I don’t know about you, but this kind of looks like our summer….. dry, hot, with a road that seems impassible. The sands keep shifting and we don’t know what is coming next or how we’ll get to the next place we need to be. We’ve not been able to meet in person for so long, the road ahead just stretches beyond our vision.
By now you have received a letter and/or the email with the good news that we are beginning the process for opening the church building to in-person meetings! Do I hear an AMEN? Or, maybe a hearty “WOOOO HOOO!”
It seems fitting to me that fall is here (whatever that means in Sun City) and as the song goes, A Change in the Air by Clint Black, It takes me back to all the times I’ve been here before But crossroads, old familiar signs tell me there’s something more.
Isaiah 43:19 reads, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Even in the midst of the pandemic, I believe God has been at work in some remarkable ways. Our online presence and viewers of worship and other videos has grown tremendously both locally and across the nation. People have received Christ as Lord, renewed faith, and hope projected into the lives of people who have been quarantined for months. We are seeing new small groups of neighbors and friends gathering to worship together.
I hope those small groups continue. I hope that we don’t lose momentum in reaching out to the lonely, discouraged, hurting. I hope that we don’t become complacent to the simple gift of being together. Most of all, I hope that you continue to grow in faith, never losing hope in the faithfulness of our steadfast God.
Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
The sands may come and go, the road may become impassible, but as Psalm 18 reminds us, we have a rock to hold onto, the Lord is our rock, our fortress and we can take shelter in the shadow of his protection. As we progress in the weeks to come, we shall rejoice as we gather but let us not put out the flame of new beginnings God has lit during this time. Keep on meeting together, reaching out to one another, loving on one another, and building the kingdom. I think that’s called being the church and you are awesome!
With love and grace, Pastor John
