United in the Lord

Did anyone go to the fair this week? Maybe a better question is how many times did you go? Or maybe who didn’t go to the fair this week? I went with the youth on Wednesday night. The rides were packed; after waiting in line for 30 minutes just for one ride, they were finished with the rides. What was surprising, yet I agree with them, is they say they had more fun walking around the booths, talking to people they know and petting the animals. There is something special about that side of the fair. The booths setup by local organizations are always handing out free stuff. Eating yummy foods that support other local organizations is always good. Celebrating the accomplishments of our own friends and family who are in the ribbon and pageant competitions makes us all feel a little proud. I may not be from here, but I feel at home here like I belong and I thank you and God for that.

Pray and Read Psalm 133-134

Psalm 133–134 (NRSV)

A Song of Ascents. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

A Song of Ascents. Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord. May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

Picture it, the city of Jerusalem filled with people who are united for a festival that celebrates all that God has done for them, and brings them together under a common bond. Besides the county fair, another example is like attending a massive family reunion with people that you actually like, eating foods that remind you of your grandmothers way of cooking, and talking about things that are important to you. All in all, you feel closer to people them you had when you first arrived.

Maybe you can relate to the feeling of attending a concert of your favorite artist. You are in a large stadium with other people who also like the same kind of entertainment. Everyone is singing along, laughing along, and full of joy.

This is the scene that the first psalm is talking about. People united together, doing life together. Not everyone is the same or has the same life experiences, but they are united by their beliefs and their culture. This is truly what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.

All in all, each experience is a blessing from God. God establishes His blessings of peace and joy to his people. If you noticed the in the first psalm how unity is defined as oil flowing down the beard of the first High Priest, Aaron. And then it is mentioned similarly to the dew from Mount Hermon which is geographically higher than Jerusalem. These past few weeks we have been traveling up, or ascending upwards to the home of God’s people. Now, at the peak, we are seeing that the blessings are flowing down to us.

So then in the last Psalm of Ascend we are called to Praise God for every blessing. We praise God with hands lifted high. We praise God with songs. We praise God with our prayers. We also praise God the creator of all things for giving us eternal life. We praise God together and for one another. We come together as the City on the Hill, as a royal priesthood, thanking God for all that He has done in our life and in the lives of those around us.

You may remember when we were having a meeting at church on Thursday night called the ION Meeting. This meeting’s main purpose was to plan for some ministry events that are coming up.DEFINE ION

One of the main questions to be asked is, “how many people should we expect to serve at this event?” Of course we always want the number to be high, but we also want to make sure that we have enough for everyone who comes. Although each ministry task, program or event needs a point person, everyone needs to be on the same page regarding what happens, what is needed, when, why and how everything is to happen.

This is also why I say that as a church we need to operate as a team of teams. Not everyone will want to come to an ION meeting to plan details of events, or even what to be in charge of a ministry. However, many will want to do a small service task that is needed at the time of the program. Take for example our upcoming Fall Harvest Festival. At the meeting, Sandy Harris volunteered to be the point person. So she has agreed to be the person that will delegate volunteers, collect donations, and organize the where and how this event will take place. However, she cannot do the whole event on her own. At the meeting, those who have volunteered before for the Fall Harvest Festival told her how things have happened in the past and we talked about how we could improve and keep it going this year. Even more important are the volunteers who weren’t at the meeting who will have a trunk for the Trunk-n-Treat, or will tell Sandy that they are willing to sit at a table to hand out goodies to the kids, or the ones who will cook the hot dogs and pass out drinks and chips.

This is where all of us come in. Even if you can’t serve or will not be available to be present here the night of Halloween, you many donate funds so that our ION people, particularly Sandy, can purchase what we need. Or maybe you can’t donate funds, but you want to help pass out toys and treats to the kids that night. Each of us have our own gifts and abilities to help in multiple ways. Where one is not gifted for a certain task, someone else in this congregation is gifted. But when they both come together, they are able to compliment each other to get the ministry needs met. Some people are passionate about caring for the children of this congregation while others are more concerned with caring for our senior adults. Some people are really good at figuring out our financial needs while others see a physical need in our church and work to fix or improve our church in various ways.

We are not unified because we all agree on one issue. We are not unified because the church leaders tell us to be unified. We are unified because we have the same Savior and we all have been shown grace. We are unified because we have been a part of each others faith stories and we want each other to grow in our faith and know that God loves us. We are unified because we all serve God together in different ways but where all of us sees the blessings.

As a body of Christ, we should be united. We should all seek to live in peace with one another. We should pray for one another and feel comfortable to ask for prayers from others in our church family. After all, a church is not just a social gathering that you can say you are a part of and check it off your to-do list. Even when you can’t be physically present, you are still being prayed for. We share in this gift of God’s eternal kingdom with one another now and for all of eternity. I know that church is not as exciting as the county fair that comes ones a year or as special as a family reunion when you don’t get to see that side of your family very often. We most definitely aren’t a concert venue where you can come and be entertained. However, we can be proud of one another, support and encourage one another, and share in God’s blessings with one another. It is better because seeing one another consistently builds bonds and friendship. We are able to know one another and understand where our gifts and passions lie so that we can work together to serve God’s kingdom. Most of all, we are strengthened when we are united in our love of Christ.

Next week, each one of us are going to learn about the committees and teams we have as a church and you get to decide which one or two you feel gifted or called to serve. Again, the goal is not to have certain ones play many parts, but for all of us to share our ideas and work together as a unified body of Christ.

In the name of God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.