JANUARY 18, 2024

Dear Central Church

Last week it was 3 degrees above zero when we started the 9am service. That’s REALLY cold, but it was actually 10 degrees warmer than when the Chiefs played football just 12 hours earlier. Somehow, there were still 76,000 people who showed up to Arrowhead to watch the Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins. 

We had slightly less than that to show up for Sunday services. Some preachers make a big deal about the large number of people who show up to watch a football game in frigid temps compared to the small number of people that show up to church. However, I think this is an unfair comparison. 
 
People that watch football games in dangerously cold temperatures are crazy, and clearly, they are in love with their team. However, they have no real impact on what happens on the field. They don’t call plays, they don’t throw, they don’t catch, and they don’t run. They spectate. They’re fans. 
 
People who show up to church are a different kind of crazy, and they have a different kind of love. They’re not in the stands…they’re in the game! They’re worshiping God and doing what He has called them to do. They’re welcoming the stranger, caring for the orphan, and ministering to the widow. 
 
The Lord doesn’t need 76,000 people who just sit in the stands. He’s calling us one by one to step out in faith and do what he has called us to do. 
 
This Sunday, we’ll continue our journey through the book of James. This book doesn’t call us to sit in the stands. James reminds us that God has invited us onto the field where the action is: “...faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26)
 
Ready? 
 
See you Sunday…there’s a play just for you!
 
Until He’s Finished,
Pastor Mark