6/25/2015 4:05:07 PM
A Glorious Church
There are some magnificent churches in this world. Rising above the city of Prague is the glorious St. Vitus Cathedral. With its black gothic spires stretching into the sky and massive stone supports along its sides you can feel its strength and admire its beauty. In London, St. Paul’s Cathedral survived the bombing by the Nazis in World War II. As you walk through the church its beauty and detailed architecture take your breath away. Detailed paintings give you a sense of wonder, and when the organ begins to play, you might think you were getting a taste of heavenly glory. Such beautiful churches in this world…
In Milwaukee, we have some magnificent churches as well. In fact, as I type this, I'm not far from one of them. From the outside, you might not think it was a very glorious church. The church isn’t listed on any historical records. Visitors don't necessarily pop by just to look inside (though many do comment how pretty our church is!). And yet, it's glorious. But I’m not really talking about outside appearances, or architectural design. I’m talking about what makes a church truly glorious. This is the kind of glory that puts the cathedrals of Europe to shame. And when I think about this kind of glorious church, I think of my church, this congregation because this is a congregation planted by Christ. You see, Christ plants a glorious church. It may not look impressive, but it is glorious because it grows by Christ’s power and by his power it is growing into something great.
When churches build on the gospel of Christ--his perfect life, his death on the cross, his resurrection--then they can't help but radiate the glory of God into human hearts.