COVENANT KEEPERS - PRESENCE - 10/17/04

Last year we claimed the following vision for our church: Empowered by God, united in diversity, creating change. It's a powerful statement about what we envision our life together should look like. The prophet said "without a vision the people perish." So tonight I remind us of that vision that was born in our hearts and needs to continue to be lived out in our lives. In order for us to fulfill that vision for our community, we as individuals must be committed to making that possible. That commitment begins with each of us being willing to make God the center of our lives and our life together. For the next five weeks we're going to embark upon the "Covenant Keepers" program as a way to take a conscious look at our spiritual journey. This program will involve focusing on the areas of presence at worship, our prayer life, the spirit of generosity, a life of service, and our spiritual growth. All five of these areas are critical to our spiritual lives and the ways we keep God at the center of all we do. Over these 5 weeks we are asking every person who attends MCC Pittsburgh to make worship, prayer, generosity, service, and spiritual growth a priority.

When you came into worship this evening you received a brochure about the Covenant Keepers Program that I ask you to read this week.

Each Sunday you will also receive a pamphlet on one of these five key areas, which includes some information and also scripture readings for each day of the week, along with some activity to help you think about that part of your spiritual life.

We will begin this evening by talking about the most crucial area to our community life and that is our presence together at worship. In many ways everything else that we do emanates from being centered in God's presence on Sunday. Each Sunday we gather as a faith community we recognize that we are standing on "Holy Ground", that God is present and is at the center of all we do here. It is of particular importance in our fast paced lives and society to make worship a priority in our lives. To slow down and hear the still small voice of God that can be drummed out by our continual running, moving, and doing. I would suggest to gather in worship each Sunday is vital to our spiritual lives. How many times I've heard from people that Sunday evening "gets me ready for the rest of the week. Sunday gets me started in the right direction. I get filled up on Sunday so I can begin the week with God as the focus of my life." Our lives are busy, full, and sometimes it seems like there's not enough time in the week to accomplish all we need to get done. Don't squeeze worship out of your schedule. Don't let something else take precedence. Guard this time when we gather together. If someone invites you for dinner on Sunday, make it early enough so you can make it to church and even invite them along. Is there a great movie on Sunday evening, use your VCR. !f you have a project to get done, laundry to do get it done Saturday or at another time. Worship is the center of our communal life. It is the way we experience God together. Don't let anything or anyone get in the way of your foundation for the rest of the week. This is our Sabbath and God desires and deserves our worship.

The mission statement of MCC Pittsburgh says "that we provide transformational worship". We come to worship to celebrate, to grieve, to seek God's direction, to be in community with one another and above all to give honor and glory to God. In worship we sing, and pray, and hear God's word, we share in communion and we experience God's life-giving presence that does change lives. Our worship reflects are reverence for God and the precious gift of life that God entrusts to us. In our time of worship we connect to one another and become the Body of Christ called the Metropolitan Community Church of Pittsburgh and the world is changed by our presence.

Our church is a lovely dwelling place for God. This is a safe place were we can bring the joys and concerns of our lives and expect God to be here. In community we stand as a welcoming place were all people can find a home. We are united in our diversity as we join together to recognize that we are each a part of the body of Christ. Do you know that it is said that Sunday morning is one of the most segregated times in our country? In most churches we find like kinds of people whether that be based on race, socio-economic status, culture, or faith. I believe one of our goals in worship is to open the door wide to people from all walks of life and say we are united in this time and place. We all stand as equals on this holy ground. When we gather in community to worship we serve as a beacon to our world that things can be different, that we can create change. And out of our worship we are empowered to go forth and serve God in our world. Our worship should not end when the service is over, but should begin our way of being in the world.

So tonight I invite you to join with me in the Covenant Keepers program for the next five weeks. Our homework for this week and the coming weeks is to take the scripture readings you find in the pamphlet and each day read the scripture and then do the activity that is listed. Imagine the impact it will have on our community if each of us every day is seeking to make God the center of our lives.