We pray for Your leading that we can find
our way back and live in You again. Amen.
Today we worshiped
at Crossroads Church, 8533 Peters Road, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066, 412.494.9999,
xr.church, Mike Arnold, Campus Pastor.
Scripture
– NIV
1
Thessalonians 4:3a –
It
is God’s will that you should be sanctified:
Romans
6:6-7 –
For
we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone
who has died has been set free from sin.
1
John 1:9 –
If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.
Galatians
5:16-23 –
So
I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are
not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not
under the law.
The
acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
John
16:8 –
When
he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and
righteousness and judgment:
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
had a couple of our grandchildren with us this weekend, so we took them where
they were familiar and to see more family. Our younger grandson always sat
through the service with us till our daughter helped resolve the issue of the
volume in the children’s room, and now he goes with the other children. It took
a bit to get used to being able to follow the message without distraction.
Before
the service, my youngest granddaughter came and showed me her prize, she had
gotten the last Oreo from the extensive snack assortment. She held it up to
show her treasure like it was a most valuable item. May we hold Christ
likewise.
I loved
the harmony of the female lead singers and I believe this was the first time
they sang an older praise song that I was familiar with.
The
pastor related the limited picture we get when we form a concept from something
as simple as a bumper sticker. What if our life in Christ was from such limited
info? It reminded me of a favorite bumper sticker story.
There
was a sticker laying on the dashboard of my truck that said, “Try Jesus, if you
don’t like Him, the devil will gladly take you back.” I was shopping at Giant
Eagle with my soon-to-be son-in-law when we returned to my truck to find a
woman waiting who said she had to talk to me. She said she sent her husband in
to do the shopping so she wouldn’t miss me, implying that he was not pleased
and had no option to refuse. She related problems with her family and I asked
if we could pray over her. She was encouraged and free from her troubles and I
gave her the bumper sticker as a reminder of how much God cared for her.
The
story went on to touch dozens of people that I know about and I’ll never know
how many more. I was always grateful my now son-in-law got over the surprise of
praying in a Giant Eagle parking lot and married into the family.
Use
that small window to help someone in their walk with Christ and maybe use a “Just
Because” card.
Jan’s
thoughts:
It’s
always a blessing to worship here with our family. The coffee is delicious, the
snacks are plentiful and yummy, and I get to stand and sing next to my
14-year-old grandson who is taller than I am.
“Speak
O Lord” is a new song to me, and the ladies who sang it sounded absolutely
marvelous.
It’s
been a couple of years since this church presented their life-sized Candyland,
so I’m looking forward to seeing that again at the end of the month. This
outreach event is an amazing transformation of the facility and the characters
teach the visiting children important lessons.
Today’s
message, Made For This, is the first in the Lenten series A Jesus
Shaped Life. The pastor emphasized Jesus’ saving His people from both the
penalty and the power of sin. A Jesus shaped life is a life of obedience that,
through the power of Christ, is free from the power of sin.
He
reminded us that we are all works in progress, that even the best person we
know was not born like that. Human nature was always in conflict with the Holy
Spirit, but if we ask to be filled with the Spirit, He will gently nudge us
toward repentance and Christlikeness.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we thank You for the wake-up calls You give us and pray we don’t miss a single
opportunity. Amen.
