For those of you who “came to church” today, I hope that God changed your mind. Hopefully, after today, we will stop coming to church and we will start being the church. As we have continued in this Experiencing God series, I thought today was so helpful to remember that we are the “called out ones.”
I loved Jeff’s illustration on the bride. You can’t go to any husband who loves his wife and say, “I love you, but I can’t stand your wife.” If you do, you have just begun a pretty serious conflict. You can’t say, I love Jesus, but I can’t stand the church. That’s his bride!
We are called to be one. It takes more than just showing up – we are meant to belong to one another and build each other up.
Today, we worshiped to the following songs:
- Let God Arise – Chris Tomlin
- Jesus Messiah – Chris Tomlin
- Jesus, Lover of My Soul – Paul Oakley
- I Need You to Survive – Hezekiah Walker
Unless you were there, you really can’t comprehend what happened at North Side during the closing today. We stopped “being at” church, and we just became the church. As we sang, “I Need You to Survive,” people prayed with one another, forgave each other, befriended and loved on one another, and worship just happened. Because God sees loving on his bride as worship towards him.
But this message is not meant to be isolated to this Sunday. It’s meant to be lived out everyday. Just like the Jenga game, if you don’t do your part, it might not make that big of a deal, but if we all take out our part, disaster happens.
North Side, it’s time to become the church.
19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. -1 John 4:19-21
Here’s a clip of Juanita Bynum singing “I Need You to Survive.” Brace yourself.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
Today's worship service was SO amazing! I can really feel the Holy Spirit moving in my life and in the lives of my friends. It was a great message for the start of the school year. We have all made a commitment to continually build each other up instead of tear each other down. We are committed to praying for each other daily because we truly do need each other to survive. To God be all
Today's worship service was SO amazing! I can really feel the Holy Spirit moving in my life and in the lives of my friends. It was a great message for the start of the school year. We have all made a commitment to continually build each other up instead of tear each other down. We are committed to praying for each other daily because we truly do need each other to survive. To God be all glory.