Sunday mornings have been hard for many of us the last five weeks. We love to come together and worship, hear the Word of God and connect with our church family. There’s something sacred about the coming together of God’s people in our Sunday morning experience. In this season, we’ve grieved the loss of our time together, having church in our building. Sunday mornings feel so different and sometimes strange.
And yet, there’s something so right happening as well. As each of us gathers in our homes, at our kitchen tables and around the TV’s in our living rooms to watch our Sunday service online—as we lift our voices in worship in our houses and take communion with leftover pancakes and coffee—we are experiencing something that we were intended to experience. Church in real life. Communion with God in our everyday spaces. Not simply going to church, but being the church in our neighborhoods and networks. As many of us prayer walked our neighborhoods last week, I sensed God inviting us to consider what church looks like lived out, shared, experienced in our homes, on our front porches and sidewalks, in conversations with neighbors. Our God is an incarnational God. John 1:14 says,
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
God is WITH us! He “has made His dwelling among us” in every space and place, and we are an extension of His love and presence wherever we are.
Our church building is a space we thank God for and likely treasure now in a new way, but our church location is all over this city, and God’s location is with you! Our church is you—you are the presence of Jesus—and you have an opportunity, in this time where we can’t physically gather and are scattered all over, to see yourself and your home as the church for your community. Take some time today to talk with God and listen to Him. Share the challenges and sadness you feel as we experience Sunday mornings apart and then ask Him to give you new eyes to see your neighborhood and your community and a new perspective of the church.
Today’s Journaling Reflections:
- What are the ways you have experienced God’s love and presence in our physical church building and space? Spend a moment thanking God for those!
- What are the ways you have experienced God’s love and presence in this season of being home and worshipping from home? Spend a moment and thank God for those!
- How can you and your family be the church in your community and to your neighbors and friends right now?
- What are tangible ways you can be an extension of God’s love and grace right where you are?
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