Dear Brothers and Sisters in Messiah,
We were all sad to hear of the passing of Cheryl Spry this past week. Please be praying for her family at this time. Also pray for Claudyne who is in the hospital in Wausau.
The colors are a bit past their peak, the hills kind of look “overdone.” Still, there are many beautiful trees around. The yellows seem to have taken the place of the reds, and when the sun is shining on them, they can be quite brilliant. This morning it is raining quite hard along with some lightening and thunder. We will soon be into the brown time of year…the wait for the white has begun.
Saturday, we had an event for the youth group, sponsored by Dare2Share. There were 6 guys that attended; two of them were regular attenders…four were new. Of those 4, two of them appear to have trusted Jesus as their Savior. It was exciting to watch God work in their lives in many different ways through the day. Please be praying for all of these guys that God will continue to work in their lives, and for Doug as he leads them.
Part of our elders meeting Sunday focused on a new program we are looking to start in January; we are calling it DO OVER. We are going to be reaching out to our community encouraging them to consider a DO OVER in regard to past, possibly negative, experiences they have had with the organized church. Our goal will be to present the truth of God’s word in a clearer light and encourage them to consider a DO OVER in regard to considering a relationship with God. Please pray for wisdom as we seek to reach out to our community with the truth of God’s word.
Sunday’s message from 2 Peter 3:10-15 focused on how our lives should be affected knowing the truth of Jesus’ return. False teachers often distort Jesus’ return, either denying that it will happen or making major distortions regarding when it will happen, and other things connected with it. We are not told in Scripture the specific time of His return; we are told to always be ready for it. Knowing this…every part of our lives should focus on this, be changed by this. Knowing the inevitability of this glorious and wonderful event, when Jesus will ultimately rule in complete righteousness, we should be eagerly looking for this day and living our lives in such a way as to show the world the truth and reality of His inevitable return and judgment of the world.
By God’s Amazing Grace,
Pastor Kevin Hausman