How contagious is your Jesus?

Hey Friends…
 
Have you infected anyone recently? Being just a couple of years out from a deadly global pandemic, we all might get a little twitchy around terms such as viral, infectious, or contagious. But not everything viral or contagious is negative. In fact, if you share this infection with others, it may be the most life-giving, restorative, and healthy situation you could ever help create. I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below…
 
But first… a MASSIVE Holy Spirit weekend is in store for us…
 
·      Our 24-hour prayer vigil starts TOMORROW at 5:00 p.m. thru Sunday, 5:00 p.m.  Click here to grab one or more 30-minute slots to cover our church in bold prayer.
 
·      Here’s how it works:
 
o   Click here to download a prayer guide. Let’s pray scripture in bold faith over a series of prayer needs that you’ll see in the guide.
 
o   Pray at home, or at the church, or anywhere. You may want to come pray around the church campus, particularly as we seek God for His leadership and provision over our facility expansion needs.
 
o   We will have one or two people at the church throughout the 24-hour period—including the middle of the night. Gordon Albert and several of the Elders will be taking shifts at the facility throughout the 24 hours. Come pray with us! The sanctuary will be open!
 
o   Let us know you’re on the prayer vigil team so we can agree with you in prayer. There is a power in unity and praying with together—even if at a distance (see Matthew 18:19-20). Click here to RSVP!
 
·      Then, join us as we wrap up with a mighty prayer meeting and worship night, THIS Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m.
 
·      AND… during the prayer vigil, we also have an exciting Sunday Morning Worship service planned for 10:00 a.m. We’ll be baptizing three ladies and celebrating our very contagious Jesus. More on this in Deeper Thoughts below.
 
·      AND… our weekly Sunday morning prayer meeting at 9:15 a.m. would be a perfect time to jump in on the prayer vigil. Join us in the sanctuary!
 
·      Don’t forget “The Daily Six”, our 6-minute video released every Monday through Thursday as we study through the Book of Acts together. Click here to sign up for daily reminder emails—or you can just find the videos on our YouTube channel each morning.
 
·      LADIES: Join us for our “Friendsgiving Breakfast”—food, fellowship, games, and fun as we celebrate our many blessings--Saturday, November 23, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Click here for more info and to RSVP!
 
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who are Jesus germaphobes. BUT…
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
Sherri and I still laugh about something we saw early in the coronavirus pandemic.
 
Now, don’t get me wrong. There was nothing funny about that dreadful crisis. Many of us lost friends and loved ones, and the global suffering was great. I lost a dear friend from my aviation days to the disease.
 
But do you remember some of the things we did in our early panic that now in hindsight seem a little silly?
 
One that still makes me giggle is when we finally got the courage to venture outside a couple of weeks into the emergency. It was early springtime, so going down to the C&O Canal National Park near our home and walking the trail in the warm sunshine was quite stress relieving. As we passed others who were doing the same on the 10-foot-wide manicured trail, we all would step way off the path and walk through the brush to avoid each other. OK, that makes sense—a mere 6 feet of social distance was still a little nerve-wracking with this virus we did not yet understand.
 
But here’s the silliness: No one we passed would make any eye contact whatsoever. It’s as if just looking at us was contagious.
 
And it is, you know.
 
Just not with coronavirus. Looking is contagious when it comes to Jesus.
 
Paul and Silas had been beaten within an inch of their lives. The context was pure injustice: Owners of a poor demonically possessed slave girl lost their moneymaker when Paul delivered her from demonism in the power and the name of Jesus. Her spiritual freedom meant her evil owner’s loss of unjust revenue. Enraged, they sought the assistance of the corrupt magistrate who had Paul and Silas stripped, beaten, and severely flogged—all without a trial or actual legal justification. You can read all the gory details in Acts 16:16-24.
 
Flogging is bad enough: thirty-nine lashes with a multi-stranded whip enmeshed with broken glass, bone chips, and nails to inflict maximum damage to the flesh. What is differentiated by “severely flogged” is unknown. It is unquestionable that they were in a lot of pain. Add insult to injury, their feet were fastened in the stocks—another tremendous discomfort that prevented any relaxation of their wounded muscles.
 
Torture is designed—in part—to infect anyone who sees it with paralyzing fear. This is how tyrants have ruled the masses throughout human history. No one wants to experience what they are watching, so they fall into lock-step obedience to the tyrant.
 
The torture of Paul and Silas had the exact opposite effect.
 
When their fellow prisoners saw Paul and Silas worshipping in their terribly injured state, they were captivated.
 
Just looking at them, the inmates unanimously chose Jesus over escape from prison. What they saw were not wounded men. They saw Jesus.
 
Acts 16:25-34 tells of an overnight earthquake that collapsed the prison walls and broke off the prisoners’ chains. This was a divinely timed jail break for any who so desired. Imprisoned men facing terrible punishment don’t often pass up a chance to flee.
 
But the contagion of Paul and Silas’ worship was so infectious that everyone stayed put. No one left. Not one.
 
The jailer was amazed. Assuming he had lost all his prisoners--which in and of itself was a capital crime for a Roman prison warden—he became instantly suicidal. When Paul reassured him that all were still there, rapt in attention at the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the warden became infected too. Before the sun rose that morning, he and his entire household had given themselves to Jesus and been baptized.
 
Friends, how contagious is your Jesus?
 
When people look at your life and how you manage your circumstances and stress, do they see something so supernatural that it drops them to their knees in repentance? When they see the love you have for Jesus and how deeply you cherish him, are they rapt with interest in understanding who Jesus is? Are they drawn to stay right by your side until they can gain this worthy savior for themselves?
 
This Sunday morning, we are going to tell joyful stories of the contagion of Jesus. Three ladies in our church will be confessing their faith through the sacred ritual of baptism. We’ll help them tell their stories of how they caught Jesus—some, in part, through the contagion of you people of Mt. Hope Church.
 
I trust you’ll come hungry to celebrate the wonder and splendor of a Messiah so worthy that those who simply look at us might find him.
 
In the meantime, will you click here to join us in bold prayer throughout Saturday and Sunday?
 
Much love to all… gonna be a great weekend at Mt. Hope!!
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend