Issue 832 – Performing – August 22, 2022
Yesterday, we took a trip out to the Kilby Historic Site, all that remains of the once thriving community of Harrison Mills. Harrison Mills is located near the confluence of the Fraser and Harrison Rivers.
Originally named Carnarvon, Harrison Mills catered briefly to the gold rush trade and a booming lumber industry, timber and the rail trade.
During the open season of April through October, the five-acre Kilby Historic Site offers an interactive look back into the early 1900s.
We were there to see an evening performance by the historic site team. The site itself was closed for the day, but we saw enough to make us want to return and check it out more.
The local troupe was putting on Anne of Green Gables – A Summer Concert. It was an abbreviated version of the original musical with a much smaller cast and a single piano player. We immensely enjoyed the show, and our two granddaughters were enthralled. Their father told us the girls entertained them with songs from the concert the entire 45-minute drive home. It was a fun evening. Kudos to the performers and volunteers.
Over the past weeks, we have been blessed by the performances of the Symphony in the Park at Mill Lake and last night’s Anne of Green Gables concert.
There is a place where performances should not be.
Too often, we treat Sunday worship as a performance to observe rather than an experience to participate in. The worship team performs to impress the gathered audience rather than to assist them in worship. If their biggest desire is to showcase their new album rather than praise God, there is a problem.
Rather than active listeners to the sermon, the congregation sits passively, wanting to be entertained. The congregation attends but doesn’t serve. I am confident that if you have been churched for any time, you will likely have seen elements of this service.
The weekly service was never designed to simply amuse and entertain us. Good music and a gifted speaker can undoubtedly be an asset, but if their performance doesn’t facilitate true worship, it becomes a hindrance rather than a help.
Our regular gatherings are designed to teach and equip us for ministry, all in an environment of caring Christian community and service. It is where we practice the ordinances of the church (baptism and the Lord’s Supper)
I’m not suggesting that church services need to be boring and stuffy. It is just that when the focus of the church becomes entertainment, the body is weakened rather than strengthened.
Certainly, the church is called to gather together.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25
When we gather as believers, let us have our hearts focused on the one who truly matters, not simply on transitory entertainment.
Praise God that we have the opportunity to gather together.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed.
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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