Mid-week message

Grace and peace to you through our Lord Jesus Christ!

It is so wonderful to be back at Briarwood with you all! I feel healed and restored, and ready to be back in ministry with you all.

During this time when we are all apart, it is difficult to remember that we are still - together - the body of Christ. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” When I read that, the word “individually” stands out, because we are all in our homes and the concept of being the body of Christ together seems so distant. However, even though we cannot meet in person, we are still knit together by the Holy Spirit as the body of Christ.

I felt this keenly while I was away on sick leave. I was very separated from you all. And yet, the Holy Spirit joined us together in a beautiful way. Many times I would be thinking about something in particular and then later that day I would receive a note from someone in the congregation with words of comfort on the exact thing I was thinking about. The Holy Spirit spoke through you right into my heart.

God is able to bridge our physical distancing to continue to build us together as one body of Christ, the church. God will do this through each of us, because we are all individually members of it. God speaks to us with gentle nudges. If you feel a gentle nudge to reach out to someone, answer the call! God may want to speak through you directly to someone else’s heart.

May God bless you and keep you; may God’s face shine upon you and give you peace,

Rev. Sarina