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Written by Senior Pastor Lewis Archer
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Thursday, 04 August 2011 18:48 |
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Christ is calling. He calls us to himself. St. Augustine said that our hearts were made for union with God and until we find our connection with him we will never be content. Some hear his call and never figure out what that inner discontent really stems from. We think it is hunger, thirst, a desire for wealth, a desire for pleasure, as desire for status, but what that truly is is the stirrings of grace as God calls us to himself. We can hear his call and hide. Adam and Eve had sinned and were ashamed. God came calling, "Adam [your name here], where are you?" (Genesis 3:9)
As we are found by God, we discover that we are not only called to him but to one another. "Love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12) God calls us to worship him as a community. Nothing defines us as a community of believers as does joining together in worship. We are called to God and we are called together to gather.
We call called to scatter. God has called us to be salt and light. We are to be people expending ourselves on the saving work of God in this world. This must go beyond "our people" to all those for whom Christ died. We cannot do all as individuals but if all individuals respond to this call we can reach and transform the world through the power of God expressed in and through us.
You are loved. You are called. We will be committing ourselves to follow God’s call on August 14. I hope you can hear. I hope you will come. I hope you will heed the call. |
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Written by Senior Pastor Lewis Archer
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Friday, 01 July 2011 13:16 |
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Psalm 145: 10-12
All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might, so that all people may know
of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. (NIV)
The woman who won the North Alabama Conference Denman Evangelism award this year has served on a local church staff for many years. In all those years she has had a wonderful ability to get the members of her church involved in ministry to children and youth. The Conference presented a video of people whose lives she had impacted and one struck me. She said, when you hear her say, “do you love Jesus?” you know you are about to go to work!
The writer of Psalm 145 knew that if you loved God your life was going to change. Those who are faithful tell of the glory of God’s kingdom and speak of his might so that all people may know! Have we truly worshiped God if we do not do all we can to make him known to our neighbors? I don’t think so.
If you love him you worship. If you worship you tell others. Ask yourself Sunday, “am I worshiping or am I watching?” |
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Written by Senior Pastor Lewis Archer
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Wednesday, 22 June 2011 17:00 |
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Psalm 13:5
I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
If I trust in God’s unfailing love, I will rejoice in God’s salvation. When I finished seminary and moved to Maryland to serve my first church, I lived in a house build in about 1895. It was well kept and a good place. It had two stories and a kitchen that has been added at some point that was only one story. This meant that the roof over the kitchen was at a different level than the roof over the rest of the house. Well, one day I decided to clean the gutters. I cleaned them around the lower roof over the kitchen without incident. I then looked up. I only had a small ladder. I couldn’t get up on the higher roof from the ground so I pulled the ladder from the ground and placed it on the first floor roof so as to allow me to climb to the second floor roof. The roofs were tin. I didn’t ever get to the second floor roof. Instead, the ladder I trusted slipped out from under me and I fell face first onto the first floor roof and then proceeded to slide several feet down towards the drop off to the ground. I didn’t really get hurt but it was only dumb luck (or the grace of God). I trusted in the wrong thing.
What are you trusting as you climb your ladder? Are you looking for a career or status, or pleasure, or wealth or family to support you? If so, you are heading for a fall. Trust instead in the unfailing love of God. Instead of a crash landing, there will be reason to rejoice. |
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