Church Family

Do you vacillate in your desires to be around others?  That's nature.  Sometimes we crave the company of others and at other times we just want to be alone for a while.  God has wired us this way and so it makes sense that both are needed in our spiritual lives.  

In relationship with others, we need the church and we need Christian friends who love and support.  And, we know that we also need that time alone with the Lord—time in private prayer, study of God’s Word, and quiet reflection and meditation. 

Deitrich Bonhoeffer made an interesting observation in his book Life Together.  He points out that while it is only God who can forgive sins through Jesus, that forgiveness sometimes needs another to sink in.  He says, “Our brother stands before us as the sign of the truth and the grace of God.  He has been given to us to help us…  So in the Christian community when the call to brotherly confession and forgiveness goes forth it is a call to the great grace of God in the Church.” 

It is such a joy to be together as a community of brothers and sisters.  And when we are apart from one another, we pray and seek God on our own so that when we come together we have even more love, strength, and support to offer to one another. 

The last couple of weeks we have had a greeting time at the end of the worship service.  We don't ever want someone to leave the church without at least a brief connection with someone.  In fact, our hope is that we foster a "church family" so that we help each other grow deeper in our faith and our relationship with God. 

James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”  May we continue to pray for one another this week, and look forward to meeting together again soon, when we might love and strengthen one another by being Christ’s ambassadors to one another.     

God bless,

Pastor Kory