God Moments

Each Sunday, we ask people to share their God Moments: A time that they experienced God's presence in their lives; or a time that they wished they had; any time that they thought about God during the day.

Usually on Sundays I'm pretty busy leading worship, responding to members of the congregation, organizing last-minute details or making notes in my head of things I need to do for next week. So it's not always a very worshipful experience for me. 

There are always moments when I am deeply moved: when we pray, when we sing, when kids and adults openly share their thoughts and questions. 

Last Sunday I had three very powerful God Moments:

The congregation was sitting in small groups, sharing their highs and lows, reading a Bible passage, talking about it, and then praying for each other. Usually, the last step is uncomfortable and many try to avoid it so I walked around to the different groups, encouraging them to pray. Most of them had already done so. Some were in the middle of it and I didn't want to interrupt. I sensed a very deep, spiritual atmosphere. People were willing to be vulnerable with each other and trust each other. 

That's powerful stuff. I don't think I could ever create that kind of atmosphere, no matter how "well" I pray. This was God's spirit at work.

The second God Moment was when the kids collected ornaments that people had brought to be put on the Christmas tree, items that were meaningful to them. A few people brought photos of loved ones: a grandchild, and a mom who had recently passed away. That gave me goosebumps. The circle of life, and our love on that tree, beautifying the sanctuary for this special season. 

The third God Moment was a gift a church member made to a guest: Our guest asked for prayer for a lot of sadness that she was going through. Our church member had brought the altar flowers in memory of her brother who passed away several years ago. She gave those flowers to the guest to comfort her in her sadness. What an incredibly kind and generous gesture.

The other day in a meeting we were asked to share what we loved the most about the holidays. One person said it seems like people are just kinder to each other. 

I hope that's true. And I hope it will be true the rest of the year as well. 

Praying an ancient prayer for this season of Advent, the time of preparation for Jesus to come into our lives and change our hearts: "Come, Lord Jesus." Come. We need you.