SOMEDAY I WILL RULE YOU ALL

That's what the Foxtrot cartoon said today, in Morse Code. I was silly enough to transcribe it.

Ye Olde Froute Dyit has been discontinued. On Saturday I was at a fencing tournament, and didn't have time to plan for lunch so I ate whatever was at the concession stand (free food for the coaches! Yay). The barbecued chicken sandwich was lovely, but it made my gallbladder hurt (I think), so Dad is wondering if my problems aren't with my kidneys, but my gallbladder. I don't know, but it's an idea that hadn't occured yet! Perhaps my Doc will have a more informed opinion.

In other news, I'd like to start a new habit in which I discipline myself to put my thoughts during the Sunday sermon on my blog. Often, one or two points will hit me particularly accurately, and by reviewing them here, I might remember them more. Ergo, the majority of this post.

Mike Pierson taught a sermon on Fellowship, and used the text of Hebrews 10:19-25. I have wonderful fellowship with church members, though conversation is not always deep. (why is it that I can have IM convos that last 'til 3 AM about theology, but I can't open up in face-to-face conversations and get personal? John, how do you ask meaningful questions? You do a good job of that.) As a result, I was thinking about this during the sermon and trying to pick up on things that would help me develop friendships that went beyond common interests. Here's what I came up with:

• We are called to fellowship. Through Christ's crucifixion, we have been united with him. But, through that unification, we have also been united with each other. Fellowship is the lifeblood of the church-without enough of it, the church would suffer and rot.
  
• A purpose of fellowship is to provoke one another to repentance (see v. 24). Repentance is not always a pleasant thing, but without it, how could we fully experience God's grace? This is one way that I can be a means of God's grace for my friends, and they for me, so I need not fear it.
• God gives us grace to sustain fellowship, even during conflict. I have experienced this recently. Some of my friends resolved conflict in such a way that it built each other up, and I had never experienced that before! Conflict in the past has been immediately destructive, though it might have borne fruit later. I'd always been afraid of conflict as a result, and by seeing these friends work through their conflict, God's grace was revealed in a way that astonished me and made my heart glad.
  
• Jesus listed the most important commandment as loving God. However, he listed loving other people right alongside that commandment because it was so significant.
• Verse 24: The word "consider" is synonymous with "strategize." Fellowship happens spontaneously, yes, but be purposeful when fellowshipping. Fellowship is a lifestyle, not an event.

This sermon brought up a question: Can fellowship happen by means of blogs? I keep track of several friends by their blogs, and hope that the comments I leave might have some significance, and the comments they leave on my blog are significant to me. What do you think? (Significant comments only, please...just kidding :-) )