God's Presence -- Oct 5

By -
If your presence does not go with us, do not send us from here. Exodus 33:15

What other assurance does Moses have but God’s presence to go to places he’s never been before? In the next verse Moses says, “What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (v.16)

What distinguishes us from anyone else, any other association of people except the presence of God to lead and guide and forgive and shelter and save; to shape us into the likeness of Jesus and to reflect his glory to the world?

While we were on sabbatical we had the opportunity to describe our church to people who don’t know what churches like ours are like and to people who don’t know what any church is like. I tried to think of words that were common, understandable, and relatable to anyone.

I started with “We take relationships seriously, so most of us are in a small group with people where we can talk about the message I preached and pray and support each other through life. It’s a lot easier to learn spiritual things and have deep conversations with people you spend time with consistently.”

Then, “We want to make a difference in the world. We want to live out what we believe, not just for each other but for the people who live in the neighborhoods around us. So we find ways to be sent into the world and serve in practical ways. We even took a Sunday off to serve and were amazed that three times our average worship attendance number joined us to serve all over the county. We’re also supporting projects around the world for education, healthcare, sustainable agriculture and spiritual growth.”

I finished with “We worship in a variety of ways that connect with different people. Some really like some of the more traditional forms, and others like a band and still others like to worship in a very casual environment. Since we are a church of maybe six generations we have to practice worshipping together like family.”

Almost everyone I told said, “I’d like to be a part of a church like that.”

What if God is with us and his presence distinguishes us from other groups as a church others really want to know and do life with? What if what they saw was authenticity and love in our relationships, passion and purpose in our service, and hospitality and unity in our worship?

I’m glad we’re growing into a church like that. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cappadocia

By -
Image
Amy and I have traveled to Turkey twice before, but this is our first time leading a group into Cappadocia.  What an amazing way to start our 14 day pilgrimage on the footsteps of Paul. It feels like we're in a different world. The landscape is more like the moon or a scene in Star Wars.  Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Turks all passed through and conquered. First century believers returned here after Pentecost and Peter wrote his first letter to encourage them in their persecution and suffering. In the fourth century, Simon devoted 42 years of his life in isolation on top of a fairy castle, seeking time alone with God. People brought him food and were drawn to his way of life and stayed. The soft tufa volcanic stone allowed for monks and whole communities to create monasteries and homes hidden inside whole mountains.  We visited a handful of those 365 churches (one for every day of the year) that once existed in the Goreme and Zelve valleys.  It strikes
Read more

Camino de Santiago Day Thirty-seven and Thirty-eight: We made it!

By -
Image
A Salceda to Santiago de Compostela We decided to walk 22km to the outskirts of Santiago and walk the last few kilometers in the morning. Neither of us could sleep, so we got up, packed our mochilas for the last time and walked to the old city at 5am. It was dark and rather than being joined by other pilgrims, we passed a few late night partiers and a woman walking her dog. It's not the entrance into Santiago we pictured, but we were all alone in the Praza do Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral. It was June 17 — thirty-eight days and 780 kilometers since we started May 11, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We were two of the first ten pilgrims in line for our compostelas , which meant we got tickets for a free lunch at the historic parador. Peter from Australia showed up and introduced us to Michael and Linda from Washington DC, who also got the lucky tickets. Peter also knew Ted and Darlene from Winnipeg, and gave them contact, since my phone died and we cou
Read more

Camino de Santiago Day Thirty-four to Thirty-six

By -
Image
Gonzar to Melide to A Salceda Today we completed two 30km days in a row and we are within 25km of Santiago. We've walked over 700km from Saint Jean Pied de Port, France, for more than a month.  And after two days of rain, the sun came out and the sky was clear and blue.  We stopped in Melide for the night where we found an amazing vegetarian-vegan restaurant Casa Alongo run by Concha. She was happy to speak English and share her passion for fresh, local food. After a Camino of meat and typical pilgrim meals, it was a great find. She served us grilled vegetables with avocado aioli and  tostada de pulpo-- Galician bread toast with local cheese and octopus. . One bar along the road has bottled their own La Peregrina lager and invites pilgrims to write something on the bottle and decorate the patio. We walked our second to last day with friends we met a week ago--John, Norbert and Agnes. We talked about our families and what it's like to make friends on the Camino.  Everyone is a
Read more