Hands Of God

Due to the spread of a deadly virus, most churches across the world put worship gatherings on hold. Many faith communities recognised the dangers of gathering as a congregation, and many had bans and restrictions imposed by government authorities. This has caused a significant disruption, to say the least. I love to gather together for worship. I love to gather with a large group of people and blow the roof off a venue in praise. I love to stand with hundreds of people who have similar experiences to me, people I can relate to, and with, and to celebrate our shared experience of our wonderful creator God. There is also a great value in learning from God’s word as we read scripture together. There is great value in reflecting on some profound truths together and making new decisions and commitments to make our relationships better, our finances better, our work better, our families better. Gathering together builds me, it builds my family and it builds community. Like most worshippers around the world, I have had to adjust to an online gathering with all its positives and negatives. The one thing that has been wrestled with by many is the mission of the church. When worship gatherings were put on hold, the question is apparent, “What is the purpose of our church if we don’t gather for worship?” For me it comes down to the fact that as a church, our calling is not contingent on congregation. Jesus' final command to his followers was that they were to go and make disciples. Go, not gather. Our calling is to be the hands and feet of Jesus and it doesn’t matter whether we gather in one large group in our church building or in smaller groups in scores of homes, parks, cafes and shopping centres across our city. It doesn’t matter if we sing, hum, clap or bang a tambourine. It doesn’t matter if we drink coffee, tea or anything else. We are still called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We can still be who he called us to be whether we meet virtually or in-person.

Scripture References: Acts 2:44-47

Related Topics: Calling, Church | More Messages from Phil Inglis | Download Audio

From Series: "He's Still Got The Whole World In His Hands"