Go deeper with others.

For a month or so we’ve been talking about spiritual awakening and have been telling the story of the awakening that took place in Falmouth beginning in 1809. This week we look at a specific family that was influenced by – and then influenced – that awakening, Suzanna Fish and her husband Thomas. Suzanna was deeply worried about being “good enough” to be a Christian, which brings up the question: how good is “good enough” – and how can I know if I am? How can I have peace about my relationship with God?

One of the surprising things about studying the Awakening of 1809 is how the strong faith of the Pilgrims and Puritans in New England had waned so much in just a few generations that it needed to be “awakened.” But this truth holds: that, over time, faith rises and falls in nations, in churches, and even in our own lives – and it requires awakening, renewal and revival. But make no mistake; those who are “awakened” will face opposition – because, as it turns out, there is a cost of awakening and following Jesus.

We’ve been talking about history – history that happened right here on Cape Cod in the early 1800s. Which is kind of odd, perhaps, since we’re a fairly “modern” church. But as the saying goes, “those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it” – and there are many great lessons from the story of the Awakening of 1809 – lessons about how awakening happens – that we can learn from.