Good Monday morning (afternoon?),
It’s been a busy morning in the office and I am getting around a little later than usual for our Rewind!
Wasn’t yesterday a great morning of worship! The choir did a great job of sharing the story of Holy Week in their cantata titled “A Living Hope.” I know they worked hard on this for you all. When I started in January they were practicing! That’s almost 3 months! It was a blessing and I hope that as you see them in church you thank them personally.
This Sunday is Easter and it will be another wonderful day of worship. We are preparing for “rain” as I like to say. Extra greeters, nursery workers, children’s church and more. I have been asking you to invite your “three” and for some of you the work paid off. Your invited guests showed up. It may have been uncomfortable to ask but it pays off. We must continue to get out of our comfort zones just as Jesus did in heading to Jerusalem for Passover week. Scripture says he “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51 NLT). Resolutely means purposeful, determined, and/or unwavering. He knew what was ahead – terrible pain and agony – yet he ventured forth. Our little uneasiness at reaching out and inviting others to come hear the message of Jesus is nothing compared to what Jesus endured.
Keep working on your “three.” If you had one of your “three” come this past Sunday, reconnect with them, ask them what they thought and invite them back to a “regular” service. Don’t forget you can throw in the bonus of biscuits and gravy, muffins and fruit at 9:15 am before worship! If your “three” didn’t come, don’t give up…be purposeful, determined, unwavering. Billy Graham tells the story of a lady in England that failed her driver’s license test 37 times but she showed up for number 38!
I will ask you to do one more thing for me and it is a relatively easy way to share Jesus and invite others to join you at Meridian Avenue Baptist Church. When you go to Facebook and see a post or video on our page, don’t just like it. Click SHARE so that others in your circle of friends and acquaintances who don’t follow our page can see what is going on here at MABC. We have 209 followers. If each of you had at least 100 friends and half of you shared…that would give us the possibility of 10,500 exposures. Let me check my math…1/2 of 209 is about 105 x 100 friends = 10,500! Not bad for a Health/Wellness instructor turned pastor! Now, not everyone will see your share but then again if even half of them did it would be awesome.
Have a blessed Holy Week. I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in us and through us this week.
Pastor Rick