
Easter always has me thinking about beginnings and endings. You’ve heard the now cliché, “when one door closes another one opens”. It may be overused, but it is the essence of Easter. That the death of something can lead to something powerfully new. Jesus put it this way:
I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12.24)
This past week marked a symbolic ending for The Gathering. Yesterday we officially closed on the sale of our original site on McCausland. Though we moved out of that building over 2 years ago, the sale yesterday was the final goodbye to a facility that served us well over the years. For those of us who have been around the church for a long time, we likely have some important memories that are attached to that space. The good news is that another church purchased it and it will remain dedicated to ministry.
A few people have asked me how I feel about the sale. I say this with immense gratitude for that building, but I feel excited. The church has never been a building. The pandemic taught us very clearly that the church transcends any of our three physical locations. Yes, these spaces are meaningful and important as they help us to reach people, but the church is so much more. And sometimes, in their love for their building, churches can forget their true mission and identity.
Our mission is to invite new people to become deeply committed followers of Jesus. Our identity is a community of people seeking Jesus together. One door may have closed this past week, but I am excited because this weekend, a new chapter begins. This Sunday we are beginning in-person worship for the first time in over a year. While I cannot predict what the future holds, I do have the firm belief that the best days for The Gathering are ahead, and this new chapter will be full of surprises, blessings, and new mountain top moments for all of us. Your own life will be full of endings. But don’t forget that unless we get good at saying goodbye, we won’t get to see the new things God is preparing for us.
Before we go, thank you to everyone who joined The Gathering for Easter last weekend. I will be celebrating some highlights of the day in worship. Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday, whether online or in-person!
Peace,
Matt
p.s. This weekend I am beginning a new series entitled Finding God in the Mess. We will be learning about the story of the prophet Elijah and his knack for finding God in all the ups and downs of his life. As much as we wish our lives would go according to plan, the truth is they are often a hot mess. But this is exactly where God shows up, and where we can experience God most profoundly. I hope you will plan on joining me for this series and chances are you have a friend who needs to hear this, too! Invite them to join you by sharing our live service at live.gatheringnow.org, Facebook or better yet, text or email them a personal invite.
I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12.24)
This past week marked a symbolic ending for The Gathering. Yesterday we officially closed on the sale of our original site on McCausland. Though we moved out of that building over 2 years ago, the sale yesterday was the final goodbye to a facility that served us well over the years. For those of us who have been around the church for a long time, we likely have some important memories that are attached to that space. The good news is that another church purchased it and it will remain dedicated to ministry.
A few people have asked me how I feel about the sale. I say this with immense gratitude for that building, but I feel excited. The church has never been a building. The pandemic taught us very clearly that the church transcends any of our three physical locations. Yes, these spaces are meaningful and important as they help us to reach people, but the church is so much more. And sometimes, in their love for their building, churches can forget their true mission and identity.
Our mission is to invite new people to become deeply committed followers of Jesus. Our identity is a community of people seeking Jesus together. One door may have closed this past week, but I am excited because this weekend, a new chapter begins. This Sunday we are beginning in-person worship for the first time in over a year. While I cannot predict what the future holds, I do have the firm belief that the best days for The Gathering are ahead, and this new chapter will be full of surprises, blessings, and new mountain top moments for all of us. Your own life will be full of endings. But don’t forget that unless we get good at saying goodbye, we won’t get to see the new things God is preparing for us.
Before we go, thank you to everyone who joined The Gathering for Easter last weekend. I will be celebrating some highlights of the day in worship. Have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday, whether online or in-person!
Peace,
Matt
p.s. This weekend I am beginning a new series entitled Finding God in the Mess. We will be learning about the story of the prophet Elijah and his knack for finding God in all the ups and downs of his life. As much as we wish our lives would go according to plan, the truth is they are often a hot mess. But this is exactly where God shows up, and where we can experience God most profoundly. I hope you will plan on joining me for this series and chances are you have a friend who needs to hear this, too! Invite them to join you by sharing our live service at live.gatheringnow.org, Facebook or better yet, text or email them a personal invite.
Posted in M-Note
Recent
Archive
2022
January
February
March
M-Note 3.1.22Lenten Devotional // Day 1Lenten Devotional // Day 2Luke: The Gospel For Rebels Week 5Lenten Devotional // Day 3Lenten Devotional // Day 4Lenten Devotional // First SundayLenten Devotional // Day 5Lenten Devotional // Day 6Lenten Devotional // Day 7Lenten Devotional // Day 8Lenten Devotional // Day 9Following Jesus: Some Assembly Required – Week 1Lenten Devotional // Day 10Some Assembly RequiredLenten Devotional // Second SundayLenten Devotional // Day 11Lenten Devotional // Day 12Lenten Devotional // Day 13Lenten Devotional // Day 14Following Jesus: Some Assembly Required – Week 2Lenten Devotional // Day 15Lenten Devotional // Day 16M-Note 3.20.22Lenten Devotional // Third SundayLenten Devotional // Day 17Lenten Devotional // Day 185 Benefits to Embracing Your Uncertainty of GodLenten Devotional // Day 19Lenten Devotional // Day 20M-Note 3.24.2022Lenten Devotional // Day 21Following Jesus: Some Assembly Required – Week 3Lenten Devotional // Day 22Lenten Devotional // Fourth SundayLenten Devotional // Day 23Lenten Devotional // Day 24Lenten Devotional // Day 25Lenten Devotional // Day 26
April
Following Jesus: Some Assembly Required – Week 4M-Note 4.1.2022Lenten Devotional // Day 273 Implications of God's Humanity on YoursLenten Devotional // Day 28Lenten Devotional // Fifth SundayLenten Devotional // Day 29Lenten Devotional // Day 30Lenten Devotional // Day 31Lenten Devotional // Day 32Following Jesus: Some Assembly Required – Week 53 Misunderstandings of Easter that Impact YouLenten Devotional // Day 33Lenten Devotional // Day 34Lenten Devotional // Palm SundayLenten Devotional // Day 35Lenten Devotional // Day 36Lenten Devotional // Day 37M-Note 4.14.2022Lenten Devotional // Day 38 Maundy ThusdayLenten Devotional // Day 39 Good FridayLenten Devotional // Day 40 Holy SaturdayLenten Devotional // EasterMysterious You: How your union with God makes you divineM-Note 4.20.2022No Filter: See The Real You – Week 14 Ways Embracing Your Sin Serves the WorldM-Note 4.28.2022No Filter: See The Real You – Week 2
2021
January
Categories
Tags
Belden Lane
Celebrate
Change
Christ
Confidence
Divine Love
Doubt
Easter
Frederick Buechner
God
Identity
Jesus
Kids
Longing
Matthew
Nadia Bolz-Weber
No Filter
Parenting
Patience
Paula D'Arcy
Paula D\'Arcy
Paula D\\\'Arcy
Purpose
Righteousness
Sabra Engelbrecht
Second Chance
Struggle
Success
Uncertainty
Weird
acts
creation
faith
forgiveness
forgiving
kelley weber
meister eckhart
redemption
sin
thomas merton
No Comments