Mark 2:3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
One of the great stories of evangelism points to the barriers that a crowd can present. The paralytic�s friends climbed to the rooftop, dismantled the roofing and lowered their friend to be blessed by Jesus. Today we want to bring our friends to Jesus. But recently when one of our deacons invited a newcomer to the area he was told, �We have heard about your overcrowding problems and we don't want to get into that�we�ll look somewhere else.� Another young mother who has visited us on a consistent basis has recently stopped coming because in her words she does not know whether or not there will be a seat for her and her children. Another family visiting with us two weeks ago was being seated by one of our ushers and when the usher turned to show them a seat, they were walking out the door to their car. An auditorium filled to capacity isn�t inviting. It is a barrier to bring folks to the Lord. Many may read this and say that you would never let a full auditorium stop you from worshipping, but you are not them. You may feel at home here. You may feel convicted to worship no matter what the discomfort level. We want to continue to be a congregation that reaches out to the weak, discouraged, and hurting. We want those paralyzed in sin to find Jesus at MJ. We want our members to know they can bring their friends without having to lower them through the roof. We want to be like our Lord and see individuals as souls. This church is in the present state because her elders and members see the importance of souls. They obey the great commission. The rule of thumb remains true, the next person baptized here will have visited first! The most recent decision of two services hinges on our commitment to reach the lost. Understand that precautions and exciting plans are being made to advance the cause of Christ. The same sermon, same song director, and same songs will be at each service. The opportunity for you to be with the whole church will still be available the other three times a week�both classes and Sunday p.m. If having two services each Sunday makes room for more to hear the Lord�may God prosper this decision! The paralytic wouldn�t have made it to Jesus if he had not had friends to help him cross that barrier. Let�s prayerfully, faithfully, and optimistically consider the two services as something we can do to help more be brought to the Lord.