Happy Fourth of July! We had a joyful day at church today. Nice crowd for such a busy travel weekend. Absolutely great to be in the house of the Lord. We started our "Defining Moments" series and it would not surprise me to learn that someone experienced the Living Lord as a Defining Moment in life.
Thanks to everyone who helped with the Freedom of Faith celebration - cookout - water slide - ice cream - great fellowship. It certainly is great to be with the people of God.
I posted a quote on Facebook this week. It comes from N.T. Wright and his book "After You Believe." The point he made was "we live in a land where churchgoing once was a 'habit of the many' but is now a 'hobby of the few.'" Wright is from England and certainly Europe has seen a dramatic decline in participation in the Church. But we in America can identify with the idea as well.
The reason this is significant - not that merely going through the motions of church attendance (habit of the many) - is that we develop Christ-like character as we practice Christian virtues - This is done best in the context of the community of faith.
My prayer is that we experience a return to the practice of the life of faith (grace) that results in people experiencing the transformed lives Christ brings.
In the sermon we learned that after about 400 years a king (Pharaoh) came on the scene in Egypt who did not know Joseph and sorely oppressed the Hebrew people. Our country is 234 years old. It seems to get easier to forget foundational principles the longer we go. I pray we take this time to remember our freedom and learn once again to attribute the blessings we enjoy to the goodness of God.
This could be a Defining Moment - for all of us.
It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too.
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