Expectations

The alarm goes off, but you “accidentally” hit the snooze.  A little while later, you wake up panicked and running late.  You fly through the shower, grab coffee at the gas station on the way and shoot into your parking spot like a NASCAR driver.  You blaze past everyone between you and your “assigned” seat and sit down 15 minutes late.  Welcome to Sunday morning, and your have just arrived at church.  What do you believe comes next in this story?  For some it sounds like this, “There is some music, some of which I love the rest I dislike because it is not my style.  People read some stuff from the Bible.  Some person talks for way too long about thee’s and thou’s and other irrelevant things to my life.  We stand up and sit down a few times. They ask for my money.  I eat a cookie, drink some coffee, and I talk about the weather before I hurry home to begin the rest of my day.”

I hope that this is an extreme take on what many of you experience in your life.  But I ask this because I wonder, what is our expectation for church Worship?  Take a moment and honestly ask yourself, what do I expect or believe happens at church Sunday?  What do I hope will happen because I go to church?  What do I believe we gather for?  If we are not careful, church Sunday is just another part of the weekly schedule.  We come and go through the motions, and go home excited to check one more thing off our “to do” list.

Look at this scripture from the prophet Isaiah about his experience in worship, “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:4-5, TNIV) In Luke 1, Zechariah has such a powerful experience in worship that he goes home speechless for months.  As we read through scripture worship, being in the presence of God, is an event that transforms people’s lives.

Jesus tells us in Matthew: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20, TNIV)  Jesus tells us that we should come to church with high expectation.  We should come expecting that God will show up in a powerful way that will change our lives.  What would Sunday morning look like if we came prepared and expecting something powerful?  What would the music sound like if we expected that we would connect with God in an intimate way through our voices, if the sermon and scripture reading was a place that God could warm our hearts, open our eyes and change our lives.

What if we took the car ride to church or 2 minutes in the shower to prepare our hearts for worship, what if we expected God to transform our hearts when the Word was read, or that God could use all of the music to bring us peace or clarity?  Just try it.  Come with great expectations, prayerfully ready to worship for 2 or 3 weeks, and see if God won’t meet us in worship in powerful and life changing ways.

Pastor Bill

My hope is built…

Thursday April 1^st

This week we will hear a number of familiar passages, about Jesus betrayal, death, and resurrection.  We have heard these stories so often that we can find ourselves glancing over them.  They become common, normal passages of scripture.  Turn with me to John 13 and 14.  In John 13 Jesus celebrates the Last Supper with the disciples in the upper room.  As I read this passage I am astounded at the circumstances that He celebrated that meal in.

Jesus knew as he washed his disciple’s feet that Judas was going to betray him for a bag of silver.  Peter, the leader of the group, was going to disown Jesus publically three times before the night ended.  Imagine if you were a disciple.  Jesus had made it clear this would be your last time together, and one of your trusted friends is going to betray Jesus, the one you looked at as your leader is going to disown Jesus, and Jesus is about to turn the reigns of the church over to your group.  If I were in the room I would be panicked.  We are doomed, how could Jesus leave something as important as God’s word to a group like that?

Then you read the beginning of Chapter 14 and Jesus says to his disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1, ESV   Don’t be troubled?  Jesus you are leaving us to run the church with 12 ordinary people, who have little training, and two of them are about to turn their backs on you, one of whom is your assumed predecessor.  The disciples were fearful, nervous and skeptical of the ability to do what Jesus was calling them to, to be the church after He left.

Yet Jesus reminds them to not be afraid, for Jesus is not leaving them alone, this is not their church, it is God’s.  God’s weakness is far greater than our strength.  God’s grace and power can overcome our own brokenness.  Jesus seems to ask the disciples, what do you put your Hope in?  Where is your hope in this church?  Is it in people, is that why you are afraid?   Is it because you just watched with two of your own sin, betray me, and fail.  Get used to it, because they are not perfect.

So where do we put our hope in God’s church?  For some they place their hope in a building.  “We will grow and have a great ministry because we have a great facility.”  For others they place it in their pastor, “Pastor Joe is such a great preacher, we do well during his tenure.”  There are many places that we can place our hope, but each of them can fail and falter.

This week as we celebrate Easter, take a moment to reflect, where is your hope in the church?  Is it in people or material things?  For Jesus tells us, do not fear, for I am with you.  We are to have hope in Christ’s church because of Christ.  We have hope because Jesus not only died on the cross and rose for our sins, but promises to not leave his church, but send help and guidance.  I guess the old hymn best sums this up, “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

Pastor Bill