| Sundays - for football and, hmmmmm ... |
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I admit it. My Sundays are confused at times. Now, I know the
grand purpose behind God’s gift of a Sabbath rest for His
people. And I am committed to one day a week that looks
different and is offered up to God so that His presence can
penetrate and orient the other 6 days. I get it. But what does
that look like? I mean have you ever struggled with going to a
restaurant and making others work for you on a Sunday? Or is
football spiritual enough for a Sabbath activity (… I hope I
know the answer to that!)? And what about the struggle to reign
in kids activities that are now unabashedly scheduled 24-7
including the day that is supposed to be set aside for church?
I mean, if I’m real about it, just even asking these questions
makes me feel like a trout flopping around on the river’s edge.
It seems out of place in the world I live in. But these are certainly important questions for Jesus’ church to be asking, aren't they? At least it used to be considered pretty important. There is, however, another Sunday question that needs to be asked and is a priority to answer for us at the First Congregational Church of Barrington. Why do we have a worship service every Sunday morning? Before you scoff at the question as silly, consider the variety of answers that you could offer: God told us to; fellowship; singing worship songs; hearing the Word; giving my money to the church; if we don’t we would be a very weird church; it helps change my behavior; the preaching is Which of these is on target? All of them? Some of them? It is a good time in our God-given life together to answer this core Sunday question. And perhaps we can summarize the grand purpose of our Sunday mornings in this way: The purpose of the worship service is to inspire people to become fully developing followers of Christ as we engage in worship together. Our goal is that at the end of the service we may close our car doors and be ready to engage another week of intentional faith-pursuit centered in pursuing Jesus Christ. Very rarely will a sermon end up in life adjustments by itself. In fact, left in isolation, a sermon is too often rated by its entertainment value. We are good consumers aren’t we! But without a doubt, after we encounter God’s Word we should be fired up to pursue life changes as we gather in discipleship groups throughout the week. The purposeful small groups happening throughout FCCB are where transformation takes place. But it is Sunday morning where we should be inspired to pursue spiritual transformation through the singing, the giving, the hearing, and the shared position at the foot of Jesus’ cross. One vital and important piece of the Christian’s life is not primarily satisfied on a Sunday morning: Fellowship. When we have over 100 people together, how can true fellowship happen? We can’t know each other well in that group setting. And, as I hope is the case, if Sunday is an environment where we would expect to invite others there is another element that prevents intimacy. But that is okay if a primary place exists for relationships to be pursued. That piece is in the Elder’s hopper and we hope to move ahead with it next year. So stay tuned for “Life Journey Groups” and don’t be frustrated if you find Sunday mornings are not great for relationship building. We are working on it! And, in the meantime, I truly hope that we are becoming aware of our need to be transformed, to be changed, to be moving on our journeys as we engage with one another developing habits of time and space to meet with God through our Follow Me groups. And come on Sunday expecting to leave encouraged to pursue these changes – even as you watch the Patriots with your kids or a neighbor. |
| A DEFINITION OF A DISCIPLE |
| Coming Soon |
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Discipleship
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