I hope you had a great summer season. It seems to have flown by, but then again most of the days seem to be moving faster than others. But, the air is finally starting to cool and the fall season is soon upon us. With the coming of fall is the kick off to many of the activities and programs that took a break over the summer. The plans for some of our programs are listed later in the newsletter. Take time to see what we are offering and come and join in where you see called. I also think this is a great time of year to get a restart on other areas of our church life.
During the summer we tend to take off. We have vacations and family to visit and the time gets eaten up by some many great summer activates. There are occasion in all the fun to practice our faith, but many times they are individual or sporadic moments. There is no real cohesion to practicing the faith. I ask you, what are some ways we can put the gospel into action in our lives to have an impact on the people of Carthage? We speak about wanting to have new members and people become part of the church, but what are we willing to do to allow people into our fellowship and introduce them to Jesus?
I realize for many this will seem like a strange question. There was a time in the history of America that we did not need to worry about such questions. There was nothing to draw you away from church activates and it was just expected that people went to church. Unfortunately, this is not the case in today’s society. There are many activates and programs to pull people in many different directions on Sundays and everyday of the week.
Besides the activities that pull people away, questions in many people’s minds have risen as to the relevance of church itself. They believe that one can do just as well in the Christian life not attending a church at all. Now, it is true you can pray and read the Bible very well on your own. The part that is missing is the fellowship and joint learning. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is alone on a few occasions. The majority of the time He is with the community. If being together with people was important for Jesus, who are we to contradict this idea. It is good for people to be together in Christian worship. I even doubt the ability of the individual to have true worship without the community.
The questions facing the church go beyond the desire for fellowship and worship. Many even question the validity of the faith. Many people wonder if all religions point to the same god and they are all different ways to the same result. They also doubt the existence of Jesus. We are challenged to demonstrate the love of Christ in real ways to the people. How else will they come to find Jesus if we are unwilling to show them? SO, we remain at the same question, “How are we going to allow people into our fellowship and introduce them to Jesus?” It is truly a question the implications on the Kingdom of God. I hope you will join me in prayer for direction and answers. This will have implications on a cosmic scale.
During the summer we tend to take off. We have vacations and family to visit and the time gets eaten up by some many great summer activates. There are occasion in all the fun to practice our faith, but many times they are individual or sporadic moments. There is no real cohesion to practicing the faith. I ask you, what are some ways we can put the gospel into action in our lives to have an impact on the people of Carthage? We speak about wanting to have new members and people become part of the church, but what are we willing to do to allow people into our fellowship and introduce them to Jesus?
I realize for many this will seem like a strange question. There was a time in the history of America that we did not need to worry about such questions. There was nothing to draw you away from church activates and it was just expected that people went to church. Unfortunately, this is not the case in today’s society. There are many activates and programs to pull people in many different directions on Sundays and everyday of the week.
Besides the activities that pull people away, questions in many people’s minds have risen as to the relevance of church itself. They believe that one can do just as well in the Christian life not attending a church at all. Now, it is true you can pray and read the Bible very well on your own. The part that is missing is the fellowship and joint learning. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is alone on a few occasions. The majority of the time He is with the community. If being together with people was important for Jesus, who are we to contradict this idea. It is good for people to be together in Christian worship. I even doubt the ability of the individual to have true worship without the community.
The questions facing the church go beyond the desire for fellowship and worship. Many even question the validity of the faith. Many people wonder if all religions point to the same god and they are all different ways to the same result. They also doubt the existence of Jesus. We are challenged to demonstrate the love of Christ in real ways to the people. How else will they come to find Jesus if we are unwilling to show them? SO, we remain at the same question, “How are we going to allow people into our fellowship and introduce them to Jesus?” It is truly a question the implications on the Kingdom of God. I hope you will join me in prayer for direction and answers. This will have implications on a cosmic scale.
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