God shined his face
At the end of our first preview service, Brian Byersdorf read a benediction from Numbers 26, a benediction we hope to use every time we gather at CCC: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” As I was thinking about how great the day went, I couldn’t help but think that this verse sums up all that was experienced:
-God has more than blessed us, and kept us up to this point. It’s been a lot of hard work and prayer to get to this place, but God has carried us the whole time. It can’t be said any better.
-The Lord shined on us, and was gracious to us. All that we experience in this life is by the grace of God. While we have been working hard, I sensed God’s grace all the more on Sunday. He is committed to his church way more than we are committed to him. There’s nothing like experiencing that commitment.
-God turned his face toward us, and gave us his peace. As we worshiped on Sunday, I believe we all felt God’s peace. It was strangely comfortable to be together and to worship in a public place, while families were playing in the park and children were peaking curiously through the windows. How good is it to feel and sense the peace of God when stepping out in faith to start something new?
As a church, we don’t have lofty goals for the world. We are more weak than strong, more small than big, more inadequate than adequate. What we desire more than anything else is to be in God’s will, to experience his face, and his grace, and to know his peace, and then pursue that for everyone we meet along the way.
I can’t wait until August 10th, when we get to gather publicly again for worship. Thanks to everyone for making it such a special morning, from the setup crew, to help with the kids, to the amazing hospitality (homemade muffins?!?!). And most of all, thanks to God for shining his face on us, and a little sun too.
-Pastor Jeff