Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

PASTOR'S PENS 2009

January 11th   “One of the problems of the Church is that it is made up of people like you and me. The Church is a divine institution, founded by Jesus, but it is also a human institution. It is not a hothouse operating under ideal conditions.”                                                                                                                              George Sweeting             This time of year many of us reflect on life changes that we need to make. Some are diet or exercise. Some are changes regarding clutter and organization. Some are financial. Hopefully, some of them are spiritual.             Jane and I have recently been looking at some dietary choices. As I was thinking about this, it struck me that when I was a child, I don’t recall ever having or even seeing someone serve a tossed salad. Being from the South, where the basis of cooking is ham grease, it took me a while to learn to not fry food. A baked chicken or broiled pork chop was unheard of. Though I grew up on freshly cut tomatoes, a delicacy in our home was fried green tomatoes. And you haven’t lived until you’ve had fried okra ☺.             Some of the improvements and life changes that we are working toward, though, are not new. They are simply re-works of old healthy habits that somehow fell by the wayside. For example, every Sunday afternoon Jane and I were in the habit of choosing recipes for the coming weeks. Somehow that fell by the wayside but we reinstalled it for 2009.             Speaking of reinstalling...during the coming weeks we’re going to be working through a new sermon series that we’ve entitled,EssentialChurch. For some, there may not be a lot of new insights. You’ve known the Lord for decades. This is familiar turf. But what you do need is to “re-work” some known information and actions. They’ve just fallen by the wayside with the passing of the years. Or, with the changing of the culture and world, you have not taken the doctrine of the Church and applied it to this millennium.             For many, this is going to be brand new information. You’ve never studied the Church, or what is known theologically as Ecclesiology, the doctrine of the Church. Or, you’ve recently come to Christ so this and everything else is new. Maybe you grew up in a traditional or liturgical church but one that was not necessarily Biblical. Please allow the Holy Spirit to teach you important truths about the Church, the Bride of Christ.             One of my favorite authors is Vance Havner. God has often used his writings to bless my soul. Recently, I stumbled on this quote of his, “Don’t ever come to church without coming as though it were the first time, as though it could be the best time, and as though it might be the last time.”             Because some of us are too familiar with the Church, we start taking it for granted. We allow ourselves to slip into casual Christianity and poor spiritual habits. But God loves the Church. He died for it! Acts 20:28 says, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.” In fact, God’s love for the Church is the model for how husbands are to love their wives (Ephesians 5). God loves the Church. It’s His plan for this day. It’s important to Him...and if it’s important to Him, as His children it must be important to us!             So let me urge you during the next few weeks to come each week on time and rested up, with your heart ready and prepared to let the Lord speak to you. Ask Him to stir your heart, to show you truth about His Church that maybe you didn’t know or have simply forgotten. Ask Him to give you a fresh love for what He loves – His Church. Ask Him to show you how He wants to use you to serve Him in His Church.             The Church is not some appendage to be attached in some blank space in our lives. It’s to be a focal point of our lives. The Church is where God molds us, shapes us, encourages and equips us to honor and bring glory to Him.             God wants to use the Church to do His work in your life...will you let Him?