Tough week?  I had a great, but tough week.  I can't wait for worship tomorrow!  What's your attitude about worship tomorrow?  Will you be there?  Will you sleep in?  We're in the middle of 40 Days of Community at New Life and the mantra of the series is "We're better TOGETHER!"  We ARE better together.  That's really true when it comes to worship.  When we gather in Jesus' name to lift up the living God of the universe:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit, having others who share a common faith and purposes in life make such a difference.  If you're just exploring faith, New Life's just the church family for you.  I was talking with someone this week who's considering joining us for worship tomorrow after years away from any local church.  He was positive as we spoke together.  He seemed to be looking forward to joining us, and then he asked, "What is the 'dress code' for your service?"

That's an interesting question, "What's your 'dress code'...."  I know in some churches you won't feel part of the group unless you're dressed for success--business suit, or formal dress.  New Life takes a different approach.  We're casual in our approach to each other and serious in our approach to God.  You'll feel comfortable at New Life whether your accustomed to dressing up for worship, or you wear jeans and a t-shirt.  We don't focus on what folks wear.  We focus on loving Jesus, loving each other and welcoming guests to join us in God's family.

I know you'd expect me to say this, since I'm the lead pastor at New Life, but I love being part of the New Life family!  People are genuinely happy and enthusiastic about being together on Sunday mornings.  Sometimes it's a challenge to get folks away from the fellowship area and into worship, because they're enjoying each other's company.  Then after service, the benediction isn't, "Ladies and gentlemen start your engines," because folks are in such a hurry to leave.  In fact, many times after I've greeted the bulk of folks who have been in worship as they're leaving, I look around and see a number of folks standing around in groups of two or three, or more talking, laughing and enjoying each other's company.  When I go back in the worship area, folks are putting all the equipment away, and working together, mostly with smiles on their faces.

What I'm saying is worshipping together at New Life IS a team sport, and we'd love to have you join us whether you're a regular attender, or are just considering joining us for the first time.  For those of you who haven't been at New Life for a while, the atmosphere is more loving than ever.  We worship at 8:45 and 10:15 a.m. at the South Butler Primary School on Knoch Road, and we hope to see YOU tomorrow!