Dear members and friends of VP,
There are a great number of things happening at VP. I want to encourage you with a review of things we are doing, why we are doing them, and tell you of an opportunity for a one-day retreat on Saturday, November 5 for all members of VP.
As we transition out of the summer months we have close to 80 children and youth enrolled in our Awana ministry. Although we RECAP have close to 25 volunteers, we still need more volunteers. Awana has also contributed to a growing ministry to families on Sunday mornings. We have over 20 children in our nursery and children’s ministry. There is a growing energy on Sunday mornings for families because of the larger program. Women’s and Men’s ministries are also growing and strong. Valley Park has more options for people to get involved in the ministries of Valley Park than I remember for years.
The majority of ministries we prioritize at Valley Park are efforts to “make disciples” of Jesus Christ. One of the most important commands of Jesus after he rose from the dead was to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). A disciple is a “learner” and the goal of discipleship is therefore bringing people to Jesus so that they will learn to know Him, love Him and serve Him. The majority of Valley Park’s ministry efforts prioritize teaching and learning about Jesus in order to serve Him. It is our primary purpose as a church.
Children’s, cheap jerseys youth and adult ministries are exciting expressions of our Christian commitment. We are ministering to families like never before. In terms of knowing we are doing things pleasing to our Lord and Savior we can be proud.
Another encouraging component of the ministry of Valley Park is the degree to which we exemplify multi-ethnicity and diversity as a united family of God. Our English service on Sundays reflects diversity in multiple ways. We are represented by multiple languages, multiple socio-economic levels, multiple generations, multiple colors and multiple preferences of music style. Why is this honorable to God?
“The most illuminating prayer of Jesus in the New Testament is His prayer for His disciples on the night cheap NFL jerseys before He died.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your in word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may – be sanctified in truth.
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
There are two significant components of Jesus’ prayer:
- His desire to see his followers transformed by their growth in understanding of His revealed will. The life and teaching of Jesus is “truth.” When we learn “truth” we are being “sanctified” 【水野朝陽】「誰にも言っちゃダメよ…」甥の性処理懇願に…授乳手コキ＆優しい騎乗位でオマンコに出させてくれました by Jesus. The word “sanctify” references the way our heart and behavior are changed by our growth in understanding of Jesus. Jesus intends for His followers to be transformed by their time cheap NFL jerseys in learning from Him.
- Likewise, He reveals his desire for all of his followers throughout coming generations to be “one.” The biblical word for being “one” is loaded with meaning. Moses referenced God as “one” when he said “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” ( 6:4). We know that this term is used to describe “unity” rather than “singularity.” It is used to describe the relationship of a man and a woman in Genesis 2:24 when Moses says “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” The relationship between a man and a woman in marriage is intended to reflect the unity of the Godhead. Jesus is using the term to define what he expects from all of his followers in their relationship to Him and each other.
This type of unity between Christians, Jesus says, duplicates the unity between Him and the Father in everything. It permeated everything Jesus said and did. For instance, Jesus said:
“I and the Father are “one.” …If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” John 10:30, 37-38
Jesus lived to know truth, teach truth and do whatever the Father wanted done. Likewise, that kind of unity, when permeating the local church, which is “the Body of Christ,” results not just in fellowship but in shared vision, mission and ministry. Witnessing the diversity of Valley Park’s members is a reflection of how Jesus’ prayer is being answered at Valley Park.
Dr. Sam Chetti, the Executive Minister of our denomination, will meet with all willing members of Valley Park on Saturday, November 5 for an all-day retreat in our chapel and courtyard. The purpose is to explore in more depth the nature of a church united in values, mission and ministry. Jesus informs this type of unity and VP is growing in understanding of new ways it can become a reality in everything we do. Please plan on joining us for this wonderful opportunity under the wholesale jerseys leadership of one of our wise mentors.
To God be the glory for everything He is doing at Valley Park,
Pastor Kevyn