June 29th, 2021
By Tina Yerkes
The last couple of Sundays have been refreshing to be inside our building with our church family. Not saying that each week is not refreshing but these have been especially so. Baptisms, Youth Sunday, Nursery School celebrations, Mother’s & Father’s Day and now VBS. We can SEE the smiles on faces and know there are smiles under the masks that are also worn. We can HEAR the voice lift up in praise. We can be close enough to hug and have true connections. It is WONDERFUL! We continue to have people with us online, live on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. It is exciting times!
Is this “the new normal”? What is “normal”?? Normal has changed and will continue to change as it has done for centuries. Our technologies have changed. We have adapted and grown. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was all about taking His beloved Jewish faith to focus on the heart and the why rather than simply following the rules or because this is how it has always been done. He knew that things had to be done differently, in a new way, to reach generations to come. Jesus changed everything for Jewish people and changed everything for the Gentiles (the non-Jewish) and changed everything for you and me. And we know that this upset many people, especially the religious leadership.
Church online has been a large part of doing centuries old systems and doing it differently. Sure, we had tele-evangelists on TV & crusades but, again, this is different. It is our church, online, on YouTube, on your TV, on your phone and whenever you are able to take part in a worship service. There are people who participate in worship on a Tuesday night or Friday afternoon, from across the US to wherever they may be on vacation. Church is different. And Jesus’ message is reaching in new ways- 24/7.
Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5-7. Here is just a portion of how Jesus taught in Matthew 5:17-20 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
So, in 2021, whether you attend service in-person, in the Family Life Center or in the Sanctuary, or you participate live online Sunday morning or on Tuesday afternoon- we belong to the creator of the universe, we are His family and we are here to worship Him.
The last couple of Sundays have been refreshing to be inside our building with our church family. Not saying that each week is not refreshing but these have been especially so. Baptisms, Youth Sunday, Nursery School celebrations, Mother’s & Father’s Day and now VBS. We can SEE the smiles on faces and know there are smiles under the masks that are also worn. We can HEAR the voice lift up in praise. We can be close enough to hug and have true connections. It is WONDERFUL! We continue to have people with us online, live on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. It is exciting times!
Is this “the new normal”? What is “normal”?? Normal has changed and will continue to change as it has done for centuries. Our technologies have changed. We have adapted and grown. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was all about taking His beloved Jewish faith to focus on the heart and the why rather than simply following the rules or because this is how it has always been done. He knew that things had to be done differently, in a new way, to reach generations to come. Jesus changed everything for Jewish people and changed everything for the Gentiles (the non-Jewish) and changed everything for you and me. And we know that this upset many people, especially the religious leadership.
Church online has been a large part of doing centuries old systems and doing it differently. Sure, we had tele-evangelists on TV & crusades but, again, this is different. It is our church, online, on YouTube, on your TV, on your phone and whenever you are able to take part in a worship service. There are people who participate in worship on a Tuesday night or Friday afternoon, from across the US to wherever they may be on vacation. Church is different. And Jesus’ message is reaching in new ways- 24/7.
Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5-7. Here is just a portion of how Jesus taught in Matthew 5:17-20 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
So, in 2021, whether you attend service in-person, in the Family Life Center or in the Sanctuary, or you participate live online Sunday morning or on Tuesday afternoon- we belong to the creator of the universe, we are His family and we are here to worship Him.
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