Dear Members and Friends of VP,
The last three months we have looked at the significance of the Book of Ephesians in relation to understanding God’s intentions for the Church. Paul explains how God has high aspirations for the Body of Christ which is designated to represent His will for those living in the world. We have a mission to accomplish.
I concluded the last VOICE article with these words: We manage the affairs of God’s household. There are several implications for our lives.
- We have a job to do that represents our Lord and Savior.
- Our faithfulness is observable by those who inhabit the heavenly realm.
- God’s will for our lives is clear. We are administrators of His grace.
Obviously, according to the Apostle Paul, the life of the church is a big deal to God. In fact, it is the focal point of God’s work in the world. The success of the church is a display of God’s wisdom in the plan of salvation. Followers of Jesus Christ, like Jesus Christ, are called, as was Jesus, to do everything they can to accomplish exactly what God wants accomplished.
“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work”. John 4:34
and
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38
As we should expect, as children of God, our love of both Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father should compel us to do the will of the Father in like manner to Jesus. As Jesus made known to us:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:21
So we are challenged in this life to strive to do the will of our Heavenly Father within the context of the Church as the Family of God. With that in mind, we enter September 2017, at Valley Park, with incentive to evaluate the things we are doing that represent the will of God. What are those things?
We know the mandate of Jesus was “Go… 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.” Mat. 28:18-20 In substance this involves leading people to Jesus and simple Christian obedience. What are we doing to accomplish these two things? Both depend upon helping people understand the Bible so that they understand God and live a life informed by His revealed will for us. Our plans for the Fall include:
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Doing our best to build a healthy AWANA program where children and youth learn the Bible and principles of Christian obedience. Awana’s vision is “reaching kids, equipping leaders and changing the world.” This is a noteworthy challenge as changing the lives of children and youth will impact them for Christ for the rest of their lives.
While we have multiple Bible study opportunities year round built upon the conviction that the Word of God (both the living and written word) changes lives. The next month we have several unique opportunities.
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Our men’s ministry has a kick off BBQ at Pastor Kevyn’s home on Monday, Sept. 18th at 6 pm. This will be to build healthy fellowship among the men and to kick of the six-week Bible study opportunities starting on Sat., Sept. 23rd at 9 am and Monday evening, Sept. 26th at 7 pm.
Men’s Study Topic for Sept.- Nov.
“Knowing Jesus Christ”
A Study of the Book of Colossians
Mondays: Introductory Study or Saturdays: In Depth
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We are also doing a Marriage Seminar starting on Friday, Sept. 29th, which will run for seven weeks. This seminar builds marriages and meets a need honoring to Christ. The title is “The Story of Marriage” by John and Lisa Bevere.
In addition to the above there is a regular Monday evening Women’s Bible Study at 7 pm and Bible studies on both Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 pm. In all settings, the Word of God is respected and learned as the source of all understanding and life. When it comes to knowing and doing the will of God, as Jesus did, there is nothing more essential to the life of the church than studying the Word of God and learning to serve the Body of Christ.
I think we are off to a good start for September. We need to pray that the Lord blesses the efforts we invest into doing the things He has asked us to do. Jesus lived to encourage. We live to encourage through these kinds of efforts. May God bless these works we do for the benefit of others.
Pastor Kevyn