I recently came across “an exact copy of the manuscript for the first sermon delivered at the first worship service our church offered to the Bothell community.” In that sermon, Pastor Floyd Cronkite focused on what might be considered an “ideal church.” He started by talking about the church as God’s household, which he took from 1 Timothy 3:15: “The church is like a family, a household. It is God’s household. God is the head of this house.” That opening sermon has had lasting effects. Emmanuel isn’t big, flashy, or a community organizing hub; Emmanuel is a family. Many people share that they feel comfortable here and appreciate the church’s unpretentious character.

For Pastor Cronkite, the defining characteristic of being a household is that “in all things, we look to the master of the household, to God. . . You seek the will of the head of the household and [God] directs you into a certain specific task.” He emphasizes that this requires a great amount of prayer and discernment. Many of you have recently participated in Community Groups focused on prayer in which we have sought to grow in communion with God and in community with one another. In so doing we are seeking the will of God for the household.

If your household is like mine, there are disagreements, arguments, and challenges as well as games, laughter, and meals shared—all while working together to achieve a shared goal. Households aren’t clean and tidy all the time, literally or figuratively. Family life can get messy. Living together and managing a house takes time, effort, commitment, and prayer. That is, in many ways, what it takes to be the church.

The household of God, a family living together, requires love. I think we do a pretty good job of loving one another. In my estimation, it has something to do with the seeds planted by Pastor Cronkite over 60 years ago and the watering of those seeds that has been done by the people of Emmanuel and its pastors along the way. Most of all, our love for one another is a result of the power and work of the Holy Spirit to bring about growth. It is a love that is not based in affinity but is rather rooted in the love of God for us in Jesus.

May we continue to love one another well, seek God’s will, and grow in grace. May we be a church that is the household of God, filled with hope, that is a refuge and a place of service to one another and our community.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Patrick