I have a T-shirt with a picture of the old Seattle Kingdome printed on it. For years the Kingdome was the house of the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners. Every time I put on that T-shirt, I have fond memories of watching many a Mariners game there as a child, teen and young adult, before they imploded it to build two new stadiums. One of my most vivid memories is when I was a young boy going to a game with my dad. We would walk the concourse for a bit to look at the souvenirs and buy some snacks. Then...we would make our way to the tunnel, which would lead us to our seats.

Walking through that tunnel always caused me to suddenly feel like I was going to erupt with a sense of expectancy!  Expecting to see the inside of the massive dome, and the players scattered around the field warming up.

Every single time I walked through that tunnel, I expected the excitement of seeing real professional baseball players play the game I loved so much!

When it comes to entering Church and a worship service, I want the same kind of expectancy. The knowing that I am about to enter into a time and space where I can meet with God through music, prayer, scriptures and the community of believers. But the struggle is, all too often, I walk into Church like any other building, or room and forget that there’s something meaningful, empowering and life changing fully accessible to me.

We all have our reasons for why we fail to come to church with an expectancy to experience the presence of God, but the truth is...it’s our expectancy that often makes, or breaks our experience.

This weekend, I have the privilege of teaching with our worship pastor, Eliot Stone. Together, we will talk about more about the value of worshipping together as a community and why our expectancy matters. We hope you’ll join us this weekend!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex