Day by Day

How would you define ‘church’? Is it our building? Is it a group of people who gather together in the name of God? Can it be a group of people who run together? Or a college student Bible study? Are we church when we work at Harvesters or the Rescue Mission? Are we church when we organize for justice, or knit together? 

Read Psalm 23 and Acts 2:42-47. 

This Sunday, 2 of our youth will be baptized, and 6 of them will profess their faith publicly as the last step in becoming a member of our congregation. You can read their faith statements here. It will be a joyful celebration of their journey this past year, as well as looking forward to the ways they will continue to contribute to Trinity's family. 

The passage from Acts describes the early church, a church that gathered around teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. Does that sound familiar? As they dedicated themselves to these four acts, the community was moved to a place of generosity and abundance, as they shared everything and made sure that no one was in need. And day by day, their community grew. Day by day, more people came to know of Jesus Christ and his saving grace. Day by day, our Shepherd God brought more people into Her flock. 

Day by day, Jesus is still at work at Trinity and in Topeka. Day by day, we are given opportunities to share what we have been given: forming new disciples with our Sunday School classes, telling strangers about ‘my church,’ studying the Bible in a doughnut shop or at R&R with the Word, volunteering at Harvesters, tithing, caring for the children in our nursery, ushering on Sunday morning, and delivering bread to new friends. 

The way that God is overflowing our cups does not mean that there are never any complications, or that our justice and mercy work never gets messy. Day by day, as more are welcomed into our family of Christ, we must make room, we must be willing to sacrifice our own comfort and security to make room for new members in our family. 

Timothy B. Hare writes that “The Christian life is about adjusting ourselves to the existence of a gracious God.” We adjust ourselves to abundance and graciousness as we share our lives together, day by day. Come join us on Sunday and witness to our gracious shepherd God as our family grows, day by day. 

Grace and peace, 
Pastor Kate