April 2021
As we enter into April 2021, I have several important things on my mind, specifically worship and missions. These are two critical aspects of discipleship. In other words, mature disciples will be passionate worshipers of God who express our love for God in a missional lifestyle.
So first, let’s talk about worship. Christian worship is both an attitude and an act. It is an attitude in the sense that it involves reverence and adoration of God expressed through religious rites such as worship services. It is an act in the sense that it involves a lifestyle of righteous service and love towards others. These “actions” enable us to please God and reveal him to a lost world.
So, why am I thinking about worship? Well, it’s because Calvary gets to begin April by expressing our attitude of worship for God through several significant worship services:
April 2021 will begin on a high point as Calvary joins Christ-followers from around the world to celebrate the highest holy week of the year. This year, Maundy Thursday falls on April 1st and Easter Sunday falls on April 4th. Calvary will offer an in-person Maundy Thursday Lord’s Supper celebration starting at 7 pm. This service will be live-streamed for those not able to attend in person.
Additionally, Calvary will host two in-person Easter Sunday services at our usual service times (8:30 am and 11:15 am). These services will also be live-streamed.
But, remember, in addition to our proper attitudes toward God, our worship must also include righteous acts or actions in obedience to God. This is where missions enters into the equation. I recently tasked our Missions & Ministry Committee to help Calvary identify some key ministries that can become mission service teams for our church. These will be teams made up of Calvary members serving the Little Rock community, the state of Arkansas, our nation, and our world through Gospel-centered ministries. Initially, we hope to accomplish two missional goals.
We want to identify some local mission ministry opportunities that our teams can be involved with. These likely will involve developing and strengthening partnerships with organizations in Little Rock and with our denominational entities.
Secondly, we want to prayerfully find an international mission partner that we can send mission teams to on a regular basis.
Please join me in praying for God’s gracious guidance as we seek to faithfully worship him in both attitudes and actions!
Scott
