Escape from Grave Clothes

   Think of the Mummy from your Halloween parties in need of unwinding. You have Lazarus just stumbling out of the tomb into bright sunshine. Jesus could have unwound him too, but he raised him back to life and invited those around Lazarus to do the unbinding. We are included in the helping those who are being transformed to come out and be made whole again. What a great gift.
   On Sunday Aug. 14, we are dealing with Jesus invitation to involve us in helping to unbind the grave-clothes. We miss a great deal of power in the body of Christ, also known as church, when we let the professionals do the work that the body has been assigned to do. I was amazed that I could find 50 verses that ask us to "One Another." There is so much we can offer each other to help each of us be better followers of Jesus. This step in the Lazarus story will invite that kind of thinking.
   If you are one of my readers who doesn't attend Liberty Grove UMC in Burtonsville, MD and you are too far away to get there, you ought to think about finding a church home you can go to. Not just be a part of a large crowd on Sunday morning, but become involved in a smaller group where the real "One Another" good stuff happens. That could be a Sunday School class, Bible Study, Choir, Praise Team, volunteer at a food kitchen, homeless shelter, or missions trip as well.
   Jesus stressed that we are to be responsible for each other. We really need the connection of flesh and blood if we are going to reach our maximum potential the way God made us.
   Facebook and other social media is great. I connect with my own family better through that than I did growing up with my relatives. All of my cousins are in my Facebook now. They are all over the country, but i keep up with what's going on with them. But as much good as a social network does, it's the face to face that really makes a difference. So let me encourage you to find a way to be in a face to face group. Weekly is best, but with hectic schedules even monthly real time connection is going to be good for the soul.
   John Wesley wanted all those who followed his teachings to be in a a dynamic small group so that they could pray for each other, support each other, help each other out in business or parenting or with the challenges of being a better disciple of Jesus. If you had to answer the questions, "How goes it with your soul today? Where have you seen progress in faith? Where are you struggling and need help?" questions each week it would make you a better follower of Jesus.


Blessings on your journey. I hope and pray you can find a small group to connect to. You could start asking people you know at church to join you if you don't find one already.


Pastor Jeff