The movie, “Stranger than Fiction,” begins with this narration:
“This is a story about a man named Harold Crick, and his wristwatch. Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless calculations, and remarkably few words, and his wristwatch said even less. Every weekday for twelve years, Harold would brush each of his 32 teeth, 76 times. 38 times back and forth, 38 times up and down. Every weekday for 12 years, Harold would tie his tie in a single Windsor knot, instead of the double, thereby saving up to 43 seconds. His wristwatch thought the single Windsor made his neck look fat, but said nothing. Every weekday for 12 years, Harold would run at a rate of nearly 57 steps per block for 6 blocks, barely catching the 8:17 Kronecker bus.”
You are probably not quite like Harold Crick but you do have a routine. It’s probably not so much brushing your teeth 76 times as it is following a remarkably similar schedule most of your days and most of your years. As we survey our lives, we realize we are very much defined by our routines.
The Routine of Worship
As we looked at Ezra 3 last Sunday, we discovered the returned exiles getting back into the routine of worship and we considered the effect this had on their neighbors (here’s my idea of what their worship sounded like). One suggestion I made in the sermon was to spend time listening to praise music during the week. I even offered to help you find that music. This list is my attempt to introduce you to music I’ve found useful in praising the Lord during the week.
This Sunday we are moving to Ezra 4 to discover what happens just as the returned exiles start to get into the routine of worship.
The Church’s Routine
Every church has a routine as well. This applies to our yearly calendar as well as our worship services. For example, the Scripture Reading always comes before the sermon. I’m not sure how I missed that on Sunday.
One of our great yearly routines, the annual Lasagna Luncheon, was a huge success once again. The hospitality team of did an incredibly job of getting hot lasagna and fresh salads on all the tables and we were able to bless the Gordon College students that were visiting us.
It looks like we’re going to have some new routines added to the church calendar thanks to the prayerful planning that happened on the women’s retreat. One of those events is a fall hike in Ravenswood on Saturday, October 20th. Check out the full list of events and opportunities that were presented here.
Finally, for couples, the Weekend to Remember is coming to is coming back to Waltham October 26-28. This is a powerful time of encouragement and tools for your relationship. Check out the WTR page on our website to find out more.
In Christ,
Pastor Eric
P.s. If you’ve stayed up at night wondering where Pastor David is, this video will help you get some sleep.