Usually, I sit in the sanctuary every Sunday morning. I do this long before anyone else arrives. We only have one worship gathering. So, that makes it pretty easy to do.
I’ve done this for years. It’s my time to pray for our worship. As best I can, I envision the people who will be there. That’s one advantage of church people sitting in the same pew. I often sit in their space and image their experience with God in that place.
This week, I did something different.
As part of our Summer Sermon Series Traveling Mercies, I printed a card that related to this week’s message. We heard Jonah 1-2 and recalled that God’s grace always chases us. No matter how far we’ve tried to run. God’s grace is always faster than our rebellion. Jonah got a second chance to follow God’s lead. And how many second chances has the Lord given us!
I printed a world map with the inscription “Your second chance is still on the map.” My hope is that it would remind people God is never done with them. I took a chance waiting until Sunday to print them. Copy machines have a way of knowing when you’re in a hurry. But as I printed each one, I prayed for our church. Each time I cut a card out, I prayed, “Bring us back, Lord.” More than a hundred times that was my prayer.
Bring us back, Lord. Back to you. Always back to you.
Stay blessed…john
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