“Autonomous Christianity never works, because our spiritual life was designed by God to be a community project.” —Paul Tripp |
September 12, 2024 There’s been much thinking, praying, planning, considering, and discussion about a potential new church property for our congregation. I am exceedingly grateful for those who are serving as trustees and property committee members doing yeoman’s work in this process. I am extremely grateful to God that he has put this opportunity in front of us, regardless how it all shakes out in the end. But even more than a potentially new physical place to worship, I am profoundly thankful for the particular expression of the body of Christ that we see at Mercy Church. The Bible is very clear about the physical reality of gathered worship (1 Cor. 11:18, Phil. 1:1, Philemon 1:2, etc.). It is essential to the life of the believer that we regularly gather together in corporate worship to sit under the preached Word and partake of the sacraments. But the Church universal never has been, and our local church particular never will be, the sum of its physical location. Sure, our physical location is going to influence the particulars of how me do certain ministries, but the physical location of our church is surely going to be a particular place for our church body to live, grow, and exercise. The apostle uses several different metaphors for the Church in the NT, one of the most famous and prominent is in 1 Corinthians 12 as he says “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” As such, our local expression of Christ’s Church is one branch of that body with its own many members. It has been a delight watching our body grow both in numbers but also in spiritual depth. My heart overflows with joy to hear your voices coming together every Sunday that we gather as we sing, pray, and confess our faith together. It delights my soul to see more and more people using their gifts to serve the church, whether in teaching our covenant kids, providing hospitality on Sunday morning, organizing different bible studies, doing acts of mercy for the body, leading in music, or offering help in organizing and administration. You are a diverse body of believers with many different gifts, passions, and talents. And as such, you all beautifully reflect the body metaphor that Paul employs in 1 Corinthians 12. The joyous reality of the gospel is that no matter where we physically gather for corporate worship, we can and will continue doing exactly what Mercy Church has been doing for the last 17 years. No matter what place we are in, it is a joy to come together as a body. Very much looking forward to Sunday! In Christ, John D |
Announcements
—Congregational Meeting Announcement for 9/15 The purpose of this meeting will be to “to call a congregational meeting on September 15 to clarify the scope of duties of Trustees that are required to sell the current property, manage funds from the sale, and proceed toward purchase of new property. It is understood that a congregational vote is still required to take final action prior to any sale or purchase.” To prepare for this congregational meeting please consider looking over the proposed scope of duty for both the property committee and the trustees. The idea is that we will vote to affirm the scope of duty for both the trustees and the committee at our congregational meeting, and we will discuss it as necessary. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the proposed scope of duty prior to the meeting, please contact the trustees (via the contact form on our website). Please note that this meeting will be after church, and while it should not take as much time as our previous meeting, it might be beneficial for families with children to plan ahead for snacks. Also, given that we will be meeting again on that same Sunday evening, we will endeavor to keep the meeting exceedingly streamlined. —Open House at new facility on 9/15 In order to help our church prayerfully consider the potential purchase of the new property we are going to hold an open house there on Sunday, September 15 from 5:30-7pm. The idea behind this open house is to experience what a Sunday morning would potentially feel like. There will be a truncated order of worship (no communion, fewer songs, shorter sermon, etc). Worship will begin at 5:30 pm and we should conclude between 6:15 and 6:30. The remainder of the evening will be enjoying fellowship, snacks/refreshments, and getting familiar with the physical space/property. —Songs for Sunday Here’s what we’re singing this Sunday if you’d like to familiarize yourself with tunes + lyrics! Psalm 24 (to the tune of Approach My Soul The Mercy Seat) In Tenderness Isaiah 43 Your Great Name The Church’s One Foundation |
INTERESTING LINKS
These are some links that I have read recently that I enjoyed, found helpful, made me think, or otherwise did good for my soul/heart/mind.
Humans Were Meant to Be Here
Are You Dissatisfied with Life? Take Communion
When Church Courts Err. . .
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