Michael, called by the will of God to be a minister of Christ Jesus, to the church of God that is in Brownsville, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus…
Wow! We just don’t start letters like that anymore. We started reading 1 Corinthians in our daily reading today, and the way Paul starts the letter got my attention. Even though we find out later in his letter that the church in Corinth had a lot of problems, he reminds them from the very beginning of who he is as God’s servant, who they are in Christ, and what the Lord has provided to them by His grace. While we want to guard against sounding too “super-spiritual” or overly pious, I wonder if we would benefit from more of such reminders in our communication with one another in the body of Christ. Just a thought!
This Sunday, we will be in Revelation 18, “Babylon the Fallen.” After this chapter we will really turn a corner in our Revelation study. Our hopes for Christ’s return and the kingdom of God to come in all its glory, will soon be revealed. But we need to see the fulfillment of prophecy regarding the downfall of Babylon. I again encourage you to read Rev. 18 before we meet together on Sunday. I also intend to share a number of cross-references from Jeremiah 50 and 51, so if you want to do a little extra in preparation for the sermon, you may want to read those chapters as well (those using the Bible reading plan read those on Aug. 21-22, but if you’re like me, it doesn’t take long to forget what we read!). In the midst of the report of Babylon’s destruction, there is an interesting command in verse 4. See if you can understand what the readers of Revelation are being told to do, and how it might relate to us as Christians as described in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
On Sunday we will be having a time of prayer and dedication of Lisl Ruckert, as she prepares to head off to training for ministry in the middle east. Please join us in upholding her in prayer!
I will be doing a membership class in October (exact date to be determined). A few of you have expressed interest in membership. If you’d like to participate in the class, which will be a Sunday afternoon for 3 hours, please let me know.
We also are planning for a baptism service in October. There will be classes for kids on baptism Sept. 13, 20, 27, and Oct. 4. Please let me or Alice Tetamore or Doris Trimble know if you have a child interested in baptism. Adults who have yet to be baptized – this would be a great time to let me know you are ready!
1 Cor. 1:30 – And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption…
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael