Celebrating Our Freedom

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

This week is the annual celebration of the Declaration of Independence. As a church we are grateful for the actions of those early patriots that gave us religious freedom. As a result, the church in America has grown and prospered through the years. 

Despite the rise of divisive ideologies, our nation is still the beacon of hope and freedom for the world. As such, we still worship without fear of persecution like much of the world sees. So let us give thanks for the blessings that God continues to offer his people. Let us not take for granted the opportunity to celebrate and worship our Lord. Let us make this time of celebrating our freedom a time for celebrating our freedom to believe and the unity of the Holy Spirit. Let us do all we can to share our prosperity to a world in need. 

Sunday, I will be preaching on the second missionary journey of Paul. The journey turns out to be nothing like Paul had planned but greater than he could have ever imagined. Paul had originally proposed a journey with Barnabas to retrace the first missionary journey visiting the Christian communities that they had started. But the two had a disagreement over whether Barnabas’ cousin, John Mark, would accompany them. Instead, Paul invites Silas, one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church, as a traveling partner. 

Primarily, we will focus on the arrest of Paul and Silas in Philippi. We see how Paul and Silas respond to the unjust persecution by the civil authorities with faith and anticipation of divine intervention. We see how Paul and Silas use this dire situation as an opportunity to share the gospel. 

Are we willing to put all things into the hands of God, to see what God can do? There is power when we praise God in the darkest hour; deliverance when we put the needs of others before our own; and trust in what God can do if we only believe.

One final note… we have had a good response to financing the landscaping and drainage needs of our church. In addition to the early commitments, we have received an additional $8,000 in commitments and gifts. We need $8,000 to $12,000 more to complete the project. Let me know if you can help underwrite this project. Or if you have questions, give me a call or drop me an email. 

See you Sunday. Invite someone to worship as we strive to live and love like Jesus. 

Pastor John Allen