Dear church,
On Wednesday night, we had our first run at a video service. Bro. Christian got us up and running in just TWO DAYS, and several church members contributed in any way they could. I had choir members calling to help sing, Sunday school teachers planning video conference calls for their classes, and people recording special music all week. Nicole laid down several hours of piano recordings for future use, and we are continuing to function as a church through praise, prayer, and preaching. Although we cannot assemble together tomorrow, we still need our church family.
We will launch our services at the normal times tomorrow at 11am and 6pm using both Facebook and YouTube. You do not need an account to watch. Simply visit cbctemecula.com/live from any internet-connected device (Smart TV, phone, tablet, computer, etc.), and you will be directed to the latest video.
You can watch on a Smart TV or a streaming device (Apple TV, Roku, etc.) by using the FaceBook Watch or the YouTube apps. Search your TV’s App Store to find out more.
Here’s a word about tomorrow’s services:
WHAT YOU DO CREATES A MINDSET
Church, in this time away, the natural trend of the flesh is to do LESS for God. Satan would LOVE to sift you as wheat, and use the time away from the encouragement of the body to wreck your spiritual life through despair, discouragement, or apathy. Without a deliberate attempt to fight the spiritual fight and arm ourselves with the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6, we will spiritually lapse, and open ourselves to the fiery darts of the wicked.
This is not spiritual spring break. This is not a vacation from God. This is not a holiday. Now—perhaps more than ever before—is a spiritual test of your faith. Is your faith rooted in the fun of friendships or is it rooted in Christ? God’s blessings INCLUDE our face to face friendships, but when they are limited, is GOD limited, too?
Definitely not.
Reflect your faith in Almighty God by staying faithful to these church “services” and to one another. When it is service time:
ASSEMBLE
Gather on time to watch the video services (Sunday at 11am and 6pm). Please see CBCTEMECULA.COM/LIVE for all the available ways to view the services. Joining with someone else (perhaps through a video call with the latest bans) will encourage you to improve in the next areas…
REVERENCE
To build the right mindset about God and His church, and to continue the habits you cultivate in the regular church services, treat the video services with more respect than is typical for your living room habits.
Come dressed. You don’t need to wear your Sunday best, but something more than your PJ’s would rightly reflect what is happening at that time: church!
Limit distractions. Turn off alerts. Put down the phone. Save the food for after service. Tune in to the service and tune out the rest of the world.
PARTICIPATE
Let your neighbors hear a nice “AMEN!” through the open windows! Sing along with the hymns. Just like Paul told his Corinthian friends: “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit…” His circumstances were bad, but he felt like he was right there with them through their downtimes.
These recommendations are more about creating a MINDSET than anything else. One work-from-home author recently said, “I’ve worked from home for 7 years. Here’s some free advice if you never have. Start the day with a shower and then dress like you normally would for work. I love pajama pants too, but they’re a breeding ground for depression. Flannel feels like failure by day 3.” (Twitter.com/jonacuff) No one will check up on what you do in the privacy of your own home, but when you approach a church service like it’s a movie, it changes your worship. If you approach it like worship, you realize God is there, and it changes the reason for and process of the service.
Everything creates a mindset. I’m looking forward to worshiping “with” you tomorrow.
-Pastor Ryan