A Thankful Heart

November 25, 2010

On this Thanksgiving Day, I would invite us to find time between the turkey, the pumpkin pie, the shopping and the endless football games to thank our Heavenly Father for His extravagant love and grace that He has so richly given to each of us. 

Colossians 2:6-7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built-up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.” 

You know, regardless of life’s challenges that we each face, we have much to be thankful for.  I know we have all heard the phrase “have an attitude of gratitude,” but what would happen if we truly lived out that attitude?  You and I can choose to be thankful for what we have or, instead, we can look at the things we lack in our lives. 

I’d invite us all to offer thanksgiving to God today, not only for the blessings we have received this past year, but to offer thanksgiving to God in “advance” for the blessings that are to come this next year.  In Philippians 4:6 it says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  While we do not yet know the trials and triumphs we each will encounter in the future, we do know that our God is the same today, yesterday and forever. 

Here’s a wonderful song by Don Moen called “Thank You, Lord.”  It’s a great reminder that we have much to be thankful for in our lives. Listen now>>

My prayer on this Thanksgiving Day is simply this: “Lord, help me to have a thankful heart today and everyday.  Amen."

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Sitting in the Front Pew

Last weekend, Pastor Steve challenged us to look at worship as “our responsibility” and encouraged us not to be merely spectators, but to be participants.  When we do that, we don’t focus on ourselves, but rather we focus on the reason we are gathered together – to worship our Creator and Lord.  Our very lives should be an act of worship.  However, while we were created to worship God, sometimes on Sunday mornings, many of us struggle to just get to church on time and find a parking spot.  So when we enter the Sanctuary for worship, many of us may be feeling a little frazzled and stressed.

As a child who grew up here at Calvary, my family was often late for church.  In those days, the Chapel was the Sanctuary, and the ushers would literally escort you to the front row if you were late.  Parking was a problem then, too!  We often arrived during the opening hymn and we would be paraded down the main aisle to the front row.  It was a mortifying feeling to always be late and to have people stare at you as you were being escorted to the front.  I felt so embarrassed. 

When I was a young 20-something, I decided that I would never be late for church.  I would usually be in the Sanctuary about 10 minutes BEFORE the service started.  I suspect part of the reason for being early was to avoid sitting in the front pew, but the main reason I did it was to get my “heart” ready for worship -- to sit quietly and to just spend time with God. 

When we arrive in a frazzled state to church, it takes us a few minutes to lower our blood pressure and set aside the chaos of our lives so that we can make room for the Holy Spirit to move in, around and through us.  And that does make all the difference!

Worship is not just something we spend an hour “experiencing” every week.  Rather, worship is a way of life.  We are invited to be a worshipper everyday and everywhere we find ourselves.  When we sing a song or say a prayer -- we are worshipping.  When we reach out to a co-worker at work and speak words of encouragement – we are worshipping.  When we read God’s Word – we are worshipping.  When we serve others who are in need or alone – we are worshipping.  How does worship look in your life?  Remember, worship doesn’t start and end on Sunday morning; it is meant to be part of our daily lives.

Listen to this wonderful song written by Lenny LeBlanc and performed by the Women of Faith worship team called “We All Bow Down.”  Listen now>>

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Calling All Worshippers!

In his sermon this past weekend, Pastor John talked about the fact that we are all “born to worship.”  Yet, the statistics seem to suggest a different story.  Only about 20 percent of all those who say they are Christians actually worship on any given Sunday.  Of course, there are a myriad of reasons why and lots of excuses people use to justify not going to church, especially when the Vikings are playing at noon, as they were last Sunday.

I’ve been reading a really interesting book by Craig Groeschel called The Christian Atheist.  In his book, he talks about how so many of us believe in God, but live as if He doesn’t exist in our lives.  Throughout the book, Groeschel tackles some of the common issues many people have about faith and about why they don’t attend church.  He says that many who grew up in the church are not asking “Which church should I go to?” but rather they are asking, “Why should I bother with church at all?” 

In our culture, there is a consumer mindset when it comes to “going to church.”  We can get all the Christian material we need by going to various Web sites, podcasts, books, TV and even radio.  Going to church on a weekly basis is seen as a needless waste of time, energy and money by many.

Friends, God is not calling us to GO to church; God is calling us to BE His Church and SHARE the hope of Christ with the world.  The people in the first “church” that we read about in Acts 2 didn’t see the church as an additional burden to their lives.  The difference, you see, is that they didn’t GO to church; they WERE the church! 

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer.”  (Acts 2:42) 

In other words, they were worshippers!  They gathered together to read and hear God’s Word, to share communion as God’s children, to pray as a community of Christ followers, and to be about God’s mission in the world. 

Dream a little bit with me.  Can you imagine what our churches and our worship would be like if we all stopped merely “GOING” to church and seeing it as a burden to be endured, but started to BE the church as Jesus intended it to be? 

Listen to Chris Tomlin’s song, “Made to Worship.”  It’s a wonderful reminder that we are called to be worshippers!  Listen now>> 

Pax,

Pastor Carol

Mirror, mirror on the wall--I am an ELDER brother after all!

Pastor Steve’s sermon this past weekend may have left some of us “elder brother” types feeling a bit exposed.  Yet, perhaps it is good for us to confront those tendencies that many of us have: the anger and feeling of superiority, along with works-righteousness and the idea that life is seen as a duty rather than as something beautiful to be experienced.  How do we change?  How do we remove the scales from our own eyes?

The words that touched me the most this week were the words Jesus shares with us through the father who says to his elder son, “My son, my child, you have always been with me.”  Jesus is basically saying to you and to me, “Come home, I’m waiting for you.”  Whether we are the elder brother types or younger brother types, it doesn’t matter; we are all in the same boat and that boat’s name is “LOST.”  In fact, the boat called LOST has a big hole on the bottom that duct tape won’t plug, and it is sinking fast! 

Every one of us is indeed alienated from the Father and only through Jesus’ death on the cross can our hope be found and the hole in our boat be plugged for good.  The Son of God had to die so that we could be found and saved.  Only through God’s grace we are saved. 

Recognizing our own “lostness” is not only the first step toward “shedding” our elder brother tendency, but also the first step toward finding our way “home.”  The journey to our “true” home is one to which only Jesus can lead us.  And, once we realize that we are “sons” of the Living God, we need to claim our status and not only come home but run towards “home.”  Run like you’ve never run before!  Jesus is waiting for all of the “lost” to come home – that includes you and me! 

Perhaps when we look in the mirror now we might say instead, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Jesus loves ME, after all.” 

Listen to this touching song called “Mirror” by BarlowGirl.  This song talks about how we can see a new reflection of who we are when we start to see our reflection through the eyes of the God who made us. Listen now>>

Pax,

Pastor Carol