Hey everyone, I am sitting here on a Thursday morning, recovering from a late night at the youth concert last night. What an awesome night it was, there must have been 200 kids, 4 bands, and those kids had CHURCH! I was very cool. I just sat back in the sound booth and watched God work in a very – let us say – loud way!
While I watched the kids worship God in their own unique way, God spoke something to my heart. He showed me a comparison: In our church we worship with a music style that resonates with the adults of our church (hence their attendance!). It is somewhat like the music we grew up with, and it ministers to us. It is a style that we can freely worship to. For us, the organ / choir / hymn style just doesn’t resonate with us in the same way.
Well guess what – our worship style is like the organ / choir / hymnal style to today’s kids. It just doesn’t quite resonate with them the way it does for us. What resonates with these kids is something totally different. It might seem a little radical to us, but I am sure that some people think that our worship is a bit much. We were free to develop our own worship style, and so should our youth.
That is what “Freedom in Christ” is about. Being free to love God, love others, and be loved, in a way that can be totally unique. God is not looking for all Christians to be the same – He created each and every one of us unique and beautiful in our own way. Nothing in the bible tells us to be uniform.
What the bible does tell us is that our primary calling is to #1 Love God with all of our heart, and #2 to love others. The bible calls on us to have unity in the church – not uniformity. We are to be unified in our love for God, our love for others. We are to be unified in our pursuit of a relationship with God. We are to be unified in spreading the message of God’s love to others.
That is the beautiful tapestry that is the church – a bunch of really different people, embracing one another, and joining forces with the Living God to reach out to a hurting and dying world. That, my brothers and sisters, it true freedom!
"Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:34-36
Till the whole world hears...
Pastor Clay
1 comment:
So true pastor Clay, I have never looked at it like that. Right now my kids LOVE our worship but I can see how when they get older they may think it's a little too old fashon. Thank you and I'm glad last night went so well. God is good!
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