QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION ~
Psalm 67: When in your life have you found yourself praising God for his blessings? How have those blessings made a difference to your relationships with others both within and outside the church?
Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8: What in our worship service might make others feel like outsiders? What can we do about it?
Matthew 15:21-28: Have you ever felt like an outsider in church like the Canaanite women in this story? What happened to you, or what needs to happen, to make you feel accepted? How can you help others to feel that acceptance
The greatest blessing of them all, for me, is knowing that Lord Jesus is always with me, to guide, comfort and strengthen through Holy Spirit. Bringing to my mind His promises in my times of fear and need. Allowing me to step out farther to reach and help others in faith. Standing on His promises and proclaiming and using the Truth in His Word supports me totally in His service. Without Christ, standing and striving for His Kingdom on earth would be virtually impossible, and woefully ineffective.
ReplyDeleteMany things can hinder a person in coming to worship with us, reasons are very plentiful, but none of them should amount to so much as to keep anyone from coming to worship the Lord. We each have our personal hindrances but I'll list a few that we as believers have some control over changing ourselves for the benefit of newcomers to "feel" more at ease and accepted with and by us.
When I perceive the service to be very structured in Religious ritual that I do not understand. It's hard to follow and put my heart into.
When I observe members being very somber and controlled in worship. Should we not enter into the Joy of the Lord through worship with gladness?
When I get the impression others feel as if they are better, above, or more Holy than me. We are all sinners and I think any Church of God should be a welcoming place for sinners, not a place where we are being judged and shunned by the congregation.
If the message seems to be from a world of the past, and seems to serve no practical purpose or relevance in my life today.
How am I to implement it in my life this week?
When too much emphasis is put on learning and less on helping us in our walk.
While most people don't like change and not all change is good, growth is essential! Without it the Church becomes dead. God forbid! A Church that is stuck in the past and does not grow with, and meet the needs of the congregation will fail. Growth, with no compromise to our basic Doctrine that is, is fundamental. It is something we must embrace, not fear.
A Church that places more emphasis upon Ritual observance than ethical or moral observances, is empty and seems to me, to be just this side of death.
In an effort to allow Christs Love to flow more freely within our congregation, and to allow Him to reach out to the greater community at large through us, I think it very important that we be aware of our imperfections, both individually and as a whole, and allow Christ to transform us, as a Church, where necessary.
I struggle with all these in my personal life, it may be more of a reflection of myself but I can't help but think some of these same issues affect the rest of the Body as well.
Thank-you Dear Lord for our Church, we may be down, both individually and collectively at times Lord, but with You, we are never out, we know it is not Your desire that we stay there. Please help us to grow and stay relevant to people today. Help us to be a Sanctuary of Love, Peace and Acceptance in a world that is anything but. Amen