Church family,

I pray that your week is blessed! I missed being with you this past Sunday, and I am thankful for Pastor Kenny for coming and preaching in my absence. I am thankful for the opportunity to be with our youth this past weekend at their conference. The Lord moved in a mighty way in our youth, and they had an amazing time. Our youth were encouraged to make Christ the center of their lives and many of them made just that commitment.

The weather could be very icy and snowy this coming weekend. The plan for Sunday is to make a call on Saturday morning about whether to have services due to the weather. We will be sharing this through calling posts and on social media. If the service is cancelled, we will still be streaming the sermon that morning. We have decided to move the administrative council meeting to February 1 at 4 pm in the Family Life Center.

I loved the heart of the message this past Sunday. The key thought of the sermon this past Sunday was: How do people “find” Jesus?

Kenny reminded us that often, we hesitate to acknowledge our own lostness, but the truth is that it is Jesus who ultimately "finds" us. There are three primary ways in which we are found by Him:

Through a dramatic act of revelation that opens our hearts to His presence.

  1. Through the witness of others who share their faith and experiences.

  2. While living a Christian life that reflects His teachings.

In many instances, God employs all these methods to guide us toward Him. As the church, we have been entrusted with the vital responsibility of helping others to be “found” by Jesus, as outlined in Matthew 28:18-20.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

This leads us to two important questions to reflect upon:

Has Jesus found me?

Am I actively participating in helping Jesus find others?

These questions challenge us to evaluate our own faith journey and our role in the mission of the church. Let us actively participate in the great commission daily in our lives.

Blessings,

Pastor Brandon