Church in Transition

I believe that the Church in America is at a crossroads and has been for quite some time. For those of you who've heard my husband's preaching and would like to hear him once again, I urge you to listen to his sermon "Jesus has Left the Building". It can be found at the following address: http://www.ckpc.org/Sermons/tabid/3452/Default.aspx In it he gives an overview of the cultural shift that we're in and how we as the body of Christ need to respond to it. He used, in part, the materials that my pastor (Rose Swetman) gave him from her class on Church history. If you listen, be patient through the video clip (hard to listen to a video clip!) because he unpacks it for you when it's done. I really miss hearing him preach.

The trip to Africa has solidified my understanding of just how important it is for Christians in America to transition well. In addition to seeing how incredibly linked we are to the rest of the world (and how they look to us to make good decisions); I'm also so much more aware of how little decisions we make every day can add up to big changes down the road. I'm reminded of another of Hallack's sermons that has stuck with me to this day - the one on the Good Samaritan. In it he pointed out that what the Samaritan did was not over the top for his day. He did what he could with what he had. I think it really impacted me because growing up I thought it was a story of heroic proportions. Or as Hallack preached in another sermon on Moses - "what do you have in your hand?" Moses had a staff and God used that simple tool to transform the lives of the Israelites. (I'm going to stop gushing about Hallack's sermons, but really, he does have a gift for unpacking God's word in language I can understand).

So I'm challenging myself today with what I have in my hand and asking God to show me how to use it to bless others. I think that's the main reason I write on this blog - to tell the story of what God has allowed me to see and hopefully we'll all make some small changes with what we have to help another. Be the Good Samaritan today - with what you have in your hand and a prayer in your heart. You may never know how your one little act may mean a big change in someone else's life but God will. And, honestly, He's the only One we need to please.