Virtual Services

St. Mary the Virgin, Eccleston. by Geoff Evans is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

Whilst we were going through the Covid 19 pandemic and various lockdowns which meant churches closing doors on a Sunday. A lot of church ministers found they could still do a service virtually with the help of You Tube, Facebook or even the churches website.

I have to say that for the Churches that did it and some of which are still doing it today it was a way of extending the gospel to those that couldn’t or didn’t attend a place of worship before hand.

However since Covid 19 guidelines were lifted and Church doors were opened again, in some cases people who used to be regular ‘Church goers’ have stayed at home and watched the service online.

If you attend a small Church that did this it can affect the congregational attendance.

Don’t get me wrong i’m all for online services if you are ill or for some reason you can’t attend Church. I am also up for using it as an outreach to those that don’t know Christ as their Saviour

Jesus standing at the door

Revelation 3:20 New International Version 

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

O Jesus, thou art standing, Image result for the light of the world
outside the fast closed door,
in lowly patience waiting
to pass the threshold o’er:
shame on us, Christian brothers,
his Name and sign who bear,
O shame, thrice shame upon us,
to keep him standing there!

O Jesus, thou art knocking;
and lo, that hand is scarred,
and thorns thy brow encircle,
and tears thy face have marred:
O love that passeth knowledge,
so patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal,
so fast to bar the gate!

O Jesus, thou art pleading
in accents meek and low,
“I died for you, my children,
and will you treat me so?”
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
we open now the door;
dear Savior, enter, enter,
and leave us never more.

One my favourite pieces of music is ‘The Light of the World’ which depicts Holman Hunts picture of Jesus standing outside a closed door and if you look closely at the door you will see there is no knob on the outside to open the door.