Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Stretching

This was written for our church bulletin for Sunday. We will be moving, again. We are renting another church's building, but will be having church at 3:30pm instead of 10:30am....Big changes!

Are you comfortable today? Here you are sitting in a new seat in a new building. The worship team isn't in the right place. The service isn't starting at the right time. Everything is strange and new. So, are you comfortable? Probably not. Last week, we talked about how fabric stretches and how that applies to us as Christians. As I think about this new temporary building situation, I'm feeling stretched.

But stretching isn't a bad thing. Taffy has to be stretched to achieve the proper texture. Stretch-Arm-Strong was one of my favorite toys in my brother's toy box. Great inventors stretch their brains to create new wonderful things to make life better. Athletes must stretch to prevent injury. Even stretch marks can be a positive when they are the result of having a baby.

Without stretching, there is no growth. God doesn't want us to stay in the same situation. His desire is to move us into a greater ministry for Him. I think about how Hannah prayed for a son and promised God to give him back to God when he was weaned. How she must have felt when it was time to leave Samuel with Eli. As a mother, I can't imagine the emotions that she went through. The desire to have a child is so strong, but then to have to give up that child, it's inconceivable to me. We, like Hannah, have been given an incredible gift. With that gift, comes great responsibility. We must be willing to stretch, to invite others to come join us as we look toward the future.

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