One of the things I love about being a Christian is the community that one feels when you visit a congregation, no matter where you are in the world.
Last Sunday we visited St. Columba Presbyterian Church in Lusaka and heard a wonderful sermon on worship. I was especially excited to listen because our church back home, First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, is in the midst of changing worship service and exploring new ways of thinking about worship. I have been following the conversation in Evanston via the internet.
The sermon was really great. Basically the pastor challenged us to think of our whole lives as worship – glorifying God all the time. He encouraged us to really not think about Sunday morning as our main time of worship. Worship is a lifestyle. For what are we living? Are we living for our jobs, or our hobbies, or our family, or our possessions? Are we living to glorify God? He charged us to leave the church on Sunday and go out and worship God in all we do.
I was especially encouraged as I will be spending the next three days visiting small villages in the rural south of Zambia to try and see what needs to be done to improve maternal mortality. Many women in Zambia die giving birth and I have been charged with the task of helping improve this situation. I will be away from home and not in communication. It will be my 50th birthday on Tuesday and part of me was sad to be away from family and friends, and probably staying in a relatively uncomfortable living unit. But then I thought, how better to worship God than to be doing what He has called me to do.
What a privilege – to spend my 50th birthday worshiping God and serving others!
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