God Sees What Can Be

Dear Friends in Christ,

For the past few months, Amy and I have been looking forward to being part of Stonebridge UMC. We have most of the boxes unpacked in our home just minutes away from the church. The time has finally come for us to get started. We are excited!

I have already had the opportunity to meet some of you and look forward to the opportunity for us to get to know each other. With each person that I have met, my anticipation of being your pastor grows as I see the love you have for this church. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for Stonebridge UMC as we join your efforts to bring the Gospel of Jesus to this community. 

For the next few Sundays, I will be preaching a series of sermons called “The Starting Place”. In these sermons, I want to share with you some of my own faith journey and what I believe is at the core of the Gospel message. 

This Sunday, I will focus on the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. This miracle shows us what can happen when we put what we have in the hands of Jesus. The primary focus of the story is on Jesus’ miracle of multiplications as the Christ responds to the needs of the hungry crowd. But I want to focus on the boy who offers his lunch to Jesus. Can you imagine the joy and excitement this boy must have felt when he saw what Jesus did with what he had to offer? 

I believe that God smiles when we put our lives in the Master’s hands. In that moment we experience the joy of being all that God created us to be. The problem for most of us is that we see the obstacles and barriers. God sees the possibilities and opportunities. We see the limits of this life. God sees the potential. We see what has been. God sees what can be. 

I look forward to seeing you and meeting you on Sunday. Maybe… just maybe… as we worship, God will give us a glimpse of the possibilities of continuing to make Stonebridge UMC “the most joyous place on earth”. 

See you Sunday. Invite a friend. 

Pastor John Allen