Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Show Up & Be Thankful - by Ben Barnes

I wasn't a great student as a kid, but here's what I remember about Thanksgiving.  Pilgrims came to ‘the new world' on the Mayflower.  They were running from religious persecution.  They landed at Plymouth Rock and set up shop.  By late fall, the pilgrims were starving due to lack of farming experience in an unfamiliar environment.  The native Americans took pity on the pilgrims and brought food and blankets and farming techniques to share with the foreigners that didn't really deserve those gifts.  The whole lot of them had a meager feast of lobster and rabbit for three days and nights.

Sunday mornings are a time of celebration for the church.  We celebrate what God has done in and through us.  We celebrate the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.  We celebrate of what Jesus did to save our souls.  Our Sunday mornings are like minor Thanksgivings, and here's why.  The pilgrims had very little to bring to the table.  They could only show up and be thankful.  In very much the same way, we have very little to bring to the table when we come to worship on Sunday mornings.  All we can do is be thankful for the gifts that we don't deserve.  That sounds a lot like Romans 5:8 to me; "But God demonstrates His love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Ben Barnes
Director of Worship Arts


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