Church Vacation

I took the feature photo of this 100 year old church last summer as I vacationed in Muskoka, Ontario.  The church is located just blocks from Parry Sound that connects to Georgian Bay of Lake Huron.  My husband and I attended the Sunday worship service here with relatives, and I recall the encouragement of the gathering and the meaningful Bible sermon.  Timing is everything:  I had recently experienced a hard conflict.

You might wonder why we “wasted” a day of vacation by going to church.  Aren’t there fifty-one other weekends to attend church?  We went not out of obligation, but to join a community of fellow believers (that’s fellowship).  Personal blessings flow from music, a message, and even as visitors we taste of local ministry at work.  I have particularly experienced that worshipping in a new setting, not my own church, has unique benefits.  I am not distracted by who’s leading praise or what friends are in attendance, rather I focus solely on the elements of the service, and I gain reassurance from new congregations who share my faith.   A waste?  Not at all!  As the Psalm goes, “Better is one day in Your courts, than a thousand elsewhere.”                  Psalm 84 v 10

Yesterday was another case in point.  In a small group at our church, we discussed 1 Peter chapter two*.  It starts out boldly with a charge against several evils related to lying (1 Peter 2 v 1).  A deeper dive took us back a few sentences into the first chapter of 1 Peter.  There, God’s Word clarified that those who follow Jesus are “purified … by your obedience to the truth” (1 Peter 1 v 22).  Yes, that makes sense:  truth is the opposite of lies.  The passage continues by highlighting the strength of pure brotherly love (v 22), the importance of God’s “abiding” word (v 23) and the value of hearing it preached (v 25).  Devoted community, reliance on the Bible, and Gospel preaching are all found in none other than the church!  There is no substitute for joining a church, and it will be okay if you miss a Sunday on vacation!

*1 Peter, which is usually read as “first Peter,” is the first of two letters the apostle Peter wrote to Christians in Roman provinces in the early 60’s AD

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Author: Brenda Proulx

Wife, mother and grandmother, educator and someone who thinks about the things I observe. I am the daughter of a writer; my dad's career was in the field of journalism. More significantly, I am God's child, a person believing in Jesus Christ and in His timeless Word. Blogging is new to me but I feel like I've always had a pen in my hand. I jot notes in my planner, mark papers, underline verses, write many letters, and occasionally draft articles for work or church. When I am not holding a pen, I am probably cuddling a mug of coffee. View all posts by Brenda Proulx