The Prayer of Confession for the service said, “Help us see you the God who is our friend, partner, teacher, counselor, and redeemer.” It reminds me of this church that is offering classes so we can learn more and put it into practice. We volunteer and pray together in order to help others with mission projects. We have Life Groups to get to know others, learn more about God, and grow in our faith. We have ways to share our different skills with singing, teaching, preparing the pews for services, hospitality, administration and finance, children and youth ministries, and so many other skills we have. We grow deeper and practice what we have learned with each other and through God.
In this church, I believe we pay attention to the worth of every person here. When I walked in Sunday morning, people were so happy to be here and welcomed each other. This is a place where you can tell others about difficulties you are living through and people will pray for you. It is a place to be healed in many ways. The song after the sermon said, “I heard the voice of Jesus say – come unto Me and rest. He made me glad.” I see the ways people have grown over the years and feel glad that God is in their lives.
Geoff started the service with telling us to say “God enjoys me”. That was a great start to the service. I had some difficulty saying that since it sounded like I was bragging, and I don’t like to do that. It would have been easier for me to say “God enjoys us” since it isn’t just about me. However, when thinking that God enjoys me, it does tell me that when I make mistakes I can come back and learn more and get inspired by His truths.
I want to say one more thing. During the sermon, I was reflecting on so many different ways it was connecting with me. I could have written five reflection articles this week. Therefore, if you read this piece and wonder why I didn’t write about something else, I understand. For each person sitting in the sanctuary or watching from home, there might be different ways you take in the key points. We are individuals who have been on different paths in life. The really cool thing is that we come together and share who we are in a common place with God and our friends. It can’t get better than that!