Remember the mirror? How God's Word is a mirror for each of us individually? Remember how much courage it takes to stand there, allowing God to show you what needs to be changed? Well, did you ever think that maybe churches need mirrors as well? We have come to a short passage where we get to hold a mirror up to us as members of a church body.

It's amazing how many different experiences people have when they start connecting to a church. I believe people tend to show up when they are genuinely seeking some sort of spiritual fulfillment. Maybe they're coming back after a long absence. Maybe they're at a stage of life when it's important to them to raise the children in a church. Some folks are just connection-less and are seeking what's missing in their lives.

And so they come - for various reasons…and what they find in the gathering of the people of God is sometimes good - and sometimes shockingly bad! Especially if their interest is, as I said, genuine; they are REALLY looking for a place where they can ask questions, find some answers, and find a group of grace-filled people who are willing to share the journey with them.

And what they find, again, amazes me — both the good and the bad. I'm SO encouraged whenever someone tells me that as they attend PBCC, they're finding it almost like "home." I like that. It was the word I thought of when my dad asked what word would I put up on the outside of our church. And I'm amazed at the openness and welcoming atmosphere that has been created here.

But then I hear of horror stories of churches. People who claim to be religious, and yet don't act ANY different from the people outside the church (and sometimes WORSE!). Folks truly searching for something significant and different sometimes just find the same ol' same ol' - judgmentalism, hypocrisy, isolation, people pretending to have it all together. Not much different from what's out there in the world today, really.

So what are people looking for when they connect with a church community? Are they looking for a place of perfection? Probably not. Are they looking for a place to fake it? I highly doubt it.

I think what MOST people are looking for in a church connection are people who are sincerely making an effort to grow in their faith; people who want to be authentic about their spiritual journeys - weaknesses and quirks and mistakes and all - BUT who are actually finding true, real life-change in a community that is there to help them thrive.

This morning I wanted to use this time together to really highlight the Perspective course coming up in the first part of 2025, and to encourage all of you to prayerfully consider making that gutsy call to step forward and put yourself out there and take the course.

Perspectives is a globally-focused discipleship class that is hosted in churches and universities around the world. It's a 15 week experience that will expand your vision of God and your worldview. And though we typically think Perspectives is this Missions class, it really is one of the best tools for launching folks into ALL SORTS of ministries.

God has a heart for every people group on this planet. Read the Book of Revelation - you'll see that John saw in his vision there around God's throne were people from EVERY tribe, tongue, and nation. How does that happen? Are you one that doesn't even THINK about that? Or one that just presumes that other people are going to get that done?

Perspectives helped me understand why God even WANTS all of that around His throne, and how God has called ME to be a part of seeing that future promise become reality.

What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? Whatever it is, it’s probably the same thing every day. Everybody seems to have their own morning rituals to get them going.

Some part of everybody’s morning ritual is coming face to face with the mirror.

Most of us probably get our first look at ourselves while we’re still pretty scary looking. Our eyes have that bleary, dazed look; hair is sticking out in strange places… Ugh. Not a great experience, right?

Here's the bad thing about mirrors: they're too honest. Unless you have one of those carnival fun-house mirrors that distort things… What you see is what you get!

Mirrors don't flatter, they don't gloss over the junk we have stuck between our teeth or the make-up that's been smudged. They don't try to tell us we look better than we really do. Every wrinkle, gray hair, blemish — they're ALL there staring back at us.

So, the question is…why do we even HAVE mirrors in the bathroom? And why the bathroom???

Well, because as unpleasant as it may be, the reality is: if we DON'T take a look at ourselves and (most of the time) make *some* kind of adjustment (sometimes MAJOR adjustments), then the rest of the world will have to deal with THIS!

And so we figure it's better to face the truth and do what we can to not scare everyone else off!

Today we're looking at a passage in James 1 that likens God's Word to a mirror. Not a mirror for our physical appearance, but a mirror for who we REALLY are, deep down where it really counts.