time to Celebrate, Grateful People Celebrate

Time to Celebrate

The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.—Exodus 15:2

The most grateful persons I know are those who have been through great hardships. The Pilgrims of 1620 and origins of our modern Thanksgiving holiday serve as one example. During the first winter on America’s shores, they lost ½ of their party. As they faced a second winter, grateful for having survived another year, they prepared for the hard, cold winter with a celebration of rejoicing and thanksgiving.

The children of Israel, spent over 400 years in Egypt. In the beginning they experienced blessing and favor. The final years, however, consisted of hardship and cruel forced labor. God finally delivered them from Egyptian enslavement through Moses’ leadership. They fled to freedom in the wilderness only to have Pharaoh change his mind and pursue them with his army.

In Exodus 15, they praised God for delivering them from their enemies. God parted the Red Sea, and the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. The sea flowed back onto the Egyptians and drowned them all. Their enemies were defeated, and they were finally free. They sang this song of celebration, “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (vss. 1-2).

Considering the many opportunities we have to rejoice, give thanks, and celebrate, I am reminded how simplistic our rejoicing can be. For those of us who have lived life with few struggles, thanksgiving becomes an exercise in trying to consider what we should be thankful for. Those who suffer from great challenges, immediately know what to be thankful for.

Looking through the scriptures, one might be a bit shocked at the things the people of God rejoiced about. In Acts 5, after being arrested, threatened to never teach again in the Name of Jesus, and flogged, the Apostles rejoiced, “because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (vs. 41). 

Paul, the missionary evangelist, late coming Apostle, and human author of half of the New Testament, asked the Lord to remove from his life, a physical impairment, a thorn in the flesh. The Lord did not deliver him, but told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul responded by saying, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

One of the greatest reasons to rejoice and celebrate is for salvation. Through Jesus Christ, because of His sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection, we have been accepted, forgiven, and made children of God. Jesus taught, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

What struggles have you faced this past year? You may rejoice in the many ways God has sustained you. Celebrate the victories God has wrought in your life. And most of all, rejoice and celebrate that God loves you and included you when He said, “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Today is a good time to celebrate.

Randy Bain is the Senior Pastor of Oakland UM Church at 1504 Bedford Street, Johnstown, PA 15902. You may reach him through the church website www.oaklandonline.org.

Why church? because Jesus said so!

Why Church?

I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.—Mathew 16:18b

On membership Sundays at Oakland, those, who have taken the membership class and publicly professed Jesus as their personal Savior, join the church. I introduce this portion of the service with a paragraph from our Book of Worship:

Dear church family, the Church is of God, and will be preserved to the end of time, for the conduct of worship and the administration of His Word and Sacraments, the maintenance of Christian fellowship and discipline, the edification of believers, and the conversion of the world. All, of every age and station, stand in need of the means of grace which it alone supplies.

This paragraph gives a carefully thought out reason why the church exists. The Church exists to bring believers together to worship. Proclaiming the Word of God and celebrating the Sacraments are central to the universal Church and every local church. Christian fellowship is more than coffee and stories. It includes accountability, growth, and support. The Church exists for its members, “edification of believers,” and for those not yet members, “conversion of the world.”

A simpler and more authoritative reason for “Why Church” is because Jesus said so. My children and grandchildren used to ask a lot of questions. What is this? What is that for? And the inevitable, “Why questions?” Why do I have to keep my diaper on? Why do I have to share? Why can’t I play with matches? Why can’t I drive the family car to the after prom party? Why, why, why? As parents and grandparents, we do our best to give perfect and accurate answers to the whys? But eventually, we all get to the correct answer, “Because I said so.” End of discussion.

Why Church? Because Jesus said so—end of discussion. After Peter’s Confession of Jesus as the Christ the Son of the Living God, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:17-18). Jesus said that He would build His Church and nothing could overcome it.

Why is there light? Because in the beginning God said, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Why must we come to Jesus to be saved? Because Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Because the Bible says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Jesus Christ’s Church will be built and nothing can stop it. A bigger question is not “Why” but “Will you be part of God’s Kingdom?” Will you like Peter confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God? Will you receive God’s forgiveness in Jesus and invite the Holy Spirit to come live and lead in your life? There are many whys out there that you may never understand on this side of eternity. But, one thing you can know for certain. God loves you and calls you to come to Jesus to be saved.

Why Attend Church Services?

Why Attend Church Services?

Not giving up meeting together … but encouraging one another.—Hebrews 10:25

In America, church attendance seems to be dropping to all-time lows. Although many polls have reported that for the last 70 years about 40% of the population attend church on a regular basis, newer studies (cited in Outreach Magazine, April 10, 2018), have concluded the number to be now less than 20%. This must not be just a current problem because the Book of Hebrews urged the first century church to continue to meet regularly, “not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing” (10:25).

Why do we attend church services? Many would say to worship God. This past Sunday, our worship leader commented that praise, at its simplest, means to compliment someone. In the case of worship, to compliment God. I had never thought of it that way. He went on to encourage us to spend the next 30 seconds complimenting God for who He is to us. These 30 seconds between songs became a very meaningful experience of worship for many of us.

The Oxford Living Dictionary defines “compliment” to mean, “Politely congratulate or praise (someone) for something,” or to “Praise (something) politely.” Some of my favorite persons are those who encourage others. They always seem to compliment things and people. I wonder if that is how God feels about us as we worship.

Many people today say they can worship God anywhere. We have turned church attendance into something we can take or leave because we have reduced worship to something we can do privately anywhere and anytime. It is true that Jesus told the woman at the well that “true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). “In the Spirit and in truth” does not mean by oneself.

Reading the context around Hebrews 10:25, we see the motivation for meeting together was not only to worship God, but to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” and “encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Spurring one another on and encouraging each other are not worship, but when we worship corporately, we become part of something bigger than ourselves and our own private agendas. We are part of a church family.

When we talk of worship, many of us think of singing. This is partially true. Even if we limit worship to singing, we find that we still encourage and spur each other on. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both teach us to use “Psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit” to speak to one another and to “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.”

Our praise and worship are definitely directed toward God. We sing to and compliment an audience of One. I am always reminded that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Number One on a list of one, but as we sing and worship the Lord in the Spirit, we also encourage those around us. We worship God as a family. You can surely worship the Lord anytime and by yourself, which you should, but do not give “up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Randy Bain is the Senior Pastor of Oakland UM Church at 1504 Bedford Street, Johnstown, PA 15902. You may reach him through the church website www.oaklandonline.org.