Today I had a different experience. Cindy, Bobby, Leslie, Andrea, Marcus and I all sat together in church. I remember a Christmas Eve service a few years ago when we had a similar family worship experience but those are rare for us.
The view from the balcony is pretty good. I loved the sermon. (Even though I had not heard about the bees.) The worship put us in a spirit to experience God's presence. Communion was meaningful as I was able to join with others in receiving. It was a meaningful experience of worship.
In the balcony you get to interact with people. Preaching makes a connection (on a good day) but it is different. From the balcony you get to see how others engage in worship. This is more difficult to discern from the front. In the balcony you can reflect on what is going on in people's lives as they gather in the name of Jesus to find a touch of grace for their lives.
It is a good reminder of why we do what we (preachers) do. Weekly we seek to hear from God and be able to bring a Word from the Lord that will encourage you in your daily lives. It is a tremendous joy to do so.
Next Sunday I plan to be back in the front. I doubt our whole family will be together then. But we will all be somewhere. And wherever we are the certainty is that God will be with us. God is with us when we preach. God is with us when we listen. (I believe God is even with us when we go to the Chiefs game - like we did today - but I'm not sure the Lord enjoyed it!)
The point is we seek to live our lives in the presence of the Living God. God is with us in and through all the experiences of life. But it is in church - whether the balcony or the front - that we give our most intentional focus on the purposes of God.
I was glad to be able to worship with you today. I hope you've had a good day enjoying the Lord.
blessings,
steve
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