Fill 'er Up

“We go out, not in our own strength or power or wisdom, but in the strength and power and wisdom of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And because we are not being sent out on our own merit, we cannot stay scattered, at least not for very long. We need to come back for worship, for fellowship, to re-connect, to re-fuel. A Lutheran pastor and Bible teacher David Lose says this: ‘We come together each week because, quite frankly, it’s hard to believe the nearly too-good-to-be-true news of the Gospel for more than about seven days in a row.’

So part of our mission as a Church is to be the kind of community and congregation where we do encourage one another in faith; where we do bind up one another’s wounds and bear one another’s burdens; where we practice again and again the art of asking, giving and receiving forgiveness; a community where we can both cry and play, rejoice and sorrow, ask questions and share spiritual insights and deep truth. Because if we don’t learn to do this here, it’s a sure bet that it will be very hard to do it in the other parts and places of our lives.

So worship God, go forth in the name and pattern of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve and bless and teach those around you; and then come back with all the cares and dents and sorrows and successes of the world to be refilled, renewed and re-formed in the image of God.”

                   ~ from my sermon June 15, 2014 ; Vicki McGrath+
Filling