Pastor's Points January 2017
Dear Church Family,
As we enter a new year my main prayer for us is that we can get “Back to Basics.” By that, I mean to focus on the main thing that we have been called to as followers of Jesus. Of course, I am speaking of the call to make disciples.
Jesus gave us this task right before He left this earth (Matthew 28:18-20) and it is a task that is still not completed. So many things push in on us in life and if we are not careful we find ourselves doing a lot of things other than the main thing we have been called to. I know as your pastor that God is calling us to rededicate ourselves to the task of making disciples.
Each of us must invest in ourselves and grow in our own personal walks with the Lord, but that is not the only dynamic of making disciples. We are called to invest in the life of others. We need to do life together as the body of Christ, as a church family!! We all need to be invested in and we need to invest in others as well. In my message on January 1st, I laid out an overview of the importance of this process. We considered the earthly ministry of Jesus, as well as instruction that the Apostle Paul gave to his young son in the faith, Timothy. Those truths are the foundation of where we are going as a church in discipleship. I would encourage you to go online and listen to that message if you were not in worship on January 1st.
Over the next several Sundays I am going to be speaking on this topic as we consider the importance of making disciples; getting “Back to Basics.” Four words will be used over the next weeks for us to really consider how we are going to make more followers of Jesus. Behold, Belong, Become, and Beyond. Make sure to be in worship as we consider what I am calling “The Disciples Declaration.” As followers of Jesus we need to declare: I am going to Behold, I am going to Belong, I am going to Become, and I am going Beyond.
2016 has come and gone with all its joys, challenges, blessings, and hardships. It is now 2017 and we must look forward to what God has for us to do for His glory!! I believe with my whole heart He would have us to get “Back to Basics” and make disciples who will in turn make disciples and take the gospel around the world all for His
glory!!! Let’s get to it!!!
I love you and I love being your pastor!