FROM PASTOR TIM:
Thank you all for your meaningful feedback from Sunday’s message. Many were encouraged, reminded and convicted of the truth that enduring in faith will not be easy over the course of our lifetime. It was not meant to be easy.
One saint commented that since we know enduring in the faith will be an agonizing fight to the finish, we should approach our lives with that truth. She
compared a Christian who is not mindful of that agony to a soldier who walks into battle unprepared for conflict.
Great point! When a soldier goes into battle, they fully expect there to be death, injuries, discomfort, hunger, mental anguish and every other manner of suffering that one can imagine. And yet, soldiers are called to endure for the sake of their own mortality, for the sake of those in their unit, and for the sake of their mission.
What a great analogy. We, as Christians, who are called to follow Jesus MUST know that a lifetime of faith will entail suffering for the sake of Jesus, who offered His good confession before the Jewish and Roman rulers of the world that He is the Messiah. He confessed who He was before the religious and political elite, both of whom had a disproportionate influence over His life.
So…let’s walk into each day prepared for a struggle for the faith. And for the sake of our own salvation, the salvation of those in the church, and for the glory of Jesus our Messiah; let’s press on knowing that Jesus has gone before us.
Agonizing with you for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel,
Rescued by Christ,
Pastor Tim
SERMON: PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE DEPOSIT ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH
