Reflections on Sunday, Nov 12...

It seems impossible to underestimate the powerful reality of worshiping and spending time together following a major catastrophe. Whether we worship and fellowship following funerals, national or global tragedies, or our present circumstance of the church fire, we send a powerful message to one another by refusing to withdraw inside ourselves; instead, we gather.

Yesterday wasn't perfect...some frustrating things stacked up on top of each other, testing patience and causing us to have to fly by the seat of our pants. We were in an unfamiliar place, a relatively unfamiliar time, with a bit different approach of worship.

But as we sat down, we could look around and see the faces of those who have stuck it out through thick and thin together so far; and read from 1 Peter 4 and Hebrews 4 the calling we are given by God to consistency in worship and consistency in lifestyle no matter what.

Two songs from our worship time should stick out to us as Biblically-driven, intensely real and intensely practical messages: Blessed be the Name of the Lord and Praise You in This Storm. To see the lyrics, click on the songs. And at the end, we sang together God Will Make a Way. Songs of trust and knowing God is faithful no matter how broken life is.

Peter reminded us to rejoice in the face of suffering, and to praise God that we bear the name (the call to faithfulness) of Jesus in any circumstance.

Nate gave a bit of an introduction during the message that looked like this:

"Before I launch into the message this morning, I’d like to let you know that, like the rest of us here, I’ve had an up and down week, mostly down. I’ve cycled through many emotions, sometimes feeling unstable and not in control of myself. I’ve tried to cope with those emotions by withdrawing from others at times, thinking I could handle these strong emotions myself, but found all that was doing was making me numb. And to tell the truth, there’s a strong voice in me telling me before I read the verses I’m going to read here in a second that God doesn’t have a ghost of an idea what He’s talking about. That God is out of touch with reality, and pain, and grief. That’s my natural human response to what I am about to read here.

(Read 1 Pete 4:12-19) And just when I am about to toss the Bible down and not pick it up for awhile, I come to Hebrews 4:14-16 (read), and I find that the message is deeper than it looks at first, and I find here the example of Jesus, and my mind immediately shifts to the struggles he endured on this earth during his ministry, the pain and agony of struggling with living into his destiny while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, the physical pain of the crucifixion, sure, but the pinnacle of that experience being the moment where Jesus stepped in the gap for the sake of all humanity, and in those moments underwent such suffering that the sky turned black in the middle of the day, an earthquake shook Jerusalem, dead people arose from tombs, and he finally cried out, “It is finished.”

And if I read that story closely, I don’t recall Jesus walking through that experience with a smile slapped on his face, dancing a two-step as he stood before Pilate or the Sanhedrin, or laughing as he carried his cross. And if the stories are true at how Peter’s life came to an end, I’m positive he wasn’t just really excited, overwhelmed with joy when he was crucified for being a follower of Jesus as well. So when Peter suggests to rejoice and praise God in the midst of suffering, I think we can come to the conclusion that he doesn’t mean deny reality or pretend like everything’s ok. And I feel confident in saying this, because this life that God has called us to is at its heart being real and honest, not running away from things that upset us, stretch us, or are painful. So what is the deeper reality here?"

The answer seems to be found in the response we are expected to give as Christians that seems to be idiotic (and in fact is) to our friends who don't know Jesus. The rejoicing we are called to cultivate is not a false exterior that denies the struggles going on in the interior...the rejoicing we are called to cultivate is a deep inner awareness that though life is broken and unexpected things happen, God expects faithfulness, consistency, and growing worship to emerge from our lives...and difficult circumstances demand that we orient ourselves properly to depend on God.

How do we respond as a people? Nate suggested two simple things that are terribly hard to live out:

1) We admit that we are powerless...that our lives are unmanageable without the relationship God created us to pursue, and

2) We believe that pursuing that open relationship with God can and will both restore us to sanity (enabling us to face life), and begin to restore relationships across the face of humanity that are broken.

The solution to the mountains and valleys of life is a God-centered existence. And in a society more and more impersonal every day, we get the opportunity to experience the potential of deep relationship, challenge, grace, and forgiveness when we (in the midst of unpredictable life) gather together as a people. You won't find that at Wal-Mart, the gas station, the movies, or listening to a television preacher. You will find it when you see me and I see you...both of us knowing each others' weaknesses and strengths as we grow to trust one another...both of us pursuing the transformed life we are called to pursue.

We need each other. Sunday was a start (with some good food to boot!).

We're meeting again this Wednesday at Emerson and Elaine's at 7 pm to pray, and will continue meeting at New Hope Community Center for at least the next month at 10 am, with our worship gathering followed by a chance to eat together and talk about who we are...

Can we continue to commit to meeting together as a priority?

Full sermon here.