Church Fellowship

I was given two topics as ideas to write about in a Reformed writers' group, so I thought I'd try to tackle this one:

"Write about social interactions within the Church laity. What does ideal fellowship look like?"

First I had to look up laity, because I'm stupid nerdy like that. Here it is:
1. the body of religious worshipers, as distinguished from the clergy.

This is a big topic. I'm no authority, no theologian in a trained sense, but it seems like one that I can at least touch on. (The other question given me is about Cultural Christianity v. Biblical Christianity, which is perhaps harder.)

Picture this: you are sitting in a pew, listening to the preacher, looking down and up, reading the Word, perhaps daydreaming from time to time. Your gaze flicks around the room, to the potted plant, to the girl's hair in front of you, to the dirt beneath your farm-girl fingernails. (Note to self: use a fingernail brush next time.) Yes, the message is good. Yes, the preacher is helpful.
But if there is no action on the part of the people to fellowship with one another, to step alongside and encourage, is there much impact?

Our family has had so many times of fellowship with the body. When we were moving in to our new home, boxes topsy-turvy around us, we had church friends help with the moving, bring us soup and rolls, and welcome us with open arms. We were even invited to someone's house for Thanksgiving, though we had only recently met them! They encouraged us in the Lord. Long will I remember that time with its singing, prayer, thanks giving, and the warm voice of their daughter saying, "I'm glad you're here."

We've had people help us after a tornado flattened our workshop. They moved boxes and cut trees vigorously, as well as supplied food, water, and tarps.

And not just warm and fuzzy things are to be modeled. There have been times we needed challenging. Times we've been touched by the strength of a person in pain even as we sought to strengthen them. Times we've seen hard work modeled and been ashamed at our own laxity. Times we've seen beauty, times we've seen laughter. Times we've been hugged, given a gift, given a Bible verse.

This is what the hands and feet of Christ on earth should look like.

And here are some Bible verses to consider (and I'm sure there are many more):
"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." - Acts 2:1

"So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed." - Acts 16:40

"For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. - Colossians 2:1-3

Today's Messages

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. - Psalm 84:10

I hope this is true for all of us, and that you had a blessed Lord's Day!

Today's sermon and message for the Lord's table were needed.

 The Lord's table message revolved around the leaven in the lump of bread....

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. - 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Our dear elder likened this to ink poured in pure water, tinting the whole glass of water. So leaven makes a lump of bread rise--not just part of it.  And so sin affects the whole of our being if we don't cast it out.  This is a scary thought, is it not?

We must continually remember what Jesus has done for us.

The main message was about the parable of the sower and ground. What kind of hearts do we have?  Mine tends to become anxious and excessively focused on things, which is a lot like the thorny ground.  May God be all our hope and stay and joy, not the things of this world, which choke out the Word of God.

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. - Matthew 13:22

Instead, I pray we will be as this:

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. - Matthew 13:23

Wednesday Weekly (?) Update

I didn't do an update last week, did I? There have been a few interesting things going on. We went to the opening of our new library. It's a neat building with tall ceilings. It even has a genealogy room, which my sister, Annie, especially likes. :) And it has a nice used bookstore, which also includes videos and DVDs.

Here are a few pics from that day and another day at the library. (Not so much OF the library, but flowers are prettier.)

(Another bee kindly posed for me.)

(Annie in the genealogy room.)

We've enjoyed our times at church. Sound messages, not short and fluffy, lots of hymns, times of prayer requests and the Lord's Table, great fellowship with believers at the lunch meal, etc. All of us have been getting to know people better and feeling really welcome.

(Jillian and I were surprised to see that we had matching outfits on this week.)

We have had some families over and met at others' houses for meals and fellowship.

This Lord's Day after church we had the S. family over for a simple supper and a time of hymns and Handel and conversation. They're a sweet family.

We've been working on some projects, such as gifts for babies, a simple tablecloth, and of course my watercolor paintings.

Today was a nice rainy day (we need the rain!), and I made some cappuccino/chocolate cookies.

Joel & Charity's Time Here

(All this was written on March 04.)

Days go by
They fly
Sometimes
They melt
Like gooey
Lollipops

Make time
To sing
And praise
And laugh
To look
At beauty
All around

For we
Can see
With eyes
Of faith
If we
Rely on
Jesus' strength

~

Yeah, that wasn't the best. I just strung it together. It's one of those slowly-moving "gooey" days, but I need to remember to be thankful for it, as every day. :) And we do have some good news. Though it's not entirely, 100% confirmed, yet, Mom did apply and send in money for our first month's rent for a house in TX this April! I'm happy, sad, all mixed up. *sigh* To move from here, where I've been for the last 18 years, to leave friends and family?...Yet, if Abraham moved to an unknown place, perhaps after living in one place for decades, then how can I be disquieted by a move toward more family and friends and to a nice house?
'Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.' - Psalm 42:11

I was more excited about it yesterday, or at least about seeing the boxes getting packed up.

I'll miss this place, the trees, the land, the people, the memories. I didn't know how much. But maybe once I get to TX I won't, ironically. Well, I think I'll always miss my friends and family here. I guess I'll still have the memories, but not quite in the same way.

Anyway...

I want to tell about the time we had with Joel & Charity here.

Matthew picked us up at the airport when we arrived late at night. When we got home, Annie & Mom were still waiting up, and we were greeted joyfully. Joel & Charity used Annie's & my room, and Annie & I slept on a mattress in the living-room the first night, then switched into Andy's room, while he slept in the living-room. We all stayed up and chatted a bit.

The next day, we had a pretty big breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, muffins, juice and coffee. Then we got ready to go on our canoe trip. For lunch we went to Golden Corral, meeting Andy and Matthew there after their work. We were late getting to the canoe place ("Canoe Adventure," or something like that), but they had waited for us, much to our relief. We had to sign up and then get on the old school bus (my first time on one, I believe). They towed a trailer piled with canoes. Instructions as to where to go on the river and maps were given by the young man with sandy, shaggy hair. After arriving at the river, they instructed us on a couple different kinds of strokes with the paddles. Then we were free to go.

(Photo by Matthew, taken with his camera.)

Joel & Charity were in one canoe, Matthew and Annie in another, and Andy and I in another. Joel & Charity skipped the "scenic route" and headed off to the left, while the rest of us went right onto the "scenic route." We did see several alligators back there, but the rest of the river was just as scenic, though with fewer alligators. Thankfully, much of the river was shaded by trees, so it wasn't too hot. It was beautiful, too, so peaceful and green and with an occasional bird-call and splashing of the oars and plop of the turtles into the water as they slid off their logs. We occasionally scraped our canoes on logs or rocks or the sandy bottom of the river in shallow spots. Sometimes we had to back up and go around something, and a couple of times we had to duck under low-hanging limbs.

There were the occasional races, too. :) When we caught sight of Joel & Charity, Andy and I tried to catch up with them, and we would hold onto the back of their canoe and try to squeeze by them. We made a "river-block" (roadblock) for Annie & Matthew by putting our two canoes sideways, as we decided we all needed to slow down a bit. Annie had brought some strawberries in a Tupperware, so she got them out and passed a strawberry to me (yum!)....Then she floated the Tupperware on the water towards Charity & Joel's canoe, which was now behind them. Charity leaned out to try to get it, but slipped and fell backwards into her canoe. :D We all had a good laugh, as she wasn't hurt. Then sneaky Joel got the Tupperware and ate the last strawberry that was in it! :P

Matthew, of course, took many pictures on the river. I took a few, as well, as did Andy and Charity. Once in a while we brought out our bottled water and took sips of that.

Andy and I arrived at the end first, as the others had turned back, and as we still had 15 or so minutes left before the bus people would pick us up, we went beyond the ending point. We just went a little ways, but there was a nice little place back there, mostly shady but with a spot of sun shining on a long bank of gnarled roots.

We went back and met up with Joel & Charity, then told them about that place and went with them.

Back at the finishing point, finally, we waited. The bus people were late, perhaps expecting us to be late. And yes, there were still a couple people on the river. While we waited we took pictures. Lots of Joel & Charity on a bridge, and a few others. There was one crazy bug that we saw going around in circles. We concluded, after some testing, that it would probably go on that way until it died.

Finally we went back in the bus. The floppy-haired young man told some corny jokes as we went.

Back home, we had a candle-lit dinner of chicken, sweet potatoes, etc. Chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert. :)

We had Bible reading that night, first singing a couple of (poetically revised) psalms. Then Joel read from an epistle and shared some thoughts and asked us a few questions.

The next day, we had lunch out on the patio, since it was nice out. We had a yummy homemade chocolate cake for dessert, one Annie & Mom had made before Char, Joel, and I had flown here. It had a bit of coffee in it, but you could hardly taste that except in the frosting. Still very good, and with strawberries on top.


That night we listened to a John Piper sermon and we sang a few nicely arranged songs, which were fun and like old times, even though they weren't polished. We went out for a walk. Joel, Charity, Andy, and I went out front, while the others went out back. It was rather like old times, too, when Joel & Charity were courting and we had to go along as chaperons. We weren't chaperons this time, of course, but it they let us tag along. :)

(Joel, Charity, and me out walking. Photo by Andy.)

Then Joel & Charity went (alone, this time) to eat supper at Chili's. They stayed out several hours. When they got back, I showed Charity & Joel all the pictures my siblings and I had taken over the couple of days previous and that same day.

The next day we piled in the van and went to church. Charlie went with Esther in his car, and then his mother and some other relatives came for the second hour, when Charlie was preaching.

Joel, Charity, Annie, and I stayed out for the first hour's class with Charlie. It was interesting, but I liked the second hour better. :) Charlie had a fever/cold, too, but he made it through and did a good job of preaching.

Charity & Joel seemed to enjoy talking with/meeting Charlie and Esther, and they got some pictures together. Charlie & Esther had to leave to go eat with Charlie's relatives.

Soon thereafter, Joel & Charity had to leave to go to the rental car place and to John & Alyse's house. We drove them to the rental place, and waited as they waited in line. It was really sad to see them go. I felt almost closer than ever to Charity, which is kind of surprising because I've been close for a while and didn't really know I could be any closer. ;)

Lord willing, we'll see them again soon. :)