February 2010
“Faith Active in Love”
The title on the page might make you think about Valentine’s Day but it has nothing to do with it. The title on the page is about our life with Jesus. Are we really able to place the Love of Christ “first”?
I think it’s a fair question to ask you. Here’s why…
Then Jesus said to them all, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Here’s where the rubber hits the road as we consider our faith. Jesus says, right there in Luke’s Gospel, that if we want to be his followers we need to deny ourselves and pick up our cross each and every day and go where he goes.
Husband, bring your wife flowers or write her a poem more than once during Lent. That’s a cross for many men that will lead to a marital resurrection. Wife, ask your husband out for a “date” unexpectedly more than once during Lent. Couples and Partners you can also resurrect your relationships through the same expression of Love. Youth, you may not like to do it, but volunteer to baby-sit for those going out on the date more than once over Lent. And remember to do it cheerfully.
Some of you will see the above expression of Love as a hardship and will just ignore the thought. Talk like this does not come as the best of news if we believe that life should be trouble free, devoid of hardship and sacrifice. Something in us wants faith to not be a daily cross but just the opposite, a daily spiritual relief, a security blanket, protection from anything that may harm us. We sometimes believe that faith shouldn’t be anything that we have to work at.
On the contrary, to say, “yes” to the grace God freely gives us is to say “yes” to daily self-denial in order to love others better, and to do this with a certain joy.
Today, make a plan to show a caring love for someone you don’t know very well. Pray for that person, and then give him or her a smile and a kind word. Like Jesus would.
Lent begins February 25, 2009. It is a time for us to reflect on what Jesus means when he says, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
I hope you can experience Faith Active In Love this Lent. Try it for 40 days and see if your life changes because you denied yourself and Loved Christ first. I hope all our families find the love that resurrects the relationships in the home and in the heart of the church… Jesus Christ.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –
not by works, so that no one can Boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
Faithfully Serving,
Pastor Frank
Upcoming Events
Other Information
Did you notice the Prayer Request Box in the gathering space? This box is for notes about your prayer requests, surgeries, procedures or other concerns you would like Pastor Gore to be aware of. Note paper and pen are provided beside the box for your convenience.
Charts for Altar Flowers and Bulletins are on the bulletin board across from the church office. Envelopes are available near the charts for you to use. They may be placed in the church offering. Altar Flowers will cost $35.00 per week.
Donations for bulletins are $15.00 for each Sunday.
Memorial Candles may be sponsored by the month and are $4.00 per Sunday.