What does the church do for the
Christian? What would a congregation
have done for Zacchaeus? That question
contains some difficulties as Z. came to Jesus during the time of His
ministry. The church did not officially
begin until after the coming of the Holy Spirit, fifty days after his
resurrection. But it seems reasonable to
assume that even Zacchaeus found some like-minded followers of Jesus in Jericho
to continue and sustain his newly renewed faith.
If Zacchaeus was coming to our
church this Sunday, he would find a couple of things going on. The first would be the service of
worship. That is the centerpiece of the
Christian community of the First Presbyterian Church of Perth Amboy. What is worship? It is giving God the glory. Our Lord is the reason for our lives, for our
salvation. All that we are and all that
we have, we owe to our Lord. So we celebrate our Holy One.
But fellowship goes on this Sunday
as well. Presbyterian Women meets after
service. Being in Westminster Hall has
pressed upon us a tremendous opportunity during these Sundays out of the Sanctuary. We cannot simply flee with the last ‘Amen’. We take the time, as a community, to re-form
the room from a worship space to a space of fellowship and mission. We are doing something together. It is not a complicated mission project, but
is our community in support of our mission.
We say “with you, through all”. It carries an intensity of being with those
going through the most difficult of circumstances. But on Second Sundays, it is a group of
believers taking a moment to work together to allow for the shared ministry
spaces of our church to be changed over together. It is not “your” concern as the worshiping group. It is not “your” concern as the fellowship
group. It is our concern as one
congregation, under God.
Peace,
Pastor Peter
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