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“WHAT’S GOING ON AT CHURCH?”
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Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
- 2 Timothy 4:2
Maybe you have had someone ask you this question: “So what’s going on at church?” You might answer, “Well, the parking lot has been repaved, some remodeling and maintinance work is being done at the parsonage and, oh yeah, we’re installing air conditioning in the church!” If that were all we could report, that would be sad. Not that such things are wrong. It is good Christian stewardship to take care of the church property. It can be said that a well-kept church speaks well to outsiders. But that’s not “real church work”, that is, it’s not the mission the Lord has given to His church.
What is to be going on is the “preaching of the Word”. That is what worship is about, what Bible Study is about, what Sunday School is about. But it is not just within our congregation that the preaching of the Word is to be done. We are to reach out to the world around us. We are to share the Word with that part of the world that surrounds us – our families and friends, those who live in our neighborhoods and communities, those we work with or go to school with – all those in the world right around us.
It need not nor should not be an “either/or” proposition when it comes to maintaining pleasant, well-kept facilities and sharing God’s Word. This is especially true when you consider the cost for sharing God’s Word with others can often be calculated with time and effort rather than money. That is what our May 23 worship is going to be about – reminding us of the privilege and responsibility we have to share the Word.
What’s going on at church? It’s the ministry of the Word, within our walls, within our hearts and out into the world. Be a part of it!
W. W. J. S. ?
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator `made them male and female,’ and said, `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
Matthew 19:3-6
What do you think about all the news (and noise) being made concerning the definition of marriage? Some politicians want to define marriage in state and federal constitutions. Some want to redefine marriage in the courts. What is the motivation and implications behind all of this is the stuff for another conversation. Right now, another important question needs to be asked – W. W. J. S.? “What would Jesus say?”
I think Jesus would answer in the same way He did to another attack on marriage, when the Pharisees asked about divorce. Then Jesus directed them to God’s original design and intent for marriage – that it is to be a life-long union of one man and one woman. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how the United States congress, the Minnesota legislature or the Supreme Court defines marriage. For us, as redeemed children of God, disciples of Jesus Christ, it is what God’s Word says that is important, that is the deciding factor. The Word of the Lord defines marriages and morality. The Word of the Lord calls upon sinners to repent. The Word of the Lord says how God loved a world of sinners so much that He sent His Son to be Savior. The Word of the Lord says that God is faithful and just and will forgive those who repent of their sin for Jesus’ sake.
We pray that our government does not pass laws that will promote sin and moral decay. Still, when all is said and done, what is important for us is W. W. J. S.?
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