Praise the Lord for the weekend so many of us were able to enjoy the church retreat! We missed those of you who couldn’t be there and look forward to being together again on Sunday.
One of the challenges Pastor Joshua gave us in his first message was to cultivate the discipline of setting our “hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
Even after this glimpse-into-the-throne-room weekend, did you find yourself forgetting the return of Christ? Did what was so clear after five messages start getting a little muddy by Wednesday or Thursday…or maybe even on the ride home as you thought about returning to work?
The Apostle Peter said we need to be “sober-minded” in our hopes, but it is so easy to get metaphorically drunk on the passing pleasures and promises of this world, so easy to become depressed when our “lowercase h” hopes are exposed to be the frauds we deep-down knew they were!
If we are to be certain, expectant, persevering, God-pleasing, New Earth-longing people, we will need to practice the discipline of turning from the hope buffet each week offers and to fix our hope on the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Jesus is coming back, saints! Don’t settle. Long for Jesus. Pray for His return. And proclaim His death and resurrection until we see our Lord face to face.
If you found your vision getting blurry this past week, Pastor Joshua’s messages on Future Focus can be found here. Fix that hope, beloved, as you meditate on God’s Word!
This Sunday, Pastor Joshua will be back in the book of Luke, continuing his exposition of Jesus’ war with Satan in Luke 4:1-13. Together, we will continue to see how excellent Jesus is and how worthy He is of placing our hope in Him!
Grace and peace,
Isaiah
Upcoming schedule:
Order of Service
Welcome and Call to Worship
Singing:
Announcements
Scripture Reading: Luke 4:1-13
Pastoral Prayer
Preaching of God’s Word: Luke 4:1-13 - “Jesus at War, Part 3”
Singing: