Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, maintains that celebration is a spiritual discipline. This weekend, we will be thinking about "celebration" as a discipline! Sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? It doesn't sound like a party at all...
Some questions we might ponder as we come to this weekend are:
In order to celebrate, what must first precede?
How do our lives come to a place where we feel like celebrating and being joyful?
If joy is important, how do we get it?
Why might discipline be a word we connect with celebration?
What good comes from celebration in a world broken by sin?
Genesis 1-2 tells a story of perfect celebration, and Genesis 3 is a story in which that celebration is abruptly halted.
Take a read through all three chapters.
What do you learn about God's heart for us in joyful celebration?
What interrupts this?
What now is the way forward to restore joyful celebration?
Perhaps those answers seem obvious, but I believe there's much here for our hearts and minds to absorb.
Finally, come ready to celebrate your faith in Christ and don't worry about what anyone thinks. Since this Sunday is Palm Sunday, it is the perfect day to come ready for celebration! Hosanna!! We might get you dancing yet...(it will take a lot to get me dancing.)
Pastor Jeremy
