I get excited every time the daily calendar approaches the weekend!
As a second career pastor, I will admit that my excitement at the approaching weekend in my “previous career” days was primarily driven by the weekend break from the alarm clock, the commutes, and the grind of work.
But somewhere along the line, Sunday became a priority for my spiritual life. I found that my life centered on worship! I found that I was renewed in the Spirit through the rhythm of Sunday morning! I found my Sunday morning to truly be my Sabbath – my time to refocus on God and God’s will for our world, my family, and my life! Put simply, I came alive on Sunday morning!
The world is trying to tell us that’s old fashioned. Come to worship every Sunday? Preposterous! Well, Isaiah put it this way in his 58th chapter, verses 13-14:
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
That sounds a little harsh to me but Isaiah had a way of being very blunt. In today’s world, work schedules are no longer based on the traditional “work week” cycle. There are some new realities that interfere with our Sabbath cycle. But I will always remember what my son used to say to me when he was little. He would run into my lap proclaiming loudly, “Sunday’s a coming, Dad!” At five years old, he understood the highlight of the week! I wish we could all recapture that unbounded childhood excitement over the Sabbath.
We have so many special things coming up. But before I tell you about them, I wanted you to know how special EVERY Sunday is to Christians. I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to think that they are just supposed to come to the “special Sundays.” The truth is each Sunday is special. Each Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection. Invite a friend (or 12) and come and see! I would say put “Sunday” on your calendar – but it’s already there.
November 24: “Christ The King” Sunday – end of the “THANKFUL 4” Sermon Series as we end the Christian year THANKFUL 4 Christ! We will also share the results of our Generosity Journey as part of our worship. Come see how God is moving through us!
December 1: First Sunday of Advent – Beginning of “Conceiving the Inconceivable” Sermon Series (preparing for the inconceivable movement of God!) Hopefully, your Thanksgiving meal leftovers will still be around as Advent appears on Thanksgiving Weekend!
December 15: Christmas Music Sunday – we will have four worship services this day; two at 9:30 AM and two at 11:00 AM. We will offer a unique “Worship in Music” Praise service in the Contemporary Worship Center at both 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM. We will also offer a unique Christmas Music program “A Celebration of Carols” in the Traditional Worship Center at both 9:30 AM and 11 AM.
Also please note our Tuesday evening, December 24, Christmas Eve Candlelight services at 5 pm in TWC, 5 pm in the CWC, 7 pm in the TWC, 9 pm in the TWC.