called out ones
Dear First Pres Family,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus the Messiah, the one who loves us more than we deserve, and who calls us to serve more than we believe we can.
January continues to bring more of the challenges we’ve seen over the last almost two years. The post-holiday surge has forced us to pull back some of our activities again—the choir is on hiatus until February (at least), and we’ve had to resume some restrictions to public access at the church. If you’re tired of reading that, just imagine how tiresome it is to write!
And yet, this gives me an opportunity to thank you all for how you’ve pulled together during this difficult season—you’ve helped to keep yourselves and each other safe, and for that I’m grateful.
As we reflect on what it means to be the church, both in Sunday messages and in the Mission Study Survey, don’t underestimate the importance of pulling together for a common purpose. With COVID we’ve had to do it to keep safe. But it’s always been at the heart of what defines the church through the ages—pulling together to share the Gospel, to worship as a community, and to serve our neighbors. The Bible’s word for “church” is “ekklesia”, which is the “called out ones”—it could mean draftees into the army.
We are a group of “called out ones”—people God has loved and placed in community with a purpose: to love the God who made us, and to love the people and world God has made.
As you work on your Mission Study Survey and think about what it means for us to be the church together, I hope you’re guided by the sentence I’m using each Sunday.
A healthy church is built on a foundation of Jesus Christ, and expressed through fellowship, worship, discipleship and mission.
May we always remember that, and live it boldly in creative ways!
Blessings to you. Keep yourselves safe and healthy.
Pastor John
PS: The themes for the remaining January Sundays are Fellowship, Worship, Discipleship and Mission. In your groups please look around for what the Bible might teach us about each one of those topics. We’ll start with specific texts again in February.