I am going to use this space for a couple of things this month. For those of you who look forward to whatever I normally write I apologize but I have to make sure you know some things.
I would love to see you at our 5th Sundays Together on July 31st! If there is one thing the South does better than other places without a doubt it is a potluck… or covered dish… or whatever term you think is best. Before we eat we will have a little time of worship and prayer and song. It is our little way of acting like that first church in the book of Acts, and it is a great way to get to know each other. I’m going to be exhausted from a lack of sleep, and changing diapers, and God knows what else, and can’t wait to see you all that night and just feel at home. Come be at home with me, Jesus is our host.
Also I hope you get a friend to bring to church on our Bring a Friend to Church Sunday on August 7th! I know it is only July but start inviting people now. Get it on their calendar! I’m writing this after our service on June 26th, and it was incredible. Someone came up to me afterwards and said, “I wish I invited my friend to come to this service, he needed it.” Too often we open up the doors of the church and just wait for people to come in. While we wait others are waiting for an invitation. The purpose of having a day for such is to make sure that we give that invitation. There will be giveaways and celebration and maybe someone’s life will change through the power of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ.
At some point during this month I will be holding a newborn, a little girl. Perhaps she will be crying, or then again maybe she will be silent, or maybe even asleep. However she is, she will be my daughter, my little one, and I shall rejoice. I think one of the reasons I want to see you all at our church is so that I do not rejoice alone. You see you have all become family to me. I thank my God that I have been able to come to this foreign land and discover family. I thank my God that I have been blessed with children and yet they will not live as aliens, for they have brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord who make sure they have all the family they need.
I think another reason I want to make sure this church is full is because I know there are others who feel all alone in our community. They need some kind of family, some kind of connection… they need us. And quite honestly we need them.
Life is better together, because there is much that we cannot do alone. We try to do a lot of things alone, but that is a mistake. Pain is easier to handle when there are others to hold us up, and joy is better when there are others to share it with. So yes I can’t wait to share my joy with you on our 5th Sunday Together, and I can’t wait to see others who may need this family on that first Sunday in August. Together we will ride the wave of the Holy Spirit into a brighter tomorrow.
Riding that wave now,
Garrett
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