Hey friends,
I hope you have been having a great week so far. Despite the inconveniences and tensions around covid and masks and passports and vaccines, our Lord is still in control and, as people of faith, we can trust Him. We don’t have to panic. We don’t have to complain. We don’t have to rage. He isn’t doing any of those things, so let’s take our cues from Him.
This isn’t the first pandemic to strike humankind; there have been many. It is the first that we have experienced. Again, as people of faith, I would like us to be exemplary in how we handle it. We are the light of the world. We represent our Lord Jesus Christ. We are His ambassadors. What will people learn about Jesus by watching our lives and the way we handle these very difficult days?
Will they see that Jesus is kind?
Will they see that He is patient?
Will they see that He is concerned about an eternal kingdom?
Will they see that God is love?
The verses I am learning this week from Ephesians 4 have high relevance to how the church must be during times of tension and struggle.
There is one body and one Spirit; just as you were called to one hope when you were called. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
That is why Paul tells us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
I believe that this pandemic will be in our rear-view mirror soon enough and I would like to know that we exemplified Jesus well.
We stood by each other.
We loved those who disagreed with us.
We kept the spirit of peace amongst us.
We prayed for each other.
May God have His way amongst us, maturing us and making us more like His glorious Son, Jesus!
I am looking forward to being together this weekend. We will be looking at the third part of our mission statement in our “It’s Not All About Me” series. This week, I will be preaching on being compassionate to those in need.
You will need to sign up again and wear masks for this weekend. It is an inconvenience for sure, but at least it’s bearable. If you can’t make it to the live services, then please join us online at www.alliancecommunity.ca.
On Monday night, we will be having a worship and prayer night at the church at 7pm. I hope you can come. There has always been a sense of God’s presence when we meet, and, if you are seeking more of Him and want to experience more of Him, this might be the perfect place for you to be!
Love you guys and am proud of you. God is doing a great work at ACC and I don’t want you to miss out on any of it.
Love being your pastor.
Pastor Tim
