March 2, 2023

Dear Central Church,

I had never seen him that excited before, but then again, it’s not every day that your daughter gets married! I had the honor of officiating the wedding of my friend Clyde’s only daughter. He was generally a pretty reserved guy, but I saw a side of him at the wedding I had never seen before. He did the “Electric Slide,” the “Cupid Shuffle,” the “Cha Cha Slide,” and the “YMCA.” He knew all the steps and never missed a beat. As the official Pharisee at the party, I had to make sure the wedding punch wasn’t spiked. Sure enough, for one special evening, he was “Clyde the Glide” and was as sober as a church lady’s bake sale.

I’m thankful for those moments when our joy becomes so uncontainable that we cannot help but express it physically through smiles, shouts, songs, and dances. We find this joy throughout scripture, but especially in Psalm 32, where the Psalmist writes, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven!” This psalm invites us to think about the joy that should accompany the good news of our salvation. We have been forgiven, restored, redeemed, and made whole. Now THAT is reason to sing and dance!

 Jesus came so that everyone could experience the joy that comes from the forgiveness of sins. This is not just a song for a select group of people. This is a song that Jesus invites the world to sing.

 Our mission as a church is to introduce people to Jesus, who can give them this incredible gift. One of the best ways we can do this is by singing the song that he has given us and inviting them to sing along. By grace and through faith, all are invited to sing this song.

 My prayer is that the world would see our joy and want to know more about what God has done for us. This Sunday, we’ll be reminded of how our sins have been forgiven and how Jesus has given us a new life in him. This would be a great weekend to invite someone to Central who may not have experienced this good news for themselves.

 I hope to see you this Sunday at Central. It’s going to be a great day celebrating our forgiveness in Christ!

Until He’s Finished,

Pastor Mark