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Worship September 2017

Church Family,

I hope this month finds you well as we are heading into the Fall season. It’s been a great season of ministry, and I am thankful to God for how He continues to move in our lives and our church! On a personal note, I want to thank you all for praying for Annaclaire and I as we have welcomed our new daughter, Presley, into the world. She is now  approaching two months of age, and she is so loved! We want to thank you for loving our family so well through this season. We are so thankful that Presley has this church family to grow up with, and we know she will be raised up in the Lord, to know Him and to know His love for her. Thank you all for every meal you made, every kind of word, and every prayer. We are so grateful!

On another note, I must confess, being a father is not as easy as I thought it would be. I knew there would be challenges, and I knew there would be hurdles, but just like every father, I want to be the perfect father for my daughter! I never want to mess up. I want to be there every second, doing exactly what I need to do in order to take care of her. Before she was born, I told myself I would demand perfection from  myself. She deserved for me to be perfect. So how do you think this worked out? I’ll tell you - the whole idea of being perfect was given up the second I held her. I figured out quickly, and I know now, that I cannot be perfect. I will do everything I possibly can, to be the best father I can be, but I am not perfect. I will mess up. Our daughter will cry, and as much as I want to fix it immediately, there’s not always much I can do. Sometimes all I can do is hold her close, let her cry, and do my best to comfort her. After all, she is a baby who hasn’t quite learned how to control her emotions yet! And as I think about perfection, and how far away I am from being perfect on every level, as a husband, father, friend, pastor, I miss the mark everyday. But I am thankful that I am loved by my Heavenly Father, who is perfect. Our daughter is loved by our Heavenly Father, who is perfect. As I continue to try and be this perfect father, and as I mess up, I want to live my life to point to my heavenly father who is perfect in every way. I want to point to our   Savior, Jesus, who gave himself up for the sins of the world. Jesus is our great High Priest. He is our Good Father. He is our Perfect Savior. So I hope that I can encourage you to understand that you will not be perfect. But you have a Perfect Savior, who is a Good Father. He knows what you need. He provides what you need. So I encourage to live your life, not as one trying to be perfect, but as one who is pointing to a Perfect Savior in Jesus.

Jared

Worship August 2017

Church Family,

         I hope you are having a great ending to your summer, as we look forward to a great Fall season together. One of the things that I love about Fall, is that our Church Family is consistently together! During the summer months, we are so busy with vacation, travel, sports, etc... and these are good things to be valued, but I love being together! So as we turn to a new season of weather, life, and ministry, God has been impressing on my heart the importance of Sunday worship. I know that we get tired, I know that we get busy, but on Sundays, we get to do something that doesn't happen any other day of the week. We get to come together as a faith family, we get to fellowship, we get to lift our voices in song, and we get to dive into the word of God together. We get to do this in freedom, and in joy! As I am reminded of so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that pay a huge price of persecution to worship, people who risk their lives and their families to worship together, we get to come together in freedom to  worship the One who saved us. What a great joy and privilege this is!

As a Church, we aren't perfect. Our lives are messy. One pastor once told me, “If you ever find a perfect church, don’t go there because you will ruin it.” This is true, because there are no perfect churches, and there are no perfect people. We’re all imperfect sinners in need of a perfect savior. Thankfully, God showed His mercy to us by sending Jesus to be our perfect savior. What a joy it is to join in the same room with other imperfect people, other messy people, and other sinners, and lift one voice to a perfect Savior. One of the joys of   being the Worship Pastor here, is that I get to see and hear the sounds of the saints in front of me every Sunday. The voice of the Church is beautiful. No, we all can’t sing well. We all can’t keep melody, rhythm, etc.  But when we are together, the sound of the saints is a glorious sound. It’s one worth sacrificing your time and schedule to be a part of.

So this Sunday, next Sunday, and even the Sunday after that - make it a priority to be at Church with your family. Lean into the joy of God, and join in with the sounds of the Saints. There is nothing like being in the presence of the Church in the presence of God. I love you all. I love worshipping with you.

In Christ,

Jared