Church closure update

Dear Prairie Green Church of Christ Members and Friends,

Well, brothers and sisters, it looks like no services in the building again tomorrow, and, barring something unforeseen, for the rest of the month.  A few weeks ago, I had been thinking and praying for our churches to be open on Easter. Theologically, every Sunday is the Lord’s Day when we celebrate that God raised Jesus from the dead, but in our culture, Easter is the one time I can point to every single calendar and say, “Behold, he is not here, he has risen!”  I had dreams of the churches of this nation filled with smiling faces singing, “Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes!” I recalled what that ancient Eusebius wrote about when the great persecution of Diocletian came to an end: the church houses were thronged with worshippers as the pagans looked on in amazement.  That day may yet come for us.

Then the President said he wished the churches could be filled and the issue became political.  And of course, the reality of the deadliness of this virus and the measures we must take, make church on Easter, even Orthodox Easter (a week later), an impossibility.  But I also latched on to something a reporter said when President Trump was talking about church on Easter. “It would be like a national resurrection.” But that’s not what we need.  On Easter, we don’t need, “America is alive again.” What we need, and the whole world needs is “Jesus is still alive.” I read a blogger who commented something about “We don’t need churches filled with Americans; we need churches filled with repentant Americans.”  And that’s right; if we keep praying for things to turn back to normal--well there’s a lot about our “normal” that goes against the word of God. To use some historical-theological terms, I would rather see Revival (the consecration of Christians to greater faithfulness to God) followed by Awakening (the non-religious turning to God). 

 I often pray to God a prayer like this “God, let my kids grow up to be healthy, happy, and successful, but even if they can be none of those things, let them be totally devoted to you.”  We should pray that for all Christians, for all people, as well as our kids and grandkids. If the Lord tarries, I want my great-great grandchildren to be able to ask Alexa, “What came after the Coronavirus,” and for her to say, “The Greatest Awakening.”

In the meantime, we wait.

I want to continue to encourage everyone during this time:

• Keep doing your duty.  If your duty is to stay-at-home, please do so.  If your duty, as an essential worker, is to continue to help our society function, do that as well.
• Find acts of service to do.  Do them in the name of Jesus.  Social distancing itself is an act of service in this time, but I think the “thinking of you” card aisle should be as empty as the toilet paper aisle.  Call someone and talk. Write a letter or a card. And if the opportunity presents itself, and the need outweighs the risk, help someone in need.
• Continue to sanctify the Lord’s Day and worship Him at home with your family:  We need the teaching of God’s word and corporate prayer (Acts 2:42), the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), the sharing of our gifts (I Corinthians 16:2), and the singing to God and one another (Colossians 3:16).  If God uses this virus to teach us one thing, it will be the importance of these basics.
• In regard to the Lord’s Supper, we discussed whether to deliver supplies for Holy Communion to our people, but the safest practice is for you to purchase bread and juice during your necessary grocery trip to have ready for Sunday.  Not partaking together in church seems strange, but remember when you are gathered in your home with your family at that moment you are the church! Read the words of institution from I Corinthians 11:23-26 together, and partake in a worthy manner.
• Find ways to “connect” with God.  Of course, that means Bible reading and prayer.  But there are also so many opportunities to grow in grace.  For those on Facebook, we are airing our Sunday morning service and our Sunday evening Bible study live.  You can find those on our church Facebook page at www.facebook.com/prairiegreenchurch. If you are on the internet, but not Facebook, I’ve been posting the services on our church website at prairiegreen.org.
• For those who are not online (and even for those who are), we encourage you to tune your radio to WHPO, 100.9FM for the two programs we are sponsoring.  One is “Hope for Living” which airs each Sunday morning at 8:30am CT. This is a half hour program of Bible teaching with some music interspersed. The other is “Moment of Hope” which airs Monday through Friday right before the 7am CT news.  This is a new 2 minute devotional program meant to encourage you for the start of your day. These programs are meant as an outreach to our community, so encourage those you think who might be interested to listen.

Finally, if you need ANYTHING please let me know. If there is any way I can help, I will. My phone number is 217-918-2140 and my email is [email protected]. I am praying for all of you! On a personal note, I am continuing teaching at Hoopeston Area Middle School as the long term Science sub, now working remotely.  Krystle and the kids are doing well and send their love. Lord willing, we will all see each other soon!

Pray For Me,

Dustin