Whats Your Name? Hello, friends! Im always amazed at how the Lord inspires me to write this message every day. Most of the time, I already have a topic picked out when I get home from work in the morning. There have been a few times where I had an idea but I felt the Lord wanted me to talk about something else. A couple of times, I didnt have any idea of my subject, and just last week, my message was about not having a message. Isnt it neat how the Lord can give me a subject to write about? Take this morning, for example. I was driving home from work when I passed a large church. I believe it is a Lutheran church, but I cant tell anymore, because instead of being called ---- Lutheran Church, the church is now titled with one of those catchy, non-denominational words. You probably have heard about churches like this. I dont want to name specific names, lest you think I am picking on these churches. Im not. I simply wonder why churches are getting away from their history, their background, and their former name. For some reason, the churches believe that they will get more people to walk through their doors if the church isnt called Methodist, Lutheran, or by its denomination. You know something? Maybe Im being old school. Maybe its the stubborn former Lutheran in me, but I like going to a church that is denominationally named. When I made the decision to return to church in May, 2002, I chose 3 churches to attend. All were Methodist churches, and all had the word Methodist in their church name. Coon Rapids UMC was the third church that I visited, and after being warmly greeted by congregants, I sat in the pew and enjoyed the service. Pastor Mark gave the sermon, and after listening to him preach, I knew that CRUMC was the church for me. Were not flashy at Coon Rapids UMC. Our services are a mix of hymns and worship songs, elements of both the older and newer style of worship are present, and thats the way I like it. Our members are involved in the faith life of the church, and were not out to become one of those MEGA churches. Our niche, if you will, is to see to it that every member has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Our hope is that every member will share their talents, their gifts, their time, and their service with the church in hopes that we may all grow together in our faith. If you were to ask our church Whats your name?, wed proudly tell you that we are Coon Rapids United Methodist Church. We are a hospital for sinners, instead of a museum for saints, as the saying goes. We are people, just like you. Whats Our Name? We answer to the name of sinners, but we prefer to be called by our given name, Children of God. Yes, whats in a name is important. But even more important than our name is who our Father in Heaven is. Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Its his name that means everything to us. Amen. ~John Lloyd~
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:30:32 +0000
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