09/10/2019
I am still celebrating a wonderful outdoor worship experience on Sunday. The music was outstanding...a little jazz, a little contemporary Christian and bluegrass all in one day. The food and fellowship were what we had hoped to have. Then of course, all praise to our God who answered many prayers lifted asking that the clouds be parted to take the rain away from Carmel...at least for that time!!
A beautiful tent was arranged to the south of the main church building for the worship experience last Sunday. The beautiful white tent is a perfect metaphor for God’s church. What a perfect visual as we launch the upcoming sermon series “Won’t you be My Neighbor”. The church worshiped under a tent that had no walls.
-No sides to keep us inside to simply care for ourselves to the neglect of others.
-No sides to keep others out.
-No sides to prevent those of us from under the tent to go outside of the tent.
That is probably the very best metaphor God desires for His church. God desires of his church to love and care for its members. God desires for His church to grow in discipleship. But most of all, God desires all of that to serve as preparation for His church to go out into the world. God desires for us to make the world one large neighborhood. Yes, God wants us to ask the question of everyone…”Won’t you be My Neighbor?”
Yes, a wall-less tent is a good metaphor for God’s church.
Blessings, Rev. Patti Napier
Archived Posts
The Rest of the Story
I mentioned Russell Conwell in Sunday’s message. He was a famous preacher, educator, and lecturer. His sermon/lecture “Acres of Diamonds” was turned into a book and sold rather well. I used Conwell’s illustrations to talk about sharing the good news of Jesus with those closest to us first—family, friends, coworkers, and church family. The wider world is our ultimate aim, but until you invest in the people God has already put in your life, you are unlikely to have much success.
No One Said It Would be Easy
To love Jesus first is to learn to love all the other people in our lives with greater intensity and less selfishness
What’s Saved Is Often Lost
Here’s the benediction we didn’t have time for yesterday (Sunday, November 3). It’s one of my favorite quotations (portions of a newspaper column). I hope you find it as inspiring as I have
Leftovers Continued…
It’s not just the fact that God is un-impressed by our leftovers, it actually goes deeper than that. In a sense, Jesus is passionately and purposely opposed to anything leftover. To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to work diligently to make sure that in the end nothing at all is left over.
Less Stuff and Fewer Wants
Here’s a point I left off Sunday’s sermon due to time and length. In dealing with an Entitled mindset it is very helpful if you can Reduce Materialism and Consumerism.
Entitlement Can Hit You in Ways You Might Never Suspect
The people of God (Israel) were chosen by God to fulfill a unique calling—to be a light to all the other nations of the nations of the world. God chose them because of their willingness to be used by Him for His purposes. But after a while the Israelites began to think that they were chosen--not because with God they could fulfill a special purpose--but because they were a special people, uniquely favored and loved for who they were.
What Kind of Love Do You Have For God?
In Sunday’s message about Job, I talked about how important relationship is when it comes to getting answers to our questions about God. The question that Job is really being tested on is this: can he love God for who God is—or does he only love God for what God can do for him?