This Sunday BE the Church in light of the Corona Virus

For months now we’ve been doing “This Sunday at Church” every Sunday.  I realize that some churches today are not open though they will be live-streaming because of the Corona Virus situation.  So today’s I want to encourage you to do something different: This Sunday BE the Church in light of the Corona Virus.

I realize there’s a lot of disagreement among Christians of how to respond.  Some think we shouldn’t have service to “flatten the curve” with the virus.  Some think we should have service.  I enjoyed this nuanced discussion from Steve Hays here.   Personally I”m preaching tomorrow but don’t know if it’s none, one, some or a ton, going to preach as always about the Son.  Whether or not you will have live service or stream online is not my focus for this post for this post.

For this Sunday besides besides being in your bunker BE the Church in light of the Corona Virus.

For starters reach out to others in the Church.  It is easy after not going to church for a few weeks for some to stray away from the Lord (humanly speaking).  Don’t be content with merely watching a livestream as “church.”  Ask people how are they doing.  Call on the phone those who are seniors in your church.  Text and message those who are younger in the Church.  This is a great time to talk about things that matter: Life, death, sickness, health, eternity, God, Jesus, grace, love, the Word, etc.

If someone’s more worried than you are about the worries with the Corona Virus don’t mock them.  Now is the time to minister to them.  Think of any of your own fears and worries to slow down your emotions when you react to someone who seems to over-react to this virus.  Go over the topic of worrying biblically.  Shameless plug: Feel free to use my outlines Quick Devotional on Worry and Quick Devotional on Worry 2.  Also before you react to someone whom you think is taking this less serious than you do think about times you misjudge a situation as well to slow down any negative reaction.

Pray with others.  Here are Ways to Pray for the COVID-19 Situation.

This is also a good time to also reach those outside the church to see how they are doing.

It seems from WordPress and social media that people all around the world is outrageously stocking up.  My sister shared an idea with me tonight: Why won’t we as a church see if we can help older members out by offering to buy groceries for them?  We can add to the list those who are sick, have weak immune system, etc.  We all have seen and heard about people hording water, toilet paper and food.  We might even react strongly about their selfishness and even laugh at them on the side line that its silly and then lament how what these vultures are also hurting us with our own supplies of those goods.  But let’s help those who are most vulnerable among us by going out of the way and navigate the groceries filled with people and supplies and brave the long lines to the counter for the sake of loving one another.  Do this that way it might help minimize some risk older people might face if they went shopping on their own.  Maybe even consider paying for the groceries of those who are going through a hard time right now with jobs taking a break and everything shut down.  This might even be more important as people have to self-quarantine themselves because they have the virus or as a precaution because they might have the virus.

Some of you reading this might think you want to be zealous for Jesus and want to die on the missions field but can’t even show up to church for weeks ago already practicing anti-social distancing.  So buying groceries for the elderly or the sick is too risky; but what makes you think you will risk your neck and life for Jesus in a foreign land all alone in the hands of an enemy of Jesus?  Remember Jesus taught us faithful in little, faithful in much.  Or you say you will definitely risk it all for Jesus overseas because its for God.  But isn’t buying groceries for others for God too?  Or maybe some want to do “risky” things isn’t because its risky but because its the honor associated with that risk.  Its cool to risk your life in a foreign land or at least its seen by the church as honorable.  But risking your life on a Sunday afternoon at the groceries picking up a disease might seem rather shameful.  If that describes you, you really have to meditate on what it means that Jesus bore our shame on the Cross.  That’s our Master and what makes us think we are above Him?  We are His body and we know what happened to Christ’s body on the Cross.  He offered up His body to die for our sins so that we can be His “Body,” the Church, to serve Him and serve others for His glory.