Dear members and friends of Valley Park,
We can give thanks to God for the rain and now warmer weather as we move toward the spring. More rain will be an added blessing. I consider it one of the great privileges to live in Southern California. The weather and ability to enjoy outdoor living year-round is one of the great joys in life for me.
More important than the weather is the privilege of knowing and serving Jesus Christ. One of the most important places to serve Jesus Christ in the world is in the church. The church is the “family of God” composed of “God’s children.” Because we love God we love and serve His children. We use what God has entrusted to us to support, care for and nurture others who love Him. The church is where we do this as we should in any place where two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus (Matthew 18:20). The church does not need to be large and, in fact, does better when it is smaller in numbers because every person is more needed and can more easily serve.
The church is also one of the best places to invite those who do not know Jesus. It is helpful if we are able to provide encouragement, fun and healthy relationships. We have been able to do that with excellence on Sunday mornings this past year. We have an exceptionally encouraging worship team and we are able to provide free lunches. Our people are amazingly loving. The result is excitement and growing fellowship on Sundays and it is contagious. Make sure you invite friends and people you meet during the week to join us for the most exciting time of the week; Valley Park at 10:30 AM on Sundays. In the process they will hear the “good news” about Jesus which is the most exciting news in the world. We are still producing cards featuring what we are doing and our address so that you have something to hand to people with directions to our church every day.
We are seeing evidence that what we do on Sundays is attracting more visitors to our church. What is exciting along with it is that our members are excited to see us building some strength and embracing the idea of creating a growing Christian community. There are many components involved in our growth including new relationships forming, small groups becoming more familial and many more discussions about what it means to be a true Christian. I am excited to see what God will continue to do at Valley Park into the near future. I am continuing to pray that God increases Valley Park’s relevance to people who are seeking God during recent times of isolation.
In the midst of growth we are to be focused upon what it means to be a truly loving, connected and encouraging Family of God. The value of the church as family is the prayer of Jesus on the night before He died.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.“I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just 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.”
John 17:17-21
Jesus prayed for our unity in doing God’s work. I have been praying that our excellence in worship with music and fellowship on Sundays will translate into something much bigger than what we do on Sunday mornings. It is needs to be unity in thought and devotion. It will be sustained by our Sunday mornings through the heart of both our worship team and our members. We will be moving forward in multiple ways throughout the week. Worship will translate into a transformation of everything we prioritize and do in life.
I love how the Apostle Paul expressed the heart of worship in that it involves so much more than music and Sunday morning worship.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2
Notice how the Apostle Paul defines “worship” in this passage. It is offering back to God everything we are able to offer with our physical bodies. It involves sacrificial acts of things physical like our voices, our hands, words, and feet. It also involves our material possessions such as use of what we own and our money. It is honoring Him with everything we have proportional to everything He deserves. God and the work of Jesus deserves everything we can offer. All giving is worship.
We need to pray for Valley Park to grow into a Family of God committed to worshipping God with everything possible. Let us continue to pray for our future as a church and that God will be honored in everything we do.
To God be the glory.