Today's Sing the Unsung shout-out goes to Pastor Scott of FPCOS. With his passion, clarity, and…read morepreaching gifts and technique (both of which draw inspiration from, and invite comparison to, the likes of George Herbert and Calvin), he helps you access, think about -- and have a better shot at encountering -- the Divine. What happens here on Sundays is special. It's contemporary and timely, but also tapping into that which is timeless. And that takes talent.
A few other highlights of this church:
* The physical church compound is flat-out beautiful. One of the gems of the South. A place where you are equally likely to brush up against both Spanish moss and the Holy Spirit.
* Pastor Scott stands as a relatable example of what a man looks like when he is knee-deep in his Calling. You can't help but feel happy for him, as it seems he knows what he's here on Earth to do. That's why it was pretty fitting last Sunday when his sermon touched on the idea of exploring our raison d'etre. I've been moved on many occasions here at FPCOS, and it's in large part because, as I partake in the service, I realize I have not fully connected to my raison d'etre, and need to. But this church helps you understand that you still can, and will, access your God-given calling, an exercise which seems to be one of the great gifts of the Presbyterians -- seeing as how their version of calling and vocation has so much to do with being Christ-like and generous to the rest of humanity.
* Another cool thing the sermons here do is trigger insight into current social phenomena... some innocuous, some less so. As you're driving home, what you've grappled with and learned in church moves gears in your mind. Here's one thing I thought of recently... a lot of phrases enter our vernacular, and they seem nifty. But then you realize their origins were less warm and fuzzy. Take "divide and conquer: nowadays, it's a good thing, a concept tied to time management and coordinated, collaborative specialization. But divide and conquer is also what the forces of darkness want to do to the faithful. Read Jude.
* Here, you might even stand a chance of being blessed. But maybe not the way in you expect.
Did you know "blessed" is from the same root as "eulogy"? To be blessed is to be well-spoken-of. Greek etymologies bubble up in Scott's sermons naturally, and help the Word effervesce.
But that isn't the deeper point behind being blessed. Think Ephesians -- Paul writing to the teachers and saints in the church he helped found there. He tells them we are blessed already, through Christ, in the heavenly sphere.
Surprise. The heavenly sphere is not a realm up in the clouds. It's here. The unseen spiritual dimension all around us.
Scott's good at illustrative parallels. When you breathe, do you see the oxygen going in, or the carbon dioxide going out? No. So how do we know it's there? Science tells us.
The same thing's at work with faith. Faith makes known the unseen in the spiritual realm. The blessings of divine oxygen can be understood and maybe trusted due to faith. Even though we don't see them.
And that's the blessing to be grateful for. God knowing us "before Genesis one one," as Scott put it. God holding us and envisioning us blameless and saved and embraced and loved as an adopted son or daughter. That's the blessing to be grateful for. The unseen one. We should hold loosely the blessings of money or food. But we should focus on the unseen blessings of the heavenly sphere, that faith helps us see.
Scott helps, too.
