worship preview

One day I was walking across the church parking lot and noticed a hole the size of a silver dollar.  When I looked down into the hole, I saw that there was several feet of empty space beneath the top layer of ashphalt.  I immediately contacted Keith Mc Bain, our property elder, who erected a makeshift barrier around the damaged area.  Apparently some of the ground around the storm drain located in our lot has disappeared, causing the problem.  The barrier, of course, is to make sure that no cars put pressure on the site until it gets fixed.  The last thing we would want is for the ashphalt to give way and crumble as someone drives over it.  Hopefully within the next few days, workers will be able to fix the problem.   Ashphalt, of course, isn't the only reality that can crumble under pressure.  We humans can do that as well.  We might appear fine on the outside and yet, when pressure is applied, we can collapse internally into fear, anxiety, anger, and resentment.   A case in point is the prophet Elijah. In 1 Kings 19:1-8, we read of Elijah's collapse.  The pressure being put on him isn't a physical weight, but an emotional one applied by Jezebel, the queen of Israel.  In a fit of rage, Jezebel has sworn to kill Elijah and he responds by running away and asking God to end his life.   This Sunday we will ponder Elijah's predicament because all of us are under great pressure today.  And how we handle that pressure is crucially important.  My hope is that Elijah's example can show us how we might emerge from these stressful times blessed and restored by the grace of God.    To prepare for Sunday please read the Scripture in 1 Kings as well as Matthew 11:28-30.  The texts are included below.  As you read these passages, you might reflect on these questions:  what are the sources of stress in my life today?  what impact are these stresses having on me physically, spiritually, and emotionally?  what does Elijah's example have to teach me?  what would responding to Jesus' offer look like?   Please pray for our gathering that God might encounter us in His love and grace.    --Bryan   1 Kings 19: 1-8   1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."  3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.       All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.  7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8 So he got up and ate and drank.   Matthew 11:28-30   28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."