• A quick note to encourage you to join us tonight for prayer and music (7:00p), a time we’re calling Selah — the musical notation or liturgical pause which occurs in the Psalms. We’re learning as we go so please bear with us. Last week we opened by praying as a large group, but hearing was difficult with masks and distancing. Our sense was it didn’t really work. This week we will begin by praying in smaller groups (keeping distance), then have some overlap of music and prayer. Our goal in combining music and prayer is to create a more full participation of heart and mind, rather than assuming prayer is merely cognitive, something done by a brain on a stick.
• Over the course of thirty years of ministry I’ve heard people say many times about prayer, “I didn’t really want to come but I’m so glad I did.” Don’t be ignorant of the Devil’s schemes: he will suggest to your mind anything that diverts you from prayer. It’s unlikely you will do anything more fruitful with 90 minutes on a Thursday evening.
• Ross will open and close with music. I’ll provide a lead sheet for prayer, focusing on the nation, national leadership, and the election from a biblical, not a political, perspective. The sheet will include detailed suggestions for prayer so it’s easier to stay on track. Once the music begins, I (and perhaps other elders) will be available for private prayer over any concerns you may have.
• Finally, nothing during Coronavirus is going to be quite the way we want it to be. God has given us a season of frustration, especially when it comes to the communal life of God’s people. But it’s a good reminder that the key is to make the most of whatever he gives to us, not to wait for things to be the way we want (which is so rare in life anyway). Come fight the fight.