I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord."
And that's what it was, O Lord, a house.
A residential house - three bedrooms, 2 and one half bath, with an Arizona room.
Church conducted from a house?
But it worked, Lord. It worked!
It worked so well that we filled up our worship space not once but twice each Sunday.
We rejoiced as we heard Your Word of forgiveness and faith.
We were grateful to feast on Your Supper (even if it was pretty tight up near the altar).
We baptized and married and buried people.
Our kids acted out the Christmas Story. The words, "He is risen! He is risen indeed!" echoed throughout the house during Easter celebration.
And, Lord, even after we moved into our brand new church facility in 2008, the house kept on serving us.
It was our Christian Education center on Sunday. During the week our youth, Stephen Ministry, and Bible classes (just to name a few) made good use of the facility.
But for a year or more it was clear that our beloved house had outlived its usefulness to us.
Last summer the congregation voted to move forward with the construction of a new facility.
The old structure had to come down so the new structure could be built.
Lord, it was a bitter sweet day yesterday. I arrived at church at 12:45 pm.
The building was gone. That was hard to take.
So, thank you, Lord. Thank You for our first home. Thank You for a permanent place from which we could proclaim Your Gospel and reach out with Your hands and heart to hurting and searching people.
Thank You for helping all of us see that our little house could be a mighty place of worship and study and service.
Bless us as we continue to move forward in faith toward the future.
Bless the construction of the new facility. Save us from any and all unduly delays.
Prepare our congregation for a new season of growth and outreach.
Help us reach the lost and searching. Put the love of Jesus on our lips and in our hearts.
All praise and thanks to You, Mighty Lord, Holy God.
In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
