Sunday at Brentwood

First of all, let me just say that Emily and I go to an amazing church called Brentwood. Everytime we go, it is a huge blessing and feel closer to God and to His community. This Sunday our pastor did not preach which at first I was a bit sad about. The pastor who spoke, however, was amazing! He spoke about how we read Scriptures. He used the book of Rev. and did an excellent job. He said that often times we read the Bible to prove that what we believe is true, in other words we try to make the Bible solely about doctrine or how it is a book of the divine outline of salvation, or how it is a book of how to make me better. Although the Scriptures encompass elements of each, we instead turn it into something it is not. The Bible is about God’s redemptive plan for His world and humanity is at the heart of it. It was really good but it was funny because there was a family in front of us that obviously wasn’t happy especially when the pastor said Rev. would have been understood much better in the early church because they understood what John was saying. It was just funny because I was thinking about the church I am in now, and the churches I have been in the past and how far removed they are from each other. I guess that is what they call growth. It is strange though to see how these same churches have remained the same.

I went to my old churches website the other day to see if anything changed…it didn’t seem like it. I have so much hope in what God is doing in the world that I don’t understand how people can not be excited about the same thing. Grant it, I have not been to a lot of areas arround the world, but I hear stories and I try to stay in touch through websites and even my job at World Help.

Not only do I see a world be transformed by God, but I also am watching a generation that seems to be much more sensitive towards the things that really matter and as such, long for community. How much better would it be to show this generation that the most authentic genuine community is in the church!!!!! I truly believe that we have a responsibility to the Lord and to each other to build His kingdom here on earth as Jesus says in the Lord’s Prayer, “May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as in heaven.” How awesome is it that God wants us to be a part of that!!!! Am I getting too preachy?