A Message from the Pastor…

Sisters and Brothers in Christ: Continued grace and mercy through God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Brothers and Sisters in Ministry with Me: Grace to you, and peace through God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

In reflecting upon the preaching of the last many weeks, I have gained, I believe, a clearer perspective of how you all must feel hearing so many different concepts and ideas come at you the way they have. What’s being done here is not easy on any of us. These things are often hard to grasp. Given the prisms through which we have generally focused upon and viewed the day-to-day workings of our Christian lives, they are, I am sure, even hard to stomach at times.

But, again, we have been chosen and commissioned to be bearers of God’s good fruit. And the fruit we bear is vital to the health and well-being of all people…not just those of us who sit in the pew on a given Sunday morning. When John declared that “God so loved the world”, he meant it. And when Jesus commanded that we “go and make disciples of all nations”, he meant that too.

There is really too much at stake here for us to continue in our present course. And it’s not the survival of Abiding Savior Church; but rather the sharing of God’s rich and life-changing grace to those around us. The second will take care of the first. Of that I am convinced. But if we don’t carry out the second, the first will become mute indeed.

This is, again, the reasoning behind the recent thrust of preaching. It is true. God has loved you with an unfailing love. And yes, in doing so at the cross, He has most certainly saved you from the ravages of sin and death. For you, having repented and believed in the Savior, Jesus Christ, life is hope-filled and heaven is secure.

But it is clear that God wants this for everyone, and, by extension, so should we. To love God with “All your heart, soul, and mind” must mean that you have bought into His plan and have committed your entire being to bringing that plan to fruition. There is no longer any room, nor any time, for us to be slow in acting. This is the time for us to be “all that we can be”…to take the grace we have received and share it with others. Trust me, please. What’s being asked of you here is not all that difficult. You join me in this…with the sincerest of hearts and intentions…and I promise you…God will do the rest!

Speaking specifically, the plan is this:

Following the pledge from last Sunday, that you do everything in your power to “imitate” Christ in all your daily connections. This would include a friendly countenance, willingness to listen, and offer to pray for whatever is needed.

Standing on the solid foundation of God’s Word, which is Christ, that you not be ashamed to name the name of Jesus in expressing why you are doing what you are doing.

And understanding the crucial nature of remaining relevant to our present culture, that you continue to make your financial support of this ministry a high priority in your budget planning. Lose our church and we lose what makes us physically visible to those we seek to reach and serve.

So, take these, I pray, and join them to this accompanying pledge. May God use it all to do great things amongst us still!

We, as the Church of Christ at Abiding Savior, are prepared to do whatever is necessary to take the transforming power of Jesus to every household in our community, by loving God, loving others, and serving the world. With God’s word as our foundation, we will connect with our community and grow closer together as a family by being relevant to our culture and doing everything with excellence.