What a strange week it was - I'm glad to be back into a fairly normal routine this week. Kids were on vacation all week, so my work time was limited (as usual when that's the case), and I think it made for a below-average Sunday for me.
On the upside, I thought our first attempt at a cafe/concert on Friday with the New Life Band was a pretty good success. We had a lot of good feedback, including some comments that we should try to do it again, maybe as an open-mic type of event. People seemed to enjoy the atmosphere, and enjoy the desserts and coffee, so we're going to think about a way to reproduce it and do it again. Look for the updates on that in the near future.
Confession: the Sunday after Easter is always a difficult one. Easter tends to be a peak attendance-wise, and there's a certain kind of letdown the week after, at least from my perspective as a pastor. Combine that with what I felt like was less-than-adequate prep time, and you get (in my opinion) a below average message. From the beginning I never felt like I was on track, my thoughts were not flowing, and I just felt out of sorts. Once again, however, I'll trust God for his word to do its work in the hearts of the people who were there. I'm always reminded in those moments that it's not about me and how persuasive I am, but about God by his Spirit drawing the hearts of people to himself.
It definitely was a challenging talk as we hit on the idea that Jesus does not always bring people together, in fact that more often than not, even his love can become a divisive point for people. Jesus was not a universalist, he talked about a broad road leading to destruction and a narrow one leading to life. And yet he flung the door open to anyone and everyone who was willing to come in. I think that sometimes followers of Jesus get confused into thinking that we're supposed to be the gatekeepers to the kingdom, and that's not really our role at all. The church should be a place where everyone can belong even before they believe the whole gospel about Jesus. The church should be a place where we are all welcome to ask our questions and seek a growing conversation with Jesus.
Next week we'll hit on the theme of Redemption again - this time from the book of 2 Samuel as we look at God's covenant with David to have his family rule over the nation of Israel. RIght now it's looking like the track we take will be along the lines of thinking about redemptive leadership in the Kingdom of God, and what God requires of both leaders and followers in his Kingdom. After that, we're going to hit a three week series on money - our attitudes towards it, how God wants us to manage it, and how we can live a generous life in the Kingdom of God.
For now, may the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the peace of the Spirit be with you all.
Great post Pastor.
Posted by: roxanne kristina | April 20, 2009 at 07:53 AM