Church Family Update - April 24, 2020

First, some good news:

Today, literally for the first time all year, I came to the office without a jacket. That’s good news! (Although I am still wearing two sweaters).

Prayer requests:

Overall I’m an optimistic person and I tend to focus on the bright side of things. And I honestly continue to think that as a church family we are blessed and doing well. But during the course of a number of conversations this week I noticed a recurring pattern. Many of us are starting to hit the wall and some members of our congregation are feeling a little (or a lot) discouraged right now. 

I myself, though I am normally “Mr. Keep On The Sunny Side Of Life” (just ask my wife), have experienced a level of exhaustion this week that I don’t think I’ve felt before. I say that not at all as a complaint—I’m thankful to have a job and I feel so blessed to serve such a wonderful church—but I say it as an honest expression of how challenging these times can be for all of us. And as a reminder that it’s okay to have hard weeks. God is with us even in the hard weeks (especially in the hard weeks!).   

So please pray for:

Those who have a history of feeling depression and anxiety and are currently struggling.

Marriages that are experiencing tension after so many intense weeks of interaction. 

Households who are feeling the strain of worrying about an uncertain economic future.

Grandparents who haven’t held their grandchildren in weeks.

Medical workers who feel concerned about risks at work and frustrated by administrative decisions.

People with long-term medical conditions and chronic pain.

I know for a fact that this is not an exhaustive list of challenges and struggles within our church. But these are some of the situations that I have encountered in our congregation this week.

A Devotional Thought:

Having listed some heavy things in the prayer request section above, I want to end on an encouraging note. Oddly enough Psalms 42-43 are at one and the same time the most depressing and encouraging Psalms in the Bible. 

The Psalmist is clearly depressed when he wrote these words. He speaks of his soul being “cast down” and “in turmoil” and crying day and night. And for whatever reason, he is apparently no longer able to gather with God’s people for worship. Does that sound familiar? 

But then he consoles himself with these words:

“These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.” (Psalm 42:4)

So he finds deep comfort in remembering back to the days when he could gather together with God’s people and praise Him. Let’s take a moment and do that right now. Remember how great that was? 

Arriving and Sunday and being greeted by a friendly and smiling greeter. Taking a seat and listening to the lovely prelude music and reading through the bulletin and maybe connecting with a friend you haven’t seen in a week. 

And then the call to worship and we rise and we sing praises to God. Together! And you lift up your voice and sing but everyone else is singing so loud you don’t hear any one individual voice. You just hear all of our voices joining together as one voice. Beautiful!

And then God Almighty Himself passes along greetings of grace, love and fellowship. And then we greet each other. With Handshaking!!! And smiles. And sometimes hugs. 

And we sing again. And we hear words of confession and precious words of assurance. And we sing again!! And then Pastor Jason gives some announcements related to our church family. And he says something ridiculous and we kind of shake our heads and smile. And then we pray in our hearts while he prays for our church. 

And then we get the privilege of giving some of our resources back to God in an act of worship as we give our offerings. And then those beautiful, energetic children come up to the stage. All smiles and giggles and squirming in their seats. And they shout out “GOOD MORNING” and it’s so joyful. 

And then we get to share in the feast of the Lord’s Word together. And just when we think we’ve had our fill, Pastor Jason seems to come around offering seconds. And eventually Pastor Jason concludes the sermon and we’re all glad to stretch our legs and sing again. 

And then the parting blessing. Pastor Jason raises his hands and sends the blessing of the Lord our way. And we receive it knowing that we will take that blessing with us throughout the week wherever we go. 

And then one more song is sung loud enough that it feels like the roof might just come off the building and we’ll find ourselves right there in the courts of heaven. Followed by lots of handshaking. 

And now the service is over but the worship isn’t done. We continue to worship God through fellowship with one another. Catching up and caring for each other. And drinking that wonderful Ebenezer coffee. And dodging those energetic kids. And finally we disperse. Back to our homes and our families. Refreshed and refueled for another week. 

I hope you found that as encouraging as I did. We’re blessed to be part of such a loving community. 

And then after remembering what it was like to gather with God’s people for worship, here’s the next verse in the Psalm:

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:5) 

It’s true. We can hope in God even in the hard weeks. And one day we shall again gather together and praise him. And it will be wonderful.

Have a truly blessed weekend. 

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Pastor Jason