A TWO SERMON SUNDAY
There she was doing, what comes naturally and I was the only one who had a ring-side seat! Actually, it was more like a ring-side stance since I was at the front of the church leading the worship service at the time. What was she doing? Well, before I get to the details, let me ask you a question: Did you know that preachers have a different perspective of things in the church? "Yeah, I did Grant. All preachers are deeply warped!" Well, however true that statement may be, that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is physical, not mental perspective here -the congregation faces the preacher and the preacher faces the congregation. So while you're looking to see if that spinach from last week is still stuck in my teeth, I'm noticing that you're awake, asleep, or something in between. Kinda scary isn't it?
Actually, when I'm preaching I'm really quite oblivious to what's going on around me. People come and go and I generally don't notice 'cause I'm preoccupied with what I'm doing. This is a good thing, right? But, this past week was a bit different because something definitely caught my attention and I decided to watch and see what transpired. It was one of those moments when I felt like God was tapping me on the shoulder and saying, "Watch this; you'll learn something." So, I watched.
What was it that caught my eye? Well, it wasn't anything too earthshaking, but it sure was profound! One of the boys in the congregation had left his seat and gone into the back of the church to get a couple of books from our library. Seems that he had done this once before during the service, but I hadn't noticed. Nor had I noticed that he was giving his mom a run for her money.
Well, during the time he was at the back picking out books, I saw another lady in the congregation get up and go back to the boy. She stood beside him and gently whispered a few things in his ear. Then they picked out a few books and both came back and sat down together. The boy seemed content for the rest of the service and the lucky mom got a bit of a break. As it turns out, later on I found out that in those brief moments in the back some serious negotiations took place in order for the boy to agree to the change in seating arrangements.
Ok, so what was so interesting about the mid-service meeting in the middle of the library?
Well, for starters, this caring servant noticed that mom could use a bit of a break, so she went ahead and helped. I know the help was appreciated! How do I know that? I know because it was offered lovingly, as a friend in Christ.
It used to be that all the kids of any particular community were taken care of by all the parents in that community. If little Sally needed help and she was closer to Jennie's house, she'd go there and get help from Jennie's mom. Further, if Joe was in the midst of picking up a rock to throw at Ted, and Berry's mom just happened to be walking by, she could, without fear of lawsuits and accusations, tell Joe to drop the rock and smarten up. People just naturally cared, and looked out for each other that way. But in most cases and places today, such actions, such caring, such "intrusions" are too risky.
Well, I'm happy to say that such isn't the case in our church. In fact, it's really business as usual. It's a normal part of life in our fellowship to regularly help and even correct each other's children. Now, isn't that the way it should be? After all, the church is to have a "one another" dynamic, right? We are to care for one another, love one another, correct and strengthen, and encourage one another.
Finally, I appreciate the way that this precious woman saw an opportunity to serve and just jumped in. She does this kind of thing all the time, by the way! When I was talking to her later on, she commented that she didn't really hear much of the sermon because she was concentrating on keeping the boy amused. But, I'm not too broken up about that. There are lots more sermons where that one came from, but there isn't always an opportunity to extend the loving hand of Christ to someone else. What could possibly be better than spending your time in church on Sunday, worshipping our Lord and Saviour by offering comfort, relief, and love to someone else? Seems that there were two sermons going on in church this past Sunday. One was delivered with words, the other with actions and since actions speak louder than words, I was ringside for a doozey of a message. Praise God!
If this story strikes a familiar chord, why not drop me an email? Just click on my name at the bottom of the page. I promise to write back.
