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Sermon Details
- Pastor Name: Jonathan Cornell
- Date & Time: January 10, 2016 | 10:00am
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SERMON SERIES:
Where Are We Going?
Where are we going? It’s January, the beginning of a new year, a new semester. For some in here, your time as a collegiate undergraduate has come to an end (for some, it will soon to be coming to an end). Beginning a new year, we may have all sorts of goals we would like to accomplish. We’ve passed the winter solstice, so the days are growing longer, soon winter will release us from its cold, wet grip—even though in January, spring still feels a very long way off.
It’s the beginning of a new year and many good things that are to come in the life of our congregation. And anytime you begin anew, it is good to ask the question, “Where are we going?”
Two weeks ago as we departed Wabash with Annie and Christian strapped in their car seats, with 11 hours of driving in front of me, I thought to myself: “This is a great opportunity for me to decompress, reflect, to enjoy a few caffeinated beverages, and think about where we’re going as a church in 2016.” Before I left, I looked at the traffic report and made the decision that instead of taking the well-worn path through Chicago, we would take the “scenic” Iowa route to Minnesota.
As we made our way on a much less familiar path, I realized that the metaphor for this series that had to that point alluded me was unfolding before me in front of my van windshield. Anytime we ask the question “where are we going?” it demands that we consider the possible routes to get us there. In my life, I have driven the Indiana-Illinois toll road 80 to 90 to 94 literally dozens of times getting home to Minnesota. It has become so second nature to me that I no longer think about where I’m going—it’s autopilot. However, this time, with wintery weather bearing down on us, as well as a Bears game finishing about the time we were to pull through town, we decided to take the alternate route—one I’ve only driven once before.
Instead of setting it to cruise control, I needed to pay careful attention to where I was and where I needed to be. And as I sat there, I realized this is the image we need as a community to keep in mind. If we are going to get where we are supposed to go as a community of Christ’s followers, we need to pay attention to where we are going. Setting the church on autopilot and going about it business as usual no longer works for us.
We are moving together. This is a church that is driven by its volunteers, and no matter if you are an elder or a nursery volunteer, a Sunday School teacher, a sound and video volunteer, or someone who sets up tables for church events, we need to know where we are going together.
So for the month of January, this is what we are going to be considering, the question: where are we going? Now, before we can begin to answer this question, we need to answer a different one: where are we now?
Download the entire transcript here: 2 Kings 6 24-33 Where Are We Now
