Revelation. The word alone strikes fear into so many people. After years of hearing about beasts and thorns and bottomless pits, it is hard for us to hear the words of Revelation without fear. However, this is the Revelation of Jesus. We need to hear his oft repeated words, “Do not be afraid.” Could it be that our impression (or perhaps our interpretation) of Revelation is not accurate? “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

We need one another. Why? We were created by a God of love to live our lives in relationship. Sure, there are seasons when we need (or think we need) to be alone. What calls us back from our islands of solitude is our deep need for the other.

We are responsible for those around us, but we also have a responsibility to ourselves. How do we balance the two? Join us as we struggle to find out.

God desires our worship. He created us to image and to worship him. Does he always accept our worship then? No. There are times when our worship is unworthy of him. Surprisingly it has something to do with putting our faith into action. How? Listen with an open heart today and perhaps we will all find out.

Worship

The orders are in. We know what we have to do. Or do we? When we receive an assignment, a mission, there are often things that are not clear to us. What details are missing? How will we accomplish it? What if things change? This morning we are seeking to clarify our mission as a church. Let us think. pray. worship. together.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! This morning, in this moment, try. Try to let all the anxiety, all the fear disappear. In the emptiness that is left, find your joy. You know it is there somewhere. It may be deep or it might be near the surface. Try to find it. You will leave this place different if you do.

“Only let us live up to what we have obtained.” (Philippians 3:16) Hmm. In order for this to be true. Church, gathering, worship- whatever you want to call it- has to be about “us” and not about “me.” We have to realize that we don't have it all figured out. There are things we must lean on each other for. There are truths we will never realize if we don't have each other...

We talk about unity all the time. Maybe even too much. Are we talking about it because we hope we are unified or because we really don't know what it is? To understand unity we need a great desire for it. A love of it. Then we need to explore a simple question: How can we live in unity?

What brings you pure joy? Gives you wings that make you want to fly? For Paul, it was not a great movie or a strong cup of coffee. It was the church in Philippi. Really. The people he knew brought him remarkable joy. Can we find that here? In this place?

The first century church was not a commune. The people lived their lives in the middle of the marketplace. They praised God within earshot of everyone they knew. Paul understood we must speak truth into our communities. And he knew what we must learn... we must speak their language.