Last Sunday was a time of encouragement for us all. To see the church full with over 200 in attendance at the baptism of Terry, Selina, James and Emily was very special. Imagine if our weekly church service was full to capacity every week! There is no reason why it cannot be the case! I shared with you from the baptism pool that I firmly believe that we must work as a team if we are to bring people to Jesus and prepare them for service. In actual fact, we are a team as was in evidence last Sunday morning!
Today we launch our Signup for Service for 2016. Everyone has a part to play in the ministry here in the Grace International Congregation. We are part of the body of Christ, each with a gift for the purpose of building each other up for service and for the glory of God! What part of the body are you? If there is anything we are learning from our walk through the Scriptures is that there is no time for complacency or indifference. There is no time to be taking life easy. No time for sabbaticals! No time for being a spectator! Today is the day that the Lord has given us to be about His business. And that business is all about building His kingdom and His church for His glory!
I have no desire to twist people’s arms to serve. I have no desire to make people serve out of a guilty conscience. I simply desire to see people serving the Lord because they love Him and they want to be obedient to Him! All that we have has been given to us by our Sovereign Lord. It is only good and proper that we give ourselves back to Him to be used in the local church for His glory. I urge you to prayerfully consider your role here at Grace in serving the Lord. There is much to be done, and as the Lord continues to bring the nations of the world to our doorstep, the opportunities are immense.
Today, we also investigate the latest saga in the history of Israel. We are introduced to Jephthah. What an interesting man he is! The son of prostitute. An outcast. A gang leader. A great warrior and leader. But naïve when it comes to truly knowing God and His power. There is much we can learn from this next instalment of Israel’s tragic history!