Fellow Servants,
I want to take a moment to thank each of you who served our Lord this weekend at our Good Friday and Easter services. It is always such a joy to see our family of believers serve our King shoulder to shoulder and then to watch Him work.
Many of you shared stories with me about how you set your alarms at 10 o’clock to pray; Or about how you reached out to family members, friends, coworkers, or even to complete strangers, inviting them to come and hear the Good News. Yesterday, our pastors were able to co-labor with you by sharing the gospel with those you invited and together we saw God answer our prayers as 99 people responded to an invitation to receive Christ through a profession of faith: forty-nine in our main church services; seven in our Spanish service; forty-one in our children’s ministry; and two in our student ministry. Thank you, Jesus!!!
Today, as I reflect on everything the Lord did, I just wanted to tell you all how truly grateful I am to serve the Lord with you. As I was praying for the words to convey my heart for each of you, the Lord led me to Philippians chapter one where Paul articulates my thoughts perfectly:
“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” (Philippians 1:3-11 NLT)
Serving Him Together,
Pastor Ted