Monday Musings ...

Yesterday was a very interesting day and a very good day. I was privileged to do a baby dedication as a part of our time of worship. I love doing baby dedications and the congregation always loves them as well. Baby dedications are some of the few times I can get nearly everyone to smile at me. Okay I know they are really smiling at the baby but I like to imagine they are smiling at me, we all have our delusions don't we?

Our time of singing in worship was pretty good, people seemed pretty engaged and you could really sense the presence of the Lord. Extra prayer will do that it seems. I certainly prayed about this service and message a lot last week and had asked some people to pray extra for it as well.

The message was continuing to look at "Living the Life, After the Lies". The focus on this message realizing God is God, that he is God of our city and that to love God we must love people. I used the phrase "Love God by loving people". Matthew 5:13-16 talks about being the light and not putting it out. It talks about a city being on a hill, or lifted up, so it can be seen. The is lived out by living on purpose. Not our purpose, but God's purpose. What have you done that you are proud of and believe in? This is lived out by following Christ. One of the ways to determine if you are following Christ is to see if you are burdened by the things that burden Christ. Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God? We have to get past being more burdened by the cable going out than we are about the needs of the people around us. This is lived out by loving this city, wherever you are located. If we are where God wants us to be then we are to be in love with the place. Are you in love with your city? I know we might wish for different weather, or to be closer to the beach, but do you love your place? If not, then I believe you need to question if you are where God wants you to be. To live this out we are to love the people of this city. I John 4:19-21 says that if you don't love the people of your city then you don't love God. Ouch! That includes your annoying neighbors, your enemies, the loud kids, the racing teens, the grumpy old men and crabby old women, your co-workers and even all your relatives.

Are you living on purpose? Do you love the place and people where you are located?

I met a new family to the community in the afternoon and had a chance to pray with them. That pumped me up.

In the evening I began a new series in my group on forgiveness. Accepting, giving and living forgiveness. This is going to be a valuable and difficult study to create and to apply. Forgiveness is something we love to receive, have trouble accepting at times and struggle to give to certain people. Then we had a reception for our Youth Pastor/Associate to celebrate his ordination. We honored him, and because we love him we also roasted him a bit. It must have been appropriate because his mom and dad loved it.

It was a very good and interesting day. How was yours?