Play It Again, Sam

I was, as I often am, amazed at how God met me in the particular themes and components of the church service yesterday. It was (most likely) my last worship service at OOC for the near future, and though I was in an odd mental state (i.e., very sleepy) there was a great deal that was meaningful to me. The service opened with Psalm 126, which is one of the songs of Ascent, which the Israelites would sing on their way to Jerusalem to worship in the temple. The theme for the worship was the role of Jerusalem. But the psalm has been one in particular that has always stuck with me:

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him. (ESV)

The psalm reminds me that worship is joyful, it is meant to be a respite from our weariness. But also, I have been reminded of how important it is for the people of God to be a testimony to the rest of the watching world, both that we verbalize our trust in God and are open and honest, vulnerable, with the rest of the world that when the Lord does great things for us, they know it too and are able to say as much, to be drawn into knowing the Lord better through our own troubles and deliverance.

I was able to share with the church about what I would be doing; but sometimes my nerves and emotions get the better of me. This time, instead of being nervous, I found that I was so excited that I couldn't think clearly (and I used the word 'excited' about a dozen times in five minutes!). But I was blessed when Pastor Ron sent me off with these words of Paul from Colossians 4:2-6:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (ESV)

I think being reminded of my need to ask for God's blessing on my verbal communication skills (which we all do, in some way or another) made this an even more sweet send off. Immediately afterwards, sweet Alyssa, the first Webster student I met with, played for the offertory. And she played very well.

Each week we have communion together, and that was both a bittersweet and beautiful moment for me, and as we celebrated the Lord's Supper together, Pastor Ron read from Revelation, looking forward to when we will gather in the New Jerusalem at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.

I would like to do that again.