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Words From the Pastor:
Dear Friends:
People take vacations in order to “get away from it all” and relax. After a few days on the beach, sipping lemonade and not adhering to any usual schedule, there is a positive change. When you get back, you still have “sand in your shoes” and feel like a new person, ready to begin again, tackling the challenges of life.
When we gather for worship, we (in a similar fashion) leave the world of troubles behind, get away from the usual traffic of thoughts that clog up our mind and drain our energy.
In the Bible, we read that “…no person is justified by the law.” So we do not live in accordance with law . . . rather, “the just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:10-14). Therefore, the worship experience does not emphasize rules, do’s or don’ts, or should not’s and ought’s; no laying down the law. Rather, the hope is that worship, and the environment of praise, will spiritually transport us to a realm where we are filled with the awareness that we have made a contact with God.
In the ancient tradition of the church, the divine liturgy of worship proclaims that heaven and earth share the same space. Jesus ushers us into the Kingdom of God. There, He welcomes us and invites us to swim in an ocean of mercy, feel the warm light of the Son, eat at the King’s banquet table, see things we have never seen before and experience peace. So unpack! Leave your troubles at the door! Christ makes a reservation in eternity which we can experience (even now) in worship and prayer. It is a kind of “time-share” in heaven – that’s where we will “retire” someday. For now, however, there is work to do. Fortunately, God knows every worker needs a vacation. That is why God gave us the Sabbath day- the divine vacation package, As Jesus said, “the Sabbath is made for humans not humans for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27
Worship, therefore, produces rest in soul, rejuvenation of body and joyous recreation – (Re-CREATION) . Be made new - be strengthened - be made whole! Get away from it all. Take care of yourself. Join us in the “sweet hour of prayer.” It always makes life look a little better. Just as it is healthy, rest and get away from it all, so too, if you come to church you will feel better! I know you will. Come and see.
Pastor Frank
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