Old news—new news—and Seahawk news
Last weekend we launched a sermon series on Nehemiah called For the City. (What a blast it was!) We are spending the next few weeks asking, “What would it look like for the people of Chapel Hill to REALLY be for the city? To not just live here; but to champion the place in which God has placed us.
For Nehemiah, the starting point was to REALLY notice what was going on in Jerusalem. Even though the decrepit state of the city was old news—Babylon had invaded Jerusalem 150 years earlier!—God gave Nehemiah new eyes to see the brokenness of the city—and it broke his heart.
If God is going to use our church to love, bless, heal, encourage or shape our city, He will have to give us new eyes to see it, both the beautiful and the broken. Do YOU have the eyes to see your city as God does? Do you see your neighbors, the walkers you meet, the families playing in the park, the homeless person? Do you see a first responder with a heart of appreciation? Do you see city hall and think of the people God has placed in positions of power and influence?
When Nehemiah had his sudden revelation, his first response was to pray! Our first response must be the same. I am praying every day for the welfare of our city—and specifically for my neighbors. And to help me, I downloaded an app called “Echo” which uses my phone to remind me to pray those prayers. I’d urge you to give it a try.
Finally, one of the important ways we are FOR our city is the way we care for children and families in this church. I am excited to announce that we have hired a new Children’s Ministry Director, Paul Hargreaves. We believe Paul is the right person to continue the legacy of great ministry to kids that has marked Chapel Hill. He will be joining us in October but if you’d like to “meet” him, here’s your chance.
Finally, I have to say that I have never ended a service quite the way I did our 10:45 am service last Sunday. It was one for the highlight reel! In case you missed it, I might just have a picture to kick off next week’s message. I don’t think you’ll want to miss this!
Pastor Mark
PS—For you Seahawks fans, consider joining us for Saturday night worship. You can even wear your Seahawks swag!