Goodness Weekly 1.16.23
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do keep moving forward.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
What’s Good:
We are so excited to welcome Nancy Campos to the worship band! Nancy has quickly become a loving and bright part of our community through her love of coffee, story time, and now helping to lead worship with our Charis Band. We are so grateful for the ways people like Nancy pour into this community and the work of Charis Collective! All are welcome to gather on Sundays at 4:30pm and praise alongside these great humans!
Message from Jess:
Do you know how words, when overused, tend to lose their meaning? I think this is true of the word good.
Good takes a backseat to “Great!” Or “Awesome” or “Best”.
And in our community, we throw the word good around a lot. If you’re reading this, goodness is in the title. We ask the question-what’s good?
You may even catch me singing “tell me somethin’ good” around the coworking space.
Our use of good is rooted in the belief that God is good. That all goodness is rooted in God and that everything God created is good.
In our service this week we spent time with Psalm 40, and listened to the psalmist shout for joy for what God has done.
And I think this is our call here and now.
We stop worrying, stop side-eyeing our neighbor, start living each day seeking out and creating more good. Because the world around us can and will show us the opposite of good if we look for it.
But what if we sing a new song?
Hunter Bates wrote a song called So Good that you can see in our worship service from the past week. The lyrics say—
“Then I hear a voice in me, daring me to believe in a world where we all live free. And I know in my soul, there’s a long way to go before we make this dream a reality. So good, so good, so powerful and good, with God all things can be. Amen, amen, amen, amen…teach us to live in harmony.”
This is the God dream, and the dream of Dr. King who we honor this day—a world where all is brought back to wholeness. There is a long way to go, but we have to make a start. No more hiding our heads or wringing our hands or pointing our fingers.
Here is my commitment to you—I am singing a new song. I will shout about the goodness I see all around and work to make the dream of peace a reality. It starts with each of us—will you join me?
How have you been invited to partner with God in creating more goodness in the world around you?
Where are the places that you can share peace and hope?
When you see goodness this week, name it, shout it out, don’t hold back.
Love-Jess
Upcoming Events:
Sunday, January 22nd, 4:30pm Outdoor Worship
Sunday, January 29th, 4:30pm Chapel Worship
Sunday, February 5th, 4:30pm Supper Church
Sunday, February 12th, 12:00pm Waffles & Worship on the front lawn
Wednesday, January 11th, 7:30-9:00pm Youth Group at The Stirmans
Inhale:
I choose to live out goodness and kindness each day
Exhale:
I let go of perfection and remember You call me good
