Monday Morning, March 23, 2020 Encouragement

On behalf of Toby, our musicians, Luke in Livestream, Garrett in sound, and myself, I want to thank everyone for your support, prayers, texts, emails, FB posts and pictures of your family gathered in worship yesterday morning. Our peak was around 340 devices connected to our Livestream! So encouraging!
 
I've been asked, "How was it?" 

It was hard.

It was weird.

The hardest part for me was before the sermon started. Being sick with this cold (day 7) and run down didn't help, but I felt really disconnected in the opening comments, had a strange sensation during Scripture reading and prayer of no sense of the passing of time and sitting in an empty church while Toby sang was downright sad. I have to be honest. They were great, but you were sorely missed. 
 
Once I started preaching, with the 8 people there, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I felt the Lord was with me and I felt connected to you. On a humorous note, it reminded me of preaching class in seminary, where we preached to five or six guys, a professor and a camera!
 
I tried to look at the cameras for the first time, not easy, but doable knowing you were out there. I found myself going back and forth between our two middle cameras; probably driving Luke nuts! I have no idea what this looked like as I haven't watched it yet. 
 
I'm sure like me, you feel this is the strangest period of our lives. Bizarre. Surreal. Like watching some TV drama or end-of-the-world movie. 
 
It reminds me of Habakkuk 1:5 when God responds to the prophets question of "How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear?" 
 
God responds in v.5: "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days - You would not believe if you were told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. They are dreaded and feared ... "
 
I'm telling you, you need to read Habakkuk. 
 
Let's stay connected!
Pastor Chris