Allowing God to wash over us
I have been a part of a series of discussions lately around reshaping church gatherings, setting the tone for worship, telling a story, and creating an atmosphere where God can take down the barriers so his heart can touch ours.
I remember one summer camp I was a part of where we dramatized portions of the life of Christ, including the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion. All three men who hung on the crosses were some of my closest friends, but the man playing Jesus was a very dear friend. Never had the sacrifice Christ made for me been so real and personal. Standing in a crowd on a sand dune, watching as he carried the cross, was “nailed” to it, and then was placed upright to die changed my understanding of what God’s love meant.
Have you ever had God’s spirit wash over you? What do you remember specifically about that experience? Are there images, words, smells, sights, sounds, or actions that touched you and opened the door for you to allow God to cover you? Do you desire for God to do this again?
The Outlet 
Love the picture. Your recounting of your experience reminded of a similar dramatization of the cross I participated in numerous years ago. And yes, it was a time I experienced the most powerful re-filling of the Spirit I have ever experienced. My initial reaction to this post was that I get very concerned with media, and other types of medium because many times the media/ medium becomes the message and the real content gets lost. But the example you give here is one where the real message was not lost!!
I spent a couple hours this week looking for images that could be used to make people think about certain aspects of an upcoming series we are doing at church. It was an interesting experience as the topic is about God’s plan for sexuality. I came across the picture during that process and it really spoke to me.
Your comments tie into the other message I just posted. We can add all sorts of things to try to create and atmosphere or presentation, but without content I think we are missing the mark. I have been in worship services where that happened and I have left empty or disillusioned.
Oh, and while the message was not lost on me in the story I told it was lost on others. We faced great criticism for the program we offered and it ended our ability to be a part of those camps after being involved for years. The criticism was that our dramitization was too real and affected people too deeply. If only we would open up to let God affect us like that every week when we gathered with other believers.
I agree. We more of this being “affected” deeply on a regular basis. I wonder if this being offended was more about the realness driving the consequences of the our sin too close to home….