Personal Worship (Page 15)

Hey, Church! This week I have been thinking a lot about gratitude. I need more of it in my life. Anxieties about the future? Yep, I’ve got plenty of those. Frustrations with present life circumstances? Check! A list of blessings a mile long? Well, I don’t think about that list quite as often. But the Spirit reminded me this week that that list is immeasurably longer and,…

Hey, Church! We will have the privilege and joy of sharing a communion meal this Sunday! To prepare our hearts and minds to receive the bread and wine (or, cracker and juice) with sincerity and faith, I thought it would be appropriate to focus this weekend’s meditation on the significance of that sacrament. To do that, I want to diverge from my usual talking points on the…

Hey, Church! We have a new song to sing this Sunday called “Here Again.” Its lyrics prompt us to look back and remember God’s long, steady faithfulness to us; to look forward and trust that He will be faithful then just as well. And in light of the past and future–”here in the middle”–we want to call on Him to make His glory appear in our present weakness: “I’m not enough…

Hey, Church! I am praying for this Sunday to be an extra-joyful one! Think about it: God, who created the universe and saved your life with His own blood, looks to you with a smile and says, “Come! Let me rejoice over you and show you more of my goodness and glory!” We will respond to that call with a song that we have only sung once before–on Easter Sunday 2021. It is…

Hey, Church! Not long after the COVID lockdown began a little over two years ago, I picked up a new hobby and started a small fruit and vegetable garden in my backyard. At times it has been more rewarding than I had ever imagined and, at other times, it has been deeply disappointing. The process of burying one tiny little bell pepper seed in soil and seeing it grow up to…