There’s a new phenomenon that is catching on in fast food restaurants and grocery stores. It’s called “impossible” meat. When it’s cooked, impossible meat looks like meat, smells like meat, and can taste like meat. But it’s not meat. It’s made from plants and plant-based materials.
It dawned on me that churches can be “impossible” as well. In fact, I once heard someone say, “that church is impossible!” (FYI – not this church!) But sometimes a church can veer off-course, lose her way, get caught up in things that have nothing to do with church. To those outside, she looks like a church, smells like a church, and even tastes like a church. But in reality, she’s not truly functioning as a church.
In the beginning of the book of Revelation, Jesus does a little house cleaning and reveals some things that need correction in the church. Why? Because when the church doesn’t do its work, evil increases and people think that Jesus is just as unconcerned about things such as injustice, love, and forgiveness as those who claim to follow Him.
Remember, individually, we are image bearers of Christ. So, when we gather as the body of Christ, the church, what and/or who is it that we reflect? Do we reflect the image of the loving, grace-filled, peacemaking, forgiving Lord, or are we an “impossible” church? Wrangling over issues, not sitting next to someone, boycotting Sunday School? Just impossible! One more time, not this church!
No matter what you may think, Jesus’ words to the churches are, “I know your works,” the intro to most of the letters. What would Jesus say about our works, church? May we continue to represent the character of God, doing the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do. May we, as a church, bear the image of the One who told us, through the prophet Micah,
“…to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
Join us for worship this Sunday for the next sermon in the series called Consecrated! This week we’ll preach on: I Know Your Works: The Consecrated Church. We hope to see you in-house at 10:00am (masks optional), or you can also join us online. For online worship go to www.umcgt.org.
Month of Consecration! We’re taking the month of October to see the ways in which we can consecrate ourselves to the Lord. To consecrate something simply means to dedicate it for a sacred purpose. This is our time to do some Fall cleaning, spiritually, to allow Jesus to purify us and make us more like Him. And it is our time to consecrate ourselves to Jesus by looking at our time, our talent, and our treasure, and dedicating them for a sacred purpose.
Consecration Sunday will be on October 23. Our District Superintendent, Rev. Robin Bell, will be our guest preacher! During worship we will have a time of consecration, complete our pledge to the Lord during worship, and bring it to the altar as a sign of consecrating our giving to the Lord. Then after worship, we’ll go downstairs for a church-sponsored Celebration Luncheon, catered by a local chef! You will have a chance to RSVP for the luncheon this Sunday during worship, or you can call the church office if you’re not in service this week. Remember our last sermon series and don’t miss your RSVP!
Wedding Bells will ring for Sam Heyl, the son of Dr. Jeffrey Heyl! Sam is a beloved son of the church, and we’re going to honor him and his bride, Brittany Crocker, with a wedding shower! It will take place on this Sunday, October 16, at 2:00pm, at the church. If you can’t make it, but want to bless them, here’s the link to their registry:
Let’s celebrate with them!
History in the Making! Built in 1894, “African School No. 4” is the oldest surviving one-room schoolhouse for African Americans in Missouri. The building has been moved to Faust Park’s Historic Village, where it will be restored, furnished, and maintained. Interpretive signage will tell the story of Black students in Chesterfield and the families who built a school for their children. I recently read about this piece of Chesterfield history and inquired about it. What I discovered was that the St. Louis County Parks Foundation is looking for an organization to bring a group of folks to help with chinking and dobbing. Putting rocks & mortar between the logs and mixing the mortar. Guess what – that’s going to be US! Green Trails Church is going to be a part of history in the making by helping to restore this 127 year old school! If you would like to be part of this historic event, I’ll have an informational meeting after church on 10/30. You can read more about it on the Parks website: https://www.stlcountyparksfoundation.org/schoolhouse.
Blessings!
Pastor Linda