Posted in Life in the Church, Vision, Worship
By Rachel Pannell
When Mark Prater preached on Gospel Growth a few weeks ago, he mentioned our church vision: Loving God, Loving One Another, Loving Our Neighbor. As Mark talked about our vision statement, I was filled with an intense reminder of how much this church means to me and why. I jotted down a few thoughts about Sunday mornings and home groups and showing Christ to those in need, surprised to realize how much the reasons I love this church are defined in our vision statement, but I needed to pay attention to the sermon, so I pushed those thoughts aside…planning to return to them later that afternoon.
Alas, as with many good plans, life's distractions got in the way for a while. God didn't let me forget, though! Each Sunday that followed presented a gentle reminder, and then I happened to see a Reformation 21 post that really got my attention. It was about what a Spanish Muslim woman did and did not witness in an Anglican chapel. One sentence by the author really stood out to me:
"She heard more of the Bible read, said, sung, and prayed than in any Protestant evangelical church of which I am aware" (Carl Trueman, the author, is himself a Protestant minister).
Reading that, I was again filled with the flood of memories and thoughts God had brought to mind the Sunday Mark Prater preached.
It might seem odd that reading about someone's visit to an Anglican chapel in the UK would make me think of our church vision, but what that Spanish Muslim woman witnessed in that Anglican church is something we are blessed to experience every Sunday at SGC as we love God together.
There it is. That first part of our church vision: Loving God. Two simple words whose meaning might seem simplistic and obvious, and yet those two words convey so much. Loving God speaks to
- worshiping God together—a worship focused on God and glorifying Him
- growing in discipleship
- putting sin to death, and
- walking in obedience together day by day.
You might ask, "Shouldn't every church's vision be to love God?" Well, yeah, but we all know that loving God isn't necessarily the emphasis found in the life of every church or on Sunday mornings.
So we are very blessed! Not that our church is the only church that loves God, but loving God is an emphasis we are blessed to witness and enjoy together every week. It is that love for God on Sunday mornings—worship wholly devoted to Him and to the truths in His Word, sermons full of grace and truth that exalt the Lord and encourage us to grow in our walk with Him—which draws me to this church again and again and again every Sunday.
Even when I am struggling so much that the trials of this life are burying me and I just want to give up; even then, on Sunday morning, this is where I long to be. And I do all I can to get here.
Loving God is only the first part of our vision statement, but it means so much to me. I am thankful for the opportunity to worship with the body of Christ at SGC; each Sunday it is a reminder of God's sovereignty and kindness in my life.
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