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A note from the pastor for May, 2019

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

Now what? Easter Sunday has come and gone, so now what? Churches all across the globe were filled to the brim with folks celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Interestingly, the Sunday following Easter Sunday is traditionally one of the LOWEST attended services of the church calendar year. We are in the midst of the Easter season, and yet, very few individuals are even aware of it. It has also been my experience that even with the elevated attendance on Easter Sunday, the offering doesn’t correlate and may be in a lot of cases a little lower than one would expect. Could it be that our outward celebration hasn’t reflected an inner transformation of the heart? Easter Sunday has come and gone, but now what?
It can be argued that all 4 Gospels record a post Resurrection encounter that Jesus had with his disciples where he laid out for them an admonition to spread the Gospel with power and authority to everyone in the world! Those individuals, some of who were afraid to be associated with Jesus during the final week of his life, were now ready to proclaim his message across an entire region. Some doubted, some were fearful, some were weak. And yet, somehow the message of the Cross and Resurrection had firmly been planted deep within them. They were ready for action, empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue spreading the Good News of Jesus to everyone they met.
It seems to me that this is the ultimate purpose of the Church! Easter Sunday has come and gone, but the call of God has been issued. We are to go and make disciples! Providing programs, ministries, and activities are important, but the primary goal of the local church is to “go, and make disciples!” Easter’s purpose is to transform! Jesus died (and, was raised from the dead) for every person in the world, even those individuals who would continue to scorn Him. God’s hope was that human beings would choose to follow Him in response. Easter Sunday has come and gone, but the question remains. Now what? How will you and I respond to God’s life-giving witness of Easter?
I’m honored to be your pastor and friend! God bless you.

– Bro. Steven