I’m not a doctor who can prescribe medication for your body, but as a pastor, I hope you will take seri-ously my prescription for your spiritual health. Whether you are feeling rundown, overwhelmed, anxious, hopeful, content or at peace, let me encourage you to spend more time in God’s word where you will find help and healing for your soul.
We believe in the wisdom, authority and life-changing truth of scripture. In the Bible, we find the story of God’s redeeming work through Jesus Christ. We find wisdom for how best to lead our lives. We find in-struction on how to pray, worship and honor God. We find reasons for hope through hardship. We find pur-pose for this life and assurance for eternity. In all these ways, God’s word fills us with what we need to survive and to thrive each day. “All Scripture is God-breathed,” Paul wrote, “and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and train-ing in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
As we head into the fall ministry season, I hope you will make time in your weekly schedule to study God’s word alongside other believers. The week after Labor Day, three fruitful ministries will resume, and each will help those who attend to take God’s truth into our hearts where, by the Spirit’s power, it can do the vital work of transforming us to be like Jesus and equipping us “for every good work.”
Women’s Fellowship meets Tuesday mornings at 9:30. This fall, the group will continue watching and discussing The Chosen, a cinematic presentation of Jesus’ story. In addition to learning about Jesus’ life and message, this gathering is a time to encourage and pray for one another.
I lead the Pastor’s Bible Study on Thursday mornings at 10:30. We will begin a new series in Ephe-sians, followed later in the fall by a study of Luke’s Gospel. Each week, we read together through a portion of scripture and discuss what it means for our faith and our daily lives.
Sunday School meets each week at 9:00 before worship. This fall, the group will be led by church members are gifted teachers and who love God’s word. In September, we will focus on global and local mis-sions. Beginning in October, we will learn about spiritual gifts and how to put them to use in the church. Later in the fall, we will discuss strategies for sharing our faith, and as we near Christmas, we will talk about Jesus’ coming.
I know some of our church family are unable to attend these ministries. If that’s true for you, let me encourage you to do two things. First, set aside time each day to open God’s word. Read through a book of the Bible or use a devotional resource or follow whatever pattern of scripture reading appeals most to you. Make feeding on God’s word a habit. Second, when questions or new insights arise, share them with someone in the church, maybe even me.
My hope is to see everyone in the church grow in faith as we read and discuss God’s word. The Spirit reveals truth to each of us, and as we open the Bible together we will find fresh insights and reaffirm what we know to be true about our Savior and His redeeming work in our lives. I hope you will share the wisdom of your heart and benefit from what others in the church have to offer.
