A Message from Pastor Jon Anderson
Psalm 99-“ The Lord is king; let the people tremble. The Lord is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake. The Lord, great in Zion, is high above all peoples. Let them confess God’s name, which is great and awesome; God is the Holy One. O mighty king, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Proclaim the greatness of the Lord and fall down before God’s footstool; God is the Holy One. Moses and Aaron among your priests, and Samuel among those who call upon your name, O Lord, they called upon you, and you answered them, you spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept your testimonies and the decree that you gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; you were a God who forgave them, yet punished them for their evil deeds. Proclaim the greatness of the Lord and worship upon God’s holy hill; for the Lord our God is the Holy One.”
Recently, it was reported that President Trump worshipped at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as presidents have done for generations. The story is told that some years back, a tourist visiting Washington called the National Cathedral and asked if the president was planning to be there the following Sunday, because if so, she and her family would like to worship there. The secretary told her, “Well, ma’am, the president doesn’t tell us his schedule, so we never know in advance whether he’ll be here or not. However, I can assure that God will be here, and so a visit here Sunday will certainly be worth your while, and you and your family are quite welcome to join us”. In today’s world, churches are God’s holy hills. We come to church for all kinds of reasons-to see our friends, because we like the pastor, because we enjoy the worship and fellowship, etc., but the church’s main purpose is to be a place where we encounter God. Churches offer many different styles of worship, because people have different ways of experiencing God. Some prefer a quieter service, with periods of silence and meditation; some prefer a traditional liturgy and traditional hymns, played on an organ or piano, while some prefer more modern music, perhaps with drums and guitar. Whatever type of service is used, it’s good worship if it helps us to experience the presence of God-and if in the worship, God’s salvation for us is proclaimed. I encourage you to experience worship at one of our Prairie Faith churches as often as you can-if you can’t attend in person, find a service online-you may see people you know-you may even see someone famous-but undoubtedly, God will be there. Yes, God is ever present-but church is the place where we can focus completely on God, and through the worship, the lessons, and the sermon, hear what God has to say to us. May God’s peace be with you.
~Pastor Jon
