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This past Sunday, we had the privilege of welcoming JCPC’s longtime friend, Dr. Weimer, to the pulpit. He preached a wonderful message about forgiveness, common ground, and reconciliation, and he reminded us to offer comfort and encouragement, as the pandemic ends, by hugs, fist bumps, and elbow nudges. It was a great reminder how much we all need to connect as brothers and sisters in Christ and offer mutual forbearance, compassion, empathy, and... laughter.
I went back to watch the recording of the worship service from the Live Stream on YouTube. YouTube provides something wonderful for the hearing impaired... live closed captions. At the end of the service, as folks left the Great Hall and Heidi played beautiful music, the closed captions were still interpreting the service and as you can see from the screen capture, it said... [laughter] [music]. I’ve never seen such a wonderfully succinct summary of the joy we experience in the final moments of worship as we begin to fellowship. Laughter and Music. This is the joy of weekly worship together, in-person and livestream.
This week, before worship, as you ready your heart for the worship hour, and after worship, as you prepare for your week, I hope you’ll revel in that joy. Remember that we are a body together to be of love, empathy, and encouragement, so we may worship, serve, and delight in this world. Plenty of people are contributing to the darkness of this world. God calls us to be the light. Carry that laughter and music with you, wherever God calls you to be.
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