Hi Friends!
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:2)
How’s your soul? How calm is it? How quiet? The above verse has a fascinating and powerful thought behind it. What can we do to calm and quiet our soul? It begins with our trust in the Lord, no matter what may be going on around us. We need to understand: “He’s got this!” Having a calm and quiet soul also must include breaking away from the “gerbil on the spinning wheel” pace of busyness many of us tend to live with. We need to take the time to cultivate our walk with Jesus Christ. We need to “be still and know” that He is God. I think our corporate time of gathering together to worship our great God can also be impacted by this verse. Each of us has the opportunity daily to calm and quiet our soul. But once a week we gather together for worship, fellowship, teaching, encouragement, etc. Why can’t we try to take a few moments before the worship service begins to actually prepare our hearts for what we are about to encounter – the presence of the living God in our corporate expression of worship! I think we could all do a bit better at entering into that time like the psalmist – “I have calmed and quieted my soul.” You may not think that this is that important. But what about the others in the worship center who do? Some are trying to pray and quiet their soul before we begin the service. Let’s each be considerate of others, and try to not be a distraction. I am so thankful that we are a church who loves one another! And that we love to talk and fellowship. But really, we have plenty of opportunity for that before and after the service. We have the foyer; we have the fellowship hall (where we currently have the coffee). We have 30 minutes between Sunday School and the worship service (starting June 22 that will be 30 minutes between the worship service and Sunday School). So let’s use every opportunity we have (and maybe even create new ones by inviting someone over for a meal) to chat it up, to laugh, to catch up. But let’s try to take the moments before we begin singing to calm and quiet our souls, and be conscious of others who are trying to do the same. Spend a few minutes in quiet prayer. Meditate on Scripture. Listen to the beautiful prelude music. Fix your eyes and minds on Jesus as we prepare to exalt Him. Thank you!
Of course, this Sunday is FATHER’S DAY! I trust our fathers will be honored this weekend. I will be speaking on Psalm 128, “The Blessed Dad”. Please read that ahead of time. It’s been interesting to hear some of the Bible teaching on the radio this week. John Maxwell was on Focus on the Family twice talking about his father. Chuck Swindoll was speaking on Psalms 127 and 128. I haven’t listened to the three messages on that yet, and I hesitate to tell you about it (because I don’t want to be compared to him and his great speaking!) John MacArthur recently had a message on parenting from Ephesians 6:4. I hope you take advantage of some the great teaching we have available on the radio, online, and/or on our smart phones.
Don’t forget we have our ladies providing a special Father’s Day Breakfast for us this Sunday starting at 9am. So there is no Sunday School this week. I hope you can join us for breakfast!
There will also be a book available as a gift for dads in the foyer called Impress Faith on Your Kids by Mark Holmen. Take advantage of some good reading material, men!
Tomorrow (Saturday), we are also having our usual monthly men’s breakfast at 7am. All men are invited to join us! There is always good food and fellowship, and we will be continuing our discussion on discipleship.
Don’t Forget: beginning June 22, we will be changing the hours of our services for the summer months. The worship service will now be first, at 9:00am. We will have about 30 minutes for coffee and fellowship. And Sunday School will begin at 10:45am. Please mark this down, and join us for both at our new times! (Just a friendly reminder – those who may tend to slip in to Sunday School late – you will want to make the effort to be here on time, before 9:00, since the worship service will be starting on time. 🙂 Come early enough to find your seat, get settled, and calm & quiet your soul.)
Praying for a calm and quiet soul…
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael