Vignettey Thoughts
Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 9:26PM Sometimes our worship leader stops playing and steps away from his microphone. Then it's just the voices of the church, and it's lovely. Sometimes I stop singing just so I can listen for a minute; sometimes I can't sing because it's such a beautiful sound. Today the guy playing the bass guitar was singing his heart out. He had stopped playing, too, and had his hand raised high.
Charlie preached today; he is so passionate about the gospel. I admire that so much. He doesn't mess around, or tiptoe about on eggshells when the tough issues come up. His personal demeanor is such, though, that he is able to get his message across without leaving people feeling like they have been beaten with a baseball bat. He makes the listener think, hard, about these words that sometimes get glossed over because they've been read so many times before.
Another family is leaving, moving on to another call. They are headed out tomorrow. Saying goodbye is hard. I mourn the fact that a friend is going away, and I also mourn the time that I missed, the days when I could have called and said,"Hey, are you doing something this afternoon?" Christian's very good friend is part of this family; he is sad. This will be tough for him, I think.
There is stuff going on, church-related and denomination-related. It hurts. My heart breaks to think about all of the discord in the body of Christ. Part of the passage that Charlie preached on today was Romans 13:13, which encourages believers to behave a certain way, and ends with,"...not in dissension and jealousy." I am grateful for the message of reconciliation we find in the gospel, and that even though there are divisions or pain in the church, there is also love and unity, rooted in the love and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Hopefully, there is healing in those things.
It is exciting to accomplish a goal, especially one that I didn't think I could. (No, I did not get the laundry all done...that might be so exciting it killed me.) I am jogging (read: bouncing) for longer periods of time, and uphill, too. I am considering registering for a 5K. It's Thursday, so I guess I better make up my mind. (Mike said,"You'd better do it!")
Isn't redemption beautiful? I think so.
Reader Comments (3)
Yes it is. And you should do the 5k!
I'm not a particularly religious person, but I know exactly what you mean about sitting in a house of worship and being unable to sing because everything around you is so beautiful. There is something so stirring about dozens of voices being lifted together in unified praise.
I find that the worship session is always more beautiful if I stop singing. ;)