Encountering Christ BEFORE worship

By
Dana, our hospitality person, recently shared a few experiences from a morning at church:
There was a man who shared with me that his two sons were killed in a car accident just last week....a woman told me that her doctor diagnosed her with anemia, giving her closure on a long road of health uncertainties....One woman needed assistance cleaning up a coffee spill.... a man asked for prayer because both of his children were having extremely difficult days....There was a gentleman all dressed up in his best jacket and tie, anxiously waiting to join our church.... a man who had fallen away from church, returned for the second time this month with a smile from ear to ear.... Those are just a few of the stories that happened between 8:35 and 9:00.  I encourage all of you to come to church as early as you are able.  I promise you, God will use you and your gift of hospitality, your eyes will be opened and you will leave changed.
If worship is an encounter with Christ and Christ's people, then worship actually begins long before the opening song. We need to seek God in every person we encounter. And especially for first time guests, the most important welcome doesn't happen from the pastor in the pulpit; welcome starts in the parking lot--from the people in the pews (or the purple chairs) who make up the body of Christ.

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." --Hebrews 13:2

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seventh Symbol of the Jesse Tree: 12 Tribes of Israel

By
Image
Seventh Symbol of the Jesse Tree: 12 Tribes of Israel And Israel (previously named Jacob) had 12 sons who didn't all get along (despite their Father's dying attempt to gather them together for blessing and peace...). These sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. Genesis 49:1-28  God could have chosen any tribe or any family lineage--God could have skipped the family drama and tribal violence of the Old Testament tribes, but God chose to remain faithful to those ancient promises. God chose to root new  life and new  peace in a previously violent story. Praise be to God!  Just for fun: Which of the Twelve Tribes of Israel are you? (online personality quiz)  Tribe of Jesus: · Matthew 1:1–6 and Luke 3:31-34  describe Jesus as the tribe of Judah . ( “Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” ~Revelation 5:5) ·   Mary, Jesus’ mother, was also related to Elizabeth who came fr
Read more

Twelfth Symbol of the Jesse tree: Ruth's wheat

By
Image
Jesse Tree Symbol #12: Ruth, shaft of wheat I n the days of the Judges, famine left an Israelite woman named Naomi widowed and without both her sons. As she moved back to her hometown, one daughter-in-law (Ruth) stayed with her. This  penniless  foreigner--this outsider--Ruth was cared for and brought in to the Israelite family tree... the roots of Christ  Ruth 1:6-9,15-18; 2:1-12 and 16 Matthew 1:1-5                                       Reflection b y Peg Powell After reading these passages in Ruth, I was reminded of one of my favorite stories. Long ago, there was a mayor who lived with his only son in the hills of China. None of them in this village owned a horse, but one day, out of the blue, a stallion appeared at the mayor’s home.  All of the people exclaimed, “How lucky you are.” The mayor said, “We’ll see.” A few days later, the stallion disappeared, and all of the town’s people said,” How sad.” The mayor said, “We’ll see.” A week later the stallion retu
Read more

Eleventh Jesse Tree Symbol: Gideon's Clay Pitcher

By
Image
Eleventh Jesse Tree Symbol: Gideon's clay pitcher The Israelites enter the promised land, but the next generation stops worshipping God. When enemy armies attack and conquer them, the  Israelites turn back to God and cry out. God--in grace--raises up a judges (like Gideon) who leads Israel back to victory.  Gideon 6:11-16, 7:19-23 (or all of 6-8 if you're feeling ambitious)   Gideon--Peace by Karlie Harper I love the story of Gideon because it is an underdog story. In this story we see a man who is so full of doubt of himself that he does not recognize the Spirit of the Lord sitting right in front of him. For someone like me who battles doubt and anxiety, this story is particularly meaningful.  In the verses we see the Lord trying to build up Gideon’s courage by calling him a “might warrior” and telling him “Peace, do not be afraid”. But Gideon, not unlike myself, doesn’t listen to his Lord right away. If we read the story we go on to learn how Gideon—the weakest
Read more