A Magnetic Church
Jerry Watts
Mark 12, John 13, Matthew 5
A new pastor in a small Midwestern town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first service. The following Sunday, the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that because the church was dead, it is everyone's duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice stated. Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the ''funeral.'' In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered with flowers. After the pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church. Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a ''dead church'', all the people lined up to look into the coffin. Each ''mourner'' peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look. In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror!
Listen, I know that is not us, but I never want it to become us. I believe and pray that we will become the OPPOSITE. In fact, my heart is for us to become a ''MAGNETIC'' church. Everybody here knows how a magnet works, right? It will pick up things that you may have lost or want.
But the term magnetic doesn't just apply to an instrument, it can also apply to people. You know of someone or can you remember someone who simply has a magnetic personality. When they walk into a room, the atmosphere changes, when they speak, people want to hear, and when they do something, people are engaged. Why? Because people are drawn to those effervescent people like a magnet. You with me?
One of the most, if not the most magnetic person to ever live was, ''Jesus Christ.'' Have you ever sat down and thought about it? Everyone seems to have been drawn to the earthly Jesus. All kinds of peopl ...
Jerry Watts
Mark 12, John 13, Matthew 5
A new pastor in a small Midwestern town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first service. The following Sunday, the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that because the church was dead, it is everyone's duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice stated. Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the ''funeral.'' In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered with flowers. After the pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church. Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a ''dead church'', all the people lined up to look into the coffin. Each ''mourner'' peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look. In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror!
Listen, I know that is not us, but I never want it to become us. I believe and pray that we will become the OPPOSITE. In fact, my heart is for us to become a ''MAGNETIC'' church. Everybody here knows how a magnet works, right? It will pick up things that you may have lost or want.
But the term magnetic doesn't just apply to an instrument, it can also apply to people. You know of someone or can you remember someone who simply has a magnetic personality. When they walk into a room, the atmosphere changes, when they speak, people want to hear, and when they do something, people are engaged. Why? Because people are drawn to those effervescent people like a magnet. You with me?
One of the most, if not the most magnetic person to ever live was, ''Jesus Christ.'' Have you ever sat down and thought about it? Everyone seems to have been drawn to the earthly Jesus. All kinds of peopl ...
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