Put on Christ

Put on Christ

This sketch is from one of the earlier sermons in our church by Evan Westburg. He preached on this verse.

 Colossians 3:9-14, -Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another of any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

This sketch is how I interpreted a church that embodies this verse. Here are people holding each other up, working at being humble and kind, bearing with each other and forgiving.  

          

What would happen if we really did this within our churches? What if when we disagreed with leadership we didn’t take our ball and go home? What if when the music wasn’t our taste, we had patience? If the songs were too fast, or too slow we didn’t run off to another church hoping it would fulfill our laundry list of needs? 

Say the older generation made room for the styles of the younger and the younger left a place open for music familiar with another generation? By the way, this doesn’t necessarily mean a battle over using hymns. Both sides seem to like hearing a classic hymn now and then. It is mostly modern vs 90’s style music.

Oh yeah, and what if when we didn’t agree with how the money was being spent, we didn’t try to disrupt the entire church by talking in secret meetings to get our own way? Then leave taking many with us. Only to find another imperfect church, one that we will leave again somewhere down the line.

If someone hurts our feelings, or a Sunday School teacher is not up to our standards can we be examples of commitment and stick it out?

Then cover it all with a deep, consuming love for one another. A love that overlooks, forgives, and has compassion. This would strengthen individual churches by not having a constant stream of strangers flowing in and out of its doors. We could get to know each other, and really be a family.

Wow! I want to be in that church. Where do I go? Oh, yeah, I stay right here in my lovely, but imperfect church, and commit to dearly loving, forgiving, and being compassionate to my own church family.

Colors of Life, rainbows of faith

Joseph

          When Pastor Evan preached on Joseph he spoke about each event in the life of this patriarch of the Bible. Joseph was given a multi-colored coat as a present from his father. I have drawn Joseph in his coat, but in each patch of color I put an event that occurred in his life.

          On both sleeves I have written the lesson Joseph teaches us. Follow God no matter the results. Even when Joseph was thrown into a cistern and left to die, he believed in God. He was sold into slavery, but this did not cause him to lose trust. His faith stayed strong after he was thrown in prison for something he didn’t do. In the end God used Joseph to save his people, and the Egyptian people, from mass starvation.

          Don’t give up! Continue to trust. God has a plan.

Holy Smokes, Holy ground!

Holy Ground

          When our little church was given the land where we now have our building, we stood on that property and sang “We Standing on Holy ground.”  We stood in a circle and held hands, knowing God had called us to this place. My friend poked my arm and pointed to my middle school son. He had taken off his shoes and socks, and stood in the dirt with bare feet as he sang.

          When God called Moses to free His people He came in the form of a burning bush. God spoke to Moses from the bush and told him to take off his shoes for he stood on holy ground.

          When God calls us to serve Him, to a ministry, or even for the first time to be His child that place becomes holy. The dirt doesn't tremble, the rocks don’t start to glow, but when He calls, and we answer, that place becomes charged with the Holy Spirit and we are “standing on holy ground.”