Adventist

“Someone asked me what is your religion? I said, “All the paths that lead to The Light.”” -author unknown

It has been a couple weeks since I have watched a service. I have been feeling unmotivated to give my time to this project. I just truly needed a bit of a break, a pause, a time out from it all. I felt a bit guilty and wondered if my new project would even continue. I have decided to drop the bag of guilt and do what feels right to me.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize how much opening myself up to so many new religions and spiritual practices would effect me. I feel like I am stuck somewhere in the middle of what I grew up believing and the other extreme side of things. I feel as though I am in a place of learning to respect others in whatever it is they believe. I question how I have lived so much of my life devoted to one primary religion.

I never much questioned what came from the pulpit when I attended church on a regular basis. Looking back I was basically blindly following what was taught. It is finally now at age 29 that I am stepping back and seeing all things through different lenses.

I continue to have respect for all practices and beliefs. I admire those who are preaching or teaching to others. I see those who devote their whole lives to what they believe in and that is a beautiful thing. I see others give their time to join in on live sermons. I see others volunteering in groups to help their community during COVID-19.

So with that update on where my head is at, I will write a little about the sermon I watched this morning from New Haven Seventh Day Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.

This particular church I almost attended live a few months back. This particular church has only Saturday services. I don’t quite remember why I didn’t end up going. I do believe I was fully dressed in my Sunday best on a bright and sunny Saturday morning but for some reason didn’t make it to their service.

I may not have made it out the door for their service way back when but I did tune in for their service this morning. A cup of coffee and bagel in hand, I was ready to jump back in another religion.

The service at New Haven was a pre-recorded service from last month. It was about 30 minutes, which once clicking on the service I was ecstatic about! What I just loved so much about this service was that they skipped all the introduction and worship and just started right with the sermon. Score!

The pastor was funny and had an accent, unsure of what kind exactly. He said his whole sermon was based off of a picture he saw this week of a woman holding a sign during a protest that said, “Sacrifice the weak, re-open Tennessee.”

Sr. Pastor Elsey then read from Matthew and covered the first three Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

I thought it was somewhat brave of him to choose this topic. It was very pastor like of him to challenge people, maybe even all of us, during a time of true hardship for many. To stand up and say blessed are those who are mourning… hmmm. I am not sure what would comfort me during a time of mourning but I don’t think this sermon in particular would be what I wanted to hear. But maybe it did bring comfort to someone out there and maybe for the rest of us it was more of a challenge and something to think about when our time of hardship comes.

The point that Pastor Elsey ended with was; we are encourage by this world to live a life that is very different from the Bible’s teachings. Those that believe and follow Jesus Christ should be living different from the non believers of this world.

This sermon was a good reminder that a Christian’s life should be different from everything that we are surrounded by. It makes me sit here and think about my own life today. Am I living a life that is truly Christ centered or am I living a life more set to the beat of this current world? Is there an in between or would that make me luke warm? Can I live with God at the center of my heart and yet not be to the extreme that I grew up believing Christians should be?

Once again more questions than answers and yet I am okay with that. I am encouraged by these questions because it means that I am not following so blindly and that I am being challenged in whole new way.

To be challenged means to grow and I embrace the growing pains.