Dwelling in God's House of Worship

SERMON TITLE:                 “Dwelling in God’s House of Worship”
SERMON TEXT:                  2 Chronicles 29:20, 25-31
PREACHER:                         Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:                         October 23, 2016, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                If you weren’t here for the Craft Bazaar this week, you might not realize that we had a lot going on—not only in the narthex and classrooms, but right here in the sanctuary.  We had eight vendor tables set up in the back of the sanctuary, four tables in front of the pews, and three more tables up here in the chancel.   Right here where the pulpit usually stands, there was a booth where you could get your picture taken with a scarecrow.  There was a lot of hustle and bustle, smiles and fun, and dollars raised for our United Methodist Women’s mission outreach.  The money raised goes to great causes—the Lantern House homeless shelter, the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank, the YCC domestic violence shelter, Family Counseling Services, and the Ogden Rescue Mission—as well as some to our own church. 
If, when you walked into the sanctuary this morning, you didn’t perceive that all that had happened here, it might be because, somehow, with all that going on, we still got ready for a normal worship service today.  Even though Brenda had lots of interruptions in the office, she was still able to prepare the bulletin.  Even though I spent time talking with many people, I still managed to get ready for this sermon.  Even though they had to adapt to some space issues on Wednesday evening, the choir was still able to hold a rehearsal and get ready to sing for us today.  And even though they had already worked for many days setting up and selling goods, our vendors and church volunteers mustered enough energy to do a great job cleaning up after the bazaar came to an end yesterday afternoon.  Raising money for missions is a wonderful thing that we Christian people do.  But preparing for Sunday is important too.  All the good efforts in the world would fall short if we didn’t also take time to focus our hearts and connect with God through worship.
                During this four-week stewardship drive, we’re thinking about the importance of dwelling in God’s house.  Last Sunday, we started off with the story of Jacob dwelling in God’s house of dreams.
Today we’re moving on to the story of King Hezekiah in Second Chronicles.  Let’s see what Hezekiah and his people did, and how that might direct us in dwelling in God’s house of worship.

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