Having just completed the “how-to” series about prayer, forgiveness, love, and knowing/doing God’s will, we launched back into the book of Mark which we’ve been following through the year. This week was Mark 6:30-34 when Jesus hears reports from his disciples about the work he sent them to do. This is the morning message for that week.
The songs were upbeat and peppy. Communion always takes me to a deeper place. James even used a clip from Sex in the City! Can you beat that? And it even tied to message so perfectly. Why can’t we be satisfied in life? Why do we always want more?
Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard I try, whatever I am trying to do does not happen. I had a plan when I got up this morning (late because the basement partially flooded after last night’s rain and in the wee hours of the morning I had to unclog the drain which normally deters the flood- Noah might have liked such a drain but that is for another post). My plan included working on some audio files so they could be uploaded right here for others’ listening pleasure. Immediately upon beginning that work, the phone rang at home to tell me that the air conditioning service person had come to church and was in need of entry to do routine maintenance. Not on my list (or anyone else’s either- we cannot find any record of it being scheduled but again I digress). SO… I am now here in the office working and feeling like what I thought needed to be done isn’t getting done. Well, except now the a/c will work better in our worship center and perhaps people will be more comfortable as they worship together and not be unable to focus because they are too warm. Of course the Israelites struggled to stay focused when in the desert so maybe heat played a part in their not being able to focus and therefore checking the air conditioning is exactly what I am supposed to facilitate today.
I guess the moral of the story is life does not always go as scheduled and that maybe God can use the most inane happenings as a way for his love to be shared. Maybe it is a reminder of our interconnectedness since it was because Saint James’ next door neighbor, Martha, at the district office called and let me know that the a/c guy was here or else I would have missed it entirely thereby not increasing the productivity of the air conditioning unit which in turn might keep others from knowing the love of Jesus. Of course, maybe it was just a crazy day where my plans did not quite go as expected and where God’s love surrounded me anyway.
Last night a few people stayed around to chat and it reminded me of what I love about what God is doing at Saint James. We talked about many things: late nights, dating, situations that have been difficult, worship, our new site, and the list goes on. Afterwards James and I stood in the parking lot, free to leave, but talking about a few of the people we are praying for and then our favorite topic- how blessed we feel to be serving at Saint James. I have been very thankful for my previous jobs, but I have never been so aware that this is where God intended me to be. I hope that everyone can find a place that they know that without a doubt and can feel the blessings of it. Following God’s will to Saint James was not easy in many ways, it took months of prayer as I knew I would have to leave a job where I loved the youth I was working with and would require trust as I live primarily in another city until next May. However, God has provided at the times when I doubted and has given me enough strength and blessed me with enough grace. In any case, thank you for being a welcoming community, for caring about the future of our community, and for sharing of yourselves and your lives. I hope you too will stick around for parking lot conversations and be blessed by it.
Recently, we’ve been having a conversation at Saint James about whether blogging might be a better way for us to go than our forums. Most of the forum traffic is generated by a few people with occasional responses posted. Might it be better to simply have several bloggers who receive comments occasionally? It is certainly something in our minds and prayers. What is the best way to communicate?
This message ends the “how-to” series. James talked about what it means to know God’s will and then to do it. This is the morning message for August 5th.
