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Prayer, Praise and Mission for Opening Day and Beyond

June 17, 2019
Roger Groenboom

The synodical service of prayer and praise was held on Calvin’s campus and hosted by Faith Community CRC.

Tracey DeWeerd

Quoting from the sixth verse of Isaac Watt’s God Our Help in Ages Past, Rev. Roger Groenboom told Synod 2019’s delegates and visitors that the hymn has always reminded him of baseball.

“‘Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day,’” Groenboom, pastor of Faith Community CRC in Wyoming, Mich., quoted during the annual synodical service of prayer and praise. 

“Every time I hear these words, I think about the Chicago Cubs who for decades -- a century plus -- had their dreams of winning anything die on opening day every year.”

He recalled being a child and attending an opening day game at Wrigley field in Chicago in early April. While he had been excited about the game for weeks, and while being at the stadium felt like “coming home” to his childhood self, he soon changed his mind and longed for something else.

“By the third inning we were so cold that we were begging our dads to take us home,” he said about the experience. 

In the same way, he told those in attendance, “we are always looking for a place, aren’t we? And the place we seek is a place called home.”

God wants to be that home for us, he explained, our refuge, our sanctuary, our favourite place.    

Earlier in the service, Synod 2019's president, vice president, and several members from Faith Community CRC, the convening church for this year’s synod, had shared a prayer litany that focused on God being our dwelling place for generations. 

This included God’s faithfulness to Faith Community church, formerly Wyoming Park Christian Reformed Church, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It also included God’s faithfulness over the 160 year history of the Christian Reformed denomination, his faithfulness during the 400 years since the Canons of Dort, and his faithfulness to the church of Jesus Christ throughout the ages. 

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations,” the congregation said in response to each section of that prayer litany.

In his sermon, Groenboom pointed out that despite God’s desire for us to dwell in him, “too often we make our home base somewhere else, and that home place is sin.”

He added that, “The only way we can dwell with the most high is through grace.” 

Jesus became the face of God and dwelt among us, paying the price for our sin and allowing us to once again dwell with God.

“Jesus is the reason you are here,” he told delegates.  “You believe in this same Jesus, who became the face of God, who has turned your life around. It is your story. It is our denomination’s story.”

Groenboom added that the church has been given a mission to share the good news of Jesus with those who haven’t heard it before, and with those who need to hear it again.

“That’s a dream we do not want to let die on opening day or any other day,” he concluded.  

Following the service, delegates spent time attending one of six educational workshops. These workshops focused on church planting, elder training, helping without harming, developing friendships with immigrants and refugees, church renewal, and ministry with and to young adults. 

On Monday morning, the business of synod will continue with plenary session that starts at 8:15 a.m.

For continuous coverage of Synod 2019 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.