October 14 Worship: "A Living Sacrifice"

On Sunday, we enjoyed a special celebration of Eastgate's ministry over the past year as part of October's Month of the Ministry.  In addition to publicly thanking the service of the deacons and the ministry chairpersons, a key part of the sermon focused on a presentation of many of the ways that Eastgate has tried to live out its Christian service in the past year.

As we concluded our sermon series "If We Are the Body...", based on Paul's image of the church as the body of Christ, we considered how Paul may have believed that such a description was not merely metaphorical.  Drawing upon his introduction to the image in Romans 12, I suggested that Paul might have imagined that Christians could in some ways physically represent the crucified/resurrected Jesus Christ.  While this may take the argument too far (or might also be an over-reading of Paul), it does encourage us to imagine what we can do if we pool our God-given talents and passions together.

With that in mind, I shared many of the activities of Eastgate over the past months, relating them to our vision of "Seeking God, Sharing Christ, Serving Others."  The compiled list is impressive, describing the life of an active and generous congregation, and one that is particularly concerned about giving in support of worthwhile ministries and social services in our community and beyond.  It is a reminder of the opportunities we have, even with our limitations, to help others (and even ourselves) by actively engaging with God and striving to be faithful.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with someone, you can find an audio recording here.