Welcome to Church on the Hill, Glenavon, Sask, Canada







Wednesday, January 23, 2008

It’s An Awesome Task!

Sunday’s Reading: John 7:37-39, Eph 5:18-20, Gal 5:16-17, 22-25

Bible text used in Sunday’s message: Rom 12:9-31, Heb 13:1-2,
Rom 13:4, Rom 15:5-6, Luke 14:8-9
( glenavonchurch.googlepages.com/library )

Pastor Lorne’s msg on Sunday was about the awesome task Paul laid on us:
To show Jesus to the world by letting everyone see how we live. Do people see Jesus when they look at you?

The Bible says to honour someone else before yourself. Pastor Lorne said that’s kind of radical thinking in this day and age. I guess he has a point because that would certainly make you stand out in some crowds!

The Bible says practice hospitality. When Pastor Lorne paraphrased that as being friendly to strangers, I thought of how meek I am walking into a roomful of people. I have a tendency to ignore the whole bunch instead of looking them in the eye in a friendly manner. I guess Jesus wouldn’t ignore them, eh?

Pastor Lorne broke into my reverie by saying we shouldn’t retaliate. That made me think of Matt 7:12 – otherwise known as the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I remember going home to help Mom clear out the old place and we came upon some stuff that belonged to my brothers. We opened one scribbler and written on the inside cover was, “Do unto others and then split!” My mom expressed a negative reaction about “those boys”. I only waited a few seconds before admitting that I’d written that. She didn’t believe me (grin). Of course, I never did anything like that … just writing those words were about as delinquent as I got … but I wonder how many people have that mentality and carry it out?

There, my mind was wandering again! Pastor Lorne was telling us to show empathy and not be too proud to associate with those less fortunate than us. It made me think about the homeless and how I try to ignore some people looking for spare change in downtown Regina. Pastor Lorne also mentioned the Bible passage about the banquet table, which explains about putting too much importance on yourself. (Luke 14:8,9)

He mentioned that Paul’s list of directives is tough, revolutionary and some even go against human nature. But that’s what we have to do to mirror Christ.

Angels. Pastor Lorne mentioned that you never know if a stranger is really an angel. (Heb 13:2) How many times have you avoided a misfortune because of an unexplained piece of luck? Think about it.

He further went on to say: “Paul wants to give us a spirit of unity so we can be as one with the world”.

I thought of the upcoming Service of Unity on Tues night when the 3 local churches would gather here at Church on the Hill.

That’s when I realized I’d missed Pastor Lorne’s closing comment. It sounded good but I was only half-listening so my mind hadn’t grasped it. I did hear that we were to mirror God.

If you want to know more about this message, contact Pastor Lorne at the phone/email listed on the bottom right of this blog.

Okay, so now you know what I was doing in church … what about you? I invite you to leave a comment.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder why people aren't leaving comments? Maybe they don't know how. Anyway I really liked your blog about Sunday's sermon.Keep up the good work.

Anita, a member of Church on the Hill said...

Hey Noelle, thanks for the encouragement. This blog thing is such a new concept that it will take awhile before everyone is comfortable with it.
Also, people think we're being polite when we say we want to hear what they have to say but in the case, we really do!