a glimpse towards Sunday 4.10.15

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I’ve been struggling with some muscle/joint pain lately, so I quit drinking coffee. I read an organic magazine in my chiropractor’s office with a hippie article linking joint pain to caffeine. Sigh. I really love coffee. Any kind of coffee. I’m not a snob.

I try to roll into the CCC offices before the other staff do. This is when coffee tastes the absolute best. I enjoy the darkness and quiet of 7 a.m. with my Bible and a cup O Joe. Java. Holy Brew. Black Coffee. God speaks to me better with coffee coursing through my veins.

coffee
But with new convictions came revelations of tea. Green tea. It was caffeine free and…

Boring.

All the nutritional gurus pointed to the critical necessities of green tea. Healthy living rules demanded a strict and daily regiment of green tea. What the experts don’t tell you is that green tea has no taste and you can see right through it — literally and metaphorically. Tiny bags with strings stapled to a paper square began invading my traditional morning mug. It was all rather lifeless. I’m quite certain my joints hurt even more because the coffee endorphins have left the building of my soul.

This week, however, I took a few days off and re-engaged my love affair with coffee. One glorious cup in the morning. Black. I found myself closing my eyes merely smelling the wafting Colombian aroma. There is, I discovered, a huge difference between a morning cup of coffee and a bag of grass hanging in hot water. It’s like the difference between stale religion and a vital relationship with Jesus.

On Sunday, we’re exploring deeper the disparity between having a relationship or having religion. Our text is Galatians 3:15-18. Which is more prevalent in your
life — relationship or religion? Your busyness and doing may give indication on where you’ve landed.

Let’s gather Sunday as Ragamuffins and continue to push things further. Last Sunday over 1,300 heard a message of hope connected to a living Jesus. The resurrection demands so much more than stale religion. A living Jesus pursues us with a living, essential relationship. Anything less is just…

Boring.

I’m excited to gather with you on Sunday. We’ll have plenty of coffee brewed in the lobby. For some, there’s even green tea and hot water if your spiritual joints require such rigidity. See you all this Sunday at 9 & 11 a.m.

Blessings,

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