"New Month, New Perspective"

Pastor Juan Conway

Matthew 5:14-16

King James Version

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a

candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good

works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven

One of the greatest advantages of living in the Midwest is the fact that

we get an opportunity to experience all four of the seasons. Over these last couple of days we are watching autumn breakthrough the summer with cooler crisp mornings and evenings. It’s not officially a new season yet, but Autumn is breaking through. Fall’s influence is becoming more obvious.

The scripture above is encouraging us to use our influence to share and show the agape love of God, and in order to truly do that we must

understand that wherever we go, in whatever capacity we are called to

operate in, we are expected to :”re- present” our savior.

Much like Autumn is making her presence known, your presence is needed in every thing that you are assigned to. It is important that we resist the temptation to be present without being engaged. You are a gift, but just like any gift, it must be unwrapped, you have so many unique attributes, talents and expressions that your absence, your mental absence, your emotional absence leaves us void of the valuable content that we gain when we get you!

As a student, your school is going to be so much better when 100% of you show up. As an employee your place of employment will be better when 100% of you show, and even if it doesn’t, it still brings out the best in you.

The shifting of a new month has also given us the opportunity to shift our schedules. As we readjust our time to reduce some of our recreational activities to increase academic priorities, hopefully we will remember the value and benefits of assembling ourselves together at our places of worship. I will forever be grateful to God for blessing us with the technology we so desperately needed during the pandemic to view our church services within the comfort of our own homes, and for those who cannot attend in person it’s still a great life line to feed the soul. However if you can shift from being a virtual attendee to in person here’s a few advantages that I would love for you to consider:

1. Your presence encourages people. Some know that you’ve had struggles and challenges but your determination to come to the House of God in spite of the storms of life gives inspiration to your weary sister or brother.

2 Your physical touch. I often say “God loves us all but he’s not passing out physical hugs, that’s our assignment”. We should never underestimate the power of a touch, the strength gained just by holding hands, fist bumps or even an elbow dap.

3. Your gift, is received differently in person. I can “go live” from the beach, and you could view my experience but my “live” won’t allow you to experience the breeze, or feel the sun. My ‘ zoom call” won’t allow you to feel the warm sand between your toes, why? Because sometimes the old phrase is true “ you just had to have been there”. Whether September has summoned you back into the classroom as a student or teacher, or if you’ve learned a new normal where you’ve removed in person worship totally out of your schedule (judge free zone) I hope you consider how important you are to those that you are assigned to, those family members, friends, teachers, colleagues and yes fellow parishioners. I have gone through long periods of time in which I was present in places but so preoccupied with what I had to do next that it robbed me the moment and subsequently cheated those who desired to have fellowship with me. In this season I hope you resist the temptation to neglect your now. I pray that you refuse to neglect the people who gain so much just from you, being you.

If your from the Midwest, you already know that Autumn will eventually take the place of summer and the shift will officially change, I hope you see the value in what nature is teaching us and consider what may need to change in your life as well.