|
There is a lot going on in the life of Beulah this coming month. May brings spring fever, yard work, school coming to an end, Mother’s Day, proms, graduations, and so many other things. We are looking forward to the opportunity to leverage these events and activities to advance the kingdom by presenting and representing the good news of the gospel in all our “extra” activities.
We will be highlighting Mother’s Day, Baby Dedication, and Graduation during the next few weeks and we will be hosting a familiar event with a new purpose. On May 27 we will have our First Annual Missions Fundraiser BBQ. This is shaping up to be an extremely exciting and impactful event. As you know, we as a congregation are blessed to have many Ministry Partners, both local and international, that are working daily to evangelize, disciple, and meet the needs of people throughout the world. We are so blessed to be able to come alongside them in their work by praying specifically for them, by financially supporting them, and by physically assisting them. We also have several Community Partners that are important to the overall health of the Lower Richland community. Working with these partners allows us to be a part of the education, safety, well-being, and direction of our community, and most importantly, it gives us the opportunity to build relationships with our community and to engage the gospel message to our friends, family, and neighbors. The Missions Fundraiser BBQ will be an opportunity for us as a congregation to raise money to continue our work and support of these great partners, That day you will definitely enjoy some delicious BBQ, but you will also have the opportunity to meet several of our partners and hear the important work that they are doing and work that we are supporting, There will be a Missions Fair where our partners will interact with you and provide updates and information on their specific ministries. It is an amazing opportunity to have so many of our partners together at one time on our campus. I encourage you to make plans to attend this event and to invite your friends and neighbors to also attend. I mean everyone wants to eat BBQ on Memorial Day weekend, right? I also encourage you to pray concerning your financial contribution and involvement to this effort. The funds raised will be used exclusively to support these partners and the incredible work that they will do throughout the year 2023. I am looking forward to seeing you and your family at this event on Saturday, May 27. 11:00am – 2:00pm Pastor Cameron Listed below are our current Ministry and Community partners. Look through the list and see the variety of ways this congregation is partnered in fulfilling the Great Commission. Click the links to learn more about each partner and discover specific ways to pray for each one. Our Ministry Partners include: Set Free Alliance, Robby & Chrissy (South-Asia), Brian & Cathy Hutchens (Texas), Hans & Brandy Ostrem (FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)- Canada), Pastor James Roy (Bangladesh), Alex & Bethany Tandon (South Africa), A Moment of Hope, Christian Adoption Services , BCM @ USC, Benedict BCM, Operation Christmas Child, Columbia Metro Association, North American Mission Board, and the International Mission Board. Our Community Partners include: Camp Cole Richland District One Schools Local Schools – Horrell Hill Elementary, Hopkins Elementary, Southeast Middle, Hopkins Middle, and Lower Richland High School
0 Comments
Why is it around this time every year we feel an urge to clean? We seem to be hardwired to start cleaning up our yards and our homes just as the weather gets warmer and the grass gets greener. We get rid of the old and replace it with the new? New bushes, new paint, new clothes. The former things are replaced, maybe as a sign that we are longing for what is coming. We are anticipating Spring. Warmer weather, vacations, planting a garden. There is excitement and our lives are altered to prepare. There is a sense of urgency because we know that the newness of Spring is coming.
We are currently in the process of changing our Church Management Software and in order to bring our existing data into the new system, we are having to clean it up. We are having to look through every line and entry to see if it is good data or if it is outdated. We certainly do not want to bring old, out of date, inaccurate data into the new system. If you are still reading, this is where I turn from this pleasant conversation and start meddling in your spiritual life. When is the last time you spent any time looking through your life to see what belonged and what did not belong? My guess is that it has been awhile. The things that are in our Christian lives that do not belong are kind of like the stuff cluttering your closets. We know that it is there, but we have just gotten used to it. It serves no purpose and is only taking up space. As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ in the coming weeks, let me remind you as a believer what scripture says about the junk in your life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Romans 6:4 "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” As believers, we are raised to walk in newness of life. Newness requires space to grow, it requires full faith in the hope of Christ. When you are in Christ, you are given a new identity. You are no longer your own, you belong to Christ. Here is what God declares about you: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9-10 Robert B. Kruschwitz gives this perspective: “Christ’s resurrection guides us into “newness of life,” which is life here and now, but with a new, eschatological dimension. We examine everything we feel, think, and do from a new perspective that takes our present bodies, our resurrectional bodies, and Christ’s body (which is the Church) ever more seriously.” Are you walking in newness of life? Is your full identity in Christ’s death and resurrection? Are you striving to continually identify and evaluate the worldly labels and identities that you are holding on to so tightly? Your life – my life needs a spring cleaning. We are hoarding junk in our lives that is in contradiction to the new life that Christ has called us to. Pastor Cameron Raised to Walk in Newness of Life: Robert B. Kruschwitz; Copyright © 2014 Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University With Easter only a few weeks away, I want to encourage you to earnestly pray for our families, our community, and our world to cling to the salvation that is only available to us through the good news of Jesus! As I write this, I am also preparing for our Wednesday evening Bible study. In Daniel Chapter 9, there is a beautiful payer of confession, petition, and praise. It is Daniel pouring out his heart to God on the behalf of the sinful, unrepentant Jewish people. Not only for the sins and rebellion of the Jewish people but also for his own sinfulness. This is a prelude to the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His arrest and crucifixion. It was Jesus pouring out in anguish and passion a night-long prayer on behalf of not just the Jewish people, or for Himself, but for all the peoples of the world. Just listen to the language of the prayer Daniel prays starting in verse 16: “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Do your prayers sound like this? I must admit that mine do not. I typically find myself praying very selfish prayers that will improve my circumstances, or my health, or my financial situation. Daniel prays scripture. He says back to God the things that God has revealed about Himself and the promises that He has made with His people, Israel. This is how we should pray. We should be so consumed and familiar with God's word that it is natural for us to say back to God what He has already said. To speak the characteristics of God and the will of God for His people reminds us of the sovereignty of God. I ask you to cry out in anguish for your families, for your neighborhoods, for your community, your state, your country, and the world that the truth of the gospel be revealed. Pray for repentance and for faithfulness. Pray that God would be patient, merciful, and gracious to His people, but with the overriding theme: Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done. Pastor Cameron |
Cameron DeBrewLead Pastor, Archives
April 2023
Categories |
RSS Feed
