Today, Mark and I went to church with our friends, John and Susan. A rare treat sitting with dear friends and worshiping as a member of the congregation. Standing shoulder to shoulder with loved ones, singing praises to God was a divine connection my soul relished. IÂ was free to allow the spirit to flow. As the worship band played and we sang at the top of our lungs, Susan and I laughed at how our children get so embarrassed when we sing like this. It was in these early moments of worship that the joy of God soared into my spirit! In these moments, I entered into a new, worshipful, divine conversation with God.
The sermon was “Tolerating the *#$@*!” based on Revelation 2:18-29. The point of the message was that the church in many ways has become too tolerant of our culture. One of the downsides of being a preacher is that as I listen to the sermon I wonder how I would preach the same text. Today, I found myself wanting more. I didn’t think he went deep enough. Although, the sermon was very sound and thought provoking, I wanted him to go deeper, answer the question. The question he brought up. Where is the church too tolerant? He never stated the issues. He only vaguely referenced there were issues, so I was left hanging. Was he talking about sexual promiscuity (adultery, sex outside of wedlock), escalating racism, consumer greed, or something else? I wanted him to reveal to the church the word he was hearing from God. He didn’t.
When the sermon was over, we stood and sang again, but this time my heart was still seeking answers, still wondering. I left worship perplexed. Maybe this was purposeful. Maybe this was done in order to keep the conversation going. For me, the conversation will continue. I will keep thinking, keep wondering, keep having this divine conversation with God.
Where are you having divine conversations with God? Are they only on Sunday mornings? When the sermon and worship are over, does the conversation stop? I hope not. I pray that you are pondering divine things with God throughout your week. I would love to hear about the divine conversations you are having. Leave a comment below and join the conversation here in “The CrossLight.”
with love, Laureen 🙂
