Do You See What I See?

I don't know about you, but I feel as though I've heard enough about Isaac for now, and as a result I am going to go in a different direction for this message.

This week, I want to thank you all for your very positive reaction to worship this past Sunday.  In this first of a two-part series on our relationship with God examined through the lens of two sisters named Martha and Mary, we celebrated the fact that being in service to our Lord is part of our calling as people of faith, and that Christ never condemned Martha for her work, even as he told her Mary had chosen the more excellent way by being at his feet.

Something I don't want to get lost in the shuffle, though, is a central question we will be exploring as a church: What are we doing to facilitate intimacy with Jesus Christ?

We will be looking at this through several sets of lenses, contrasting the approaches of Martha and Mary as we seek to live out our calling as the Christian community through Worship, Discipleship, and Mission.

If we are going to be intentional about knowing Christ our Lord as intimately as possible, it is going to require us to to be mindful that we find our identity through intentionally being a part of worship each Sunday, for each Sunday is not a self-contained service that can be skipped without missing anything, since Christian worship within a community is a cumulative effort.  Each Sunday is part of a much longer narrative in which we participate in the redemptive work of God.

Additionally, like any good, healthy relationship, we cannot nor must not be satisfied with being Sunday-morning-only Christians.  While worship is the heartbeat of who we are as a community, and the starting point of all ministry, it is through intentional, regular participation in daily spiritual disciplines and in smaller settings such as Sunday School classes and other spiritual growth opportunities such as Wednesday night studies that we truly get to know each other and, through each other, draw closer to our God.  Christianity is not a solitary religion, nor one that we can engage in fully by catching a favorite TV evangelist, and requires us to invest not only in our God but in each other.

Finally, intimacy with Christ is a product of doing as Christ did, bringing the message of hope, reconciliation, and redemption to all of creation by being in service to the Divine by engaging in hands-on missional activities through the community of faith.  By being willing to go into places far beyond our comfort zone, whether they in our back yard or halfway around the world, we are evermindful of Christ's words that whatever we do unto the least of these we do unto our Lord.

The great thing about a church community like North Cross is that in each of these areas - Worship, Mission, and Discipleship - there are plenty of opportunities in which you can engage, and there are more on the horizon as time goes forward.  I look forward to walking with each of you hand in hand as we draw and are drawn closer to Christ our Lord.

See You Sunday!

Lamar