A Word form Pastor Stephen – May 4, 2020

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ”. (Philippians 1:3-6 NRSV)

I pray for our church every day. I pray for the people of our church every day. I pray for the individual needs of our congregation when I am aware of them. I am thankful for such a loving and caring church. You look out for the needs of each other and you pray for each other. I feel your prayers for me as well. So like Paul I can wholeheartedly say, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.”

Even though church has paused in many ways, we are still the hands and feet of Jesus. The children and youth continue to meet and interact virtually. Small groups and Bible studies are meeting in the same way. We still gather together on Sunday mornings for online worship. We are collecting food for our local food bank. We are still ministering to our home bound members. We are still responding to needs as they arise. We are still the church.

After all of this is over, we will still have much work to do. Many new needs and opportunities will present themselves for our church to be in ministry. We can work with confidence knowing that “who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” We don’t work alone. We have our constant companion and friend to be with us always. Amen.