Thursday, October 02, 2014

Masterpiece

For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.    Ephesians 2:10

Ever stood in front of the Mona Lisa?  How about Michelangelo’s statue of David?  Renoir’s Two Sisters? Van Gogh’s Starry Night? It may be amazing architecture, a never before imagined technological advancement or a natural wonder in our world,  but there are encounters that are so grand, so amazing, so beautiful that they take our breath away.  What’s yours?

When Paul was writing to the Ephesians, he captured a word regarding their identity that, in his day, was the word for a work of art so majestic it was pointed to when people wanted to make a case for their exceptional competence.  You probably will recognize the Greek word -- it is poema.  Sound familiar?

Now, keep tracking with me here -- when you think of the majesty and grandeur of God, when you are building a case for how powerful and amazing God is, what is your Exhibit A?  Want to know God’s?  It is you and me!  Those people He has recreated in Christ Jesus.  As followers of Jesus, we are the walking, breathing poetry of God!  His magnum opus!

We live into that design when we are doing good, the good He had in mind long ago!  Literally as followers of Jesus, God is up to something with our lives. Long ago, He created good with our names on it!  This good can range from the mundane to the spectacular.   (Is anything mundane to God?  Even the chores we do, our everyday tasks become sacred when we offer them for God’s glory and do them with a loving, thankful heart!)

This month, we have the opportunity as a church to do good….together! If you are part of PCC you are aware of Beautiful Day.  On October 18, we are engaging in our most intensive Beautiful Day to date.  We are partnering with our local schools, teachers, parents and students as well as our Community Center in coming alongside teachers and classrooms to upgrade the learning environments in which students in the Redwood City public schools are educated.

All this happens on October 18 and here is what you need to know:

  • Access information about Beautiful Day here.
  • We want everyone that signs up to bring a friend that would normally say no to a traditional church gathering. Let’s get our community serving together.
  • We need 8 more volunteers to answer the call and shop for items that teachers have requested and/or do some chores around the classroom. Most classrooms and in the district get cleaned only once a week and deep cleaned once a year. Most teachers stay late on Fridays to clean their classrooms for the following week. This will be a Friday that they get to leave early!  We have the teachers’ wish list and gift cards to do the shopping with. Anyone interested can come to the table outside the Worship Center on Sunday to pick up a wish list packet.
  • We need 20 more artistic volunteers to help paint. We have world maps, compasses and sundials to paint on the blacktop. These will add color to the blacktop and let teachers expand their curriculum. 
  • We need everyone to sign up ahead of time. You can sign up online or sign up at the table on the patio this Sunday at all three gatherings.

This Sunday, we will walk through Ephesians 2:1-10 and in addition to digging into God’s word, we will hear from one of our own as she shares her masterpiece story -- the story of God recreating her in Christ Jesus.  It is an incredible story.

I look forward to being together.  Now if you excuse me, there are some good works, created with my name on them from before the foundations of the world were laid that I get to engage in.

I love being your pastor!