June marks one year of having served on staff as one of your pastors and I am incredibly thankful for you, church. It has been a year filled with grace, deepened affections, and many answered prayers. Reflecting back, I’ve certainly made plenty of mistakes, learned valuable lessons, and identified areas in need of so much more growth. In all of this though, you have been gracious, kind, patient, and supportive. You all have continually displayed the character of God towards me (and the other elders!) and I want to thank you for that. It is truly a joy to serve you!
As we continue carrying out our mission together of making disciples of Jesus who love God, love people, and help others do the same, the following quote provides a helpful perspective:
“We overestimate what we can accomplish in one year and underestimate
what God can accomplish over five.”
Having a long-term perspective keeps us humble and dependent on God. It keeps us walking in the strength He provides (Isaiah 40:29; Ephesians 3:16) and reminds us to be patient as we wait upon the Lord who is not slow to fulfill His promise (2 Pet. 3:9). Keeping a long-term perspective does not diminish the importance of the short-term, rather it complements it. Knowing the character of God, we trust that even when we may not feel like He is doing much in the present, He is in fact working on something that one day we will realize. If not in this life, than certainly in the life to come.
My prayer for us today is that we can be encouraged by how much God has done over one year and be even more excited as we consider what He will do in our church over the next five! While we are not promised it will be easy, Jesus has promised to be with us. He is fully committed to His Bride, fully committed to our maturity, and therefore we should expect Him to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (Eph. 3:20)! So let’s not overestimate the short-term, nor underestimate the long-term. Rather, let’s behold the beauty of God’s work in both as we seek to faithfully carry out our mission of making disciples of Jesus who love God, love people, and help others do the same.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Paul
June Events
Below are a few things happening within the life of the church to be on the lookout for this month:
PRM - We will serve a meal and conduct a chapel service Sunday June 11th. If you would like to learn more or get involved please reach out to Brent Sanders or Nate Andrew.
Wednesday Evening Fellowship - Wednesday’s at 6:30PM in the Fellowship Hall. Join us for this small group study of “The Gospel Centered Community.” We will learn how the Holy Spirit shapes diverse people into a Christ-centered community that reflects Jesus to a watching world. The Fellowship Hall will be open at 6:00PM for anyone that would like to arrive early (bring your own dinner and eat with others). Also, make a note that for the final Wednesday evening (June 28th) we will meet at King Lincoln Park.
Churchwide Breakfast Fellowship - June 25th at 10AM. Just a reminder we are taking the last Sunday of each month for a time of fellowship. There will be no NEST, HRF Kids, Students, or Adult Institutes class. bring a breakfast item to share!
Men’s Study - Men, save the date for our next study on Monday June 19th at 7PM. Location TBD!