If you missed last Sunday, I hope you’ll consider watching the service online (here’s a link if you want to watch right now)! It was one of those experiences that we need as a church, not because of the sermon or the music, but because of the commitments that were made during worship. It’s a humbling thing to bear witness to a group of young people who are publicly declaring their belief in Christ and commitment to serve God alongside their church. Eight of our students committed their life to Christ and one was baptized as she made her commitment of faith. I’m hard-pressed to find a more powerful image of what it means for the church to be The Church: walking alongside students as they own their faith for the first time, passing on the faith to the next generation, committing to continue on the journey with them, mutually committing to serve God with one another, acknowledging and celebrating that this is in fact the beginning of a new journey, not the end! All of that was wrapped up in what we call Confirmation, and it was a beautiful opportunity to see the Body of Christ being the best of who God made us to be. It was an easy Sunday to praise God!
It was also a beautiful interaction with the questions we’ve been asking for the last couple weeks that invite us to consider how we might become better and deeper followers of Jesus:
- Do I believe that I am a child of God?
- Does my relationship with God change the way I live?
My hope is that these questions will begin to bear fruit in your own lives as you allow them to shape or reshape the way you approach your relationship with God. No matter how experienced or inexperienced in faith you are, it’s never the wrong move to reflect on the ways we might be able to dive just a little bit deeper into our relationship with God and how that impacts our daily lives.
We’re even doing some of that work as a church. We shared a wonderful time together on Sunday afternoon as we considered the State of the Church and explored where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re headed. It will continue to be important for us to ask difficult questions of ourselves, test our resolve to be the church that God made us to be and look for new ways to faithfully follow Christ together. If you missed Sunday’s meeting, please know that my door is always open. I am more than willing to discuss the content that was presented if you missed it, and answer questions that you may have about any area in the life of our church. Never hesitate to reach out if you would like to know more about where we are or where we’re headed!
