“Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”
When Actor Matthew McConaughey was asked for his favorite Bible verse, he quickly answered, “Man shall not live by bread alone.” That verse is found in the fourth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”
In the Broadway musical Godspell there is an uplifting scene of great joy as the cast sings together the call from Isaiah “PREPARE YE THE WAY of THE LORD!” It leads to the question of our personal joy, our personal dedication, and yes, our personal focus for preparing the way of the Lord in and through our lives!
Quite a number of Sundays ago, I asked everyone to actually bring your Bible to church with you on Sundays. Carrying God’s Word to worship … such a strange ask, perhaps, but such a strong connection to our God.
I am planning on doing what I called a “Bible Drill” some Sunday … seeing who can find Hosea first. I asked that everyone bring their Bibles with them to hopefully allow a reclamation of our church family’s prioritization of God over the world.
There’s something about dusting off that old family Bible, touching it, carrying it, and perhaps opening it that absolutely can reenergize our faith.
As I continued to hope that folks would actually listen to their pastor, I started to focus in on our need to focus in on God. Focus in on what we believe. Focus in on church and whether church with its faith community matters any longer.
And then I started reading Matthew’s Gospel once again. You know the Sermon on the Mount. The words of Jesus in Matthew 25 that make up my personal theology for living life. Perhaps it was the Holy Spirit, but I felt directed to prepare a sermon series out of Matthew’s Gospel entitled. “FOCUS: Discovering the Clarification We Need to Step Up for God.”
This four-part sermon series will include … drum roll please … an urgent request from the pulpit for those in worship to actually go home and do some digging during the week. We will begin in August. I can hear the complaints now … you want us to take our church experience home with us? Really pastor? Homework? It’s summer vacation time!
I really am hoping that this sermon series helps all of us to adjust our lives and to regain the focus we need on our faith. Because if you are like me, you have allowed the world’s headlines to take away your joy and peace, which God has made readily available to all people of faith.
So get ready, whether you worship in person or online, to FOCUS … FOCUS with sincerity and FOCUS with faith as we will take a brief journey into Matthew’s Gospel with some of Paul’s words to the Church of Rome tossed in as well!
Blessings,
Pastor Dave