Voice of the Pastor: March 2009
We have just celebrated our 9th anniversary of Family Worship Center (view photos). What a joyful occasion it was! The service was full of great music including a special presentation from our Deaf Ministry. There were also awe-inspiring testimonies of appreciation of what God has meant to them this last year. To cap things off, a moving slide show chronicling 2008 was shown. It brought back many great memories. The service concluded with the always-entertaining preaching of Rev. Joel Bryant. Afterward, we gathered into our future sanctuary to enjoy a huge spread of food, finished with a special anniversary cake for dessert. We, no doubt, have some of the best cooks in all of Pentecost. Wow! What a great year it has been. Thank you, Jesus!
These last couple of months were marked as times of sacrifice for our church body. These sacrifices encompassed our time, talent, and finances. God has indeed honored it.
I would like to extend my appreciation to all who participated in our continuous chain of prayer and fasting in the month of February. The results were answered prayers and powerful moves of God during our church services. Some of you even chose to extend your commitments into the next month. I am thankful for that.
There were also sacrifices of your talents. Men gave up many of their Saturdays and came to the church to work on our new sanctuary (view photos). The women also got involved by cooking sumptuous meals for our workers. There was a great spirit of unity present throughout.
Financial sacrifices were also included. For instance, in one Sunday over $24,000.00 was given in offerings by church members towards our building program to finish the church sanctuary. On the same day, another $4,000.00 was taken up as commitments to give later. People also brought to the altar things which kept them from drawing closer to God. Others wrote things on slips of paper and gave them up to God as a sacrifice. As a pastor, I couldn’t be more deeply moved by their responses.
An important principle was illustrated by King David in 2 Samuel 24:24. David said, “...neither will I offer burnt offerings (sacrifices) unto the LORD my God of that which cost me nothing.” In other words, sacrifices are not sacrifices unless it costs you something. As one preacher put it, “It’s not a sacrifice unless it hurts”. We soon learn that the greater the sacrifice, the greater the cost. But surely the greater reward will be in the end. God is indebted to no man. He will dispense His rewards accordingly. No doubt, great treasures are being stored up in heaven. Thank you for your many sacrifices.
In His service,
Pastor Lawrence Exum
These last couple of months were marked as times of sacrifice for our church body. These sacrifices encompassed our time, talent, and finances. God has indeed honored it.
I would like to extend my appreciation to all who participated in our continuous chain of prayer and fasting in the month of February. The results were answered prayers and powerful moves of God during our church services. Some of you even chose to extend your commitments into the next month. I am thankful for that.
There were also sacrifices of your talents. Men gave up many of their Saturdays and came to the church to work on our new sanctuary (view photos). The women also got involved by cooking sumptuous meals for our workers. There was a great spirit of unity present throughout.
Financial sacrifices were also included. For instance, in one Sunday over $24,000.00 was given in offerings by church members towards our building program to finish the church sanctuary. On the same day, another $4,000.00 was taken up as commitments to give later. People also brought to the altar things which kept them from drawing closer to God. Others wrote things on slips of paper and gave them up to God as a sacrifice. As a pastor, I couldn’t be more deeply moved by their responses.
An important principle was illustrated by King David in 2 Samuel 24:24. David said, “...neither will I offer burnt offerings (sacrifices) unto the LORD my God of that which cost me nothing.” In other words, sacrifices are not sacrifices unless it costs you something. As one preacher put it, “It’s not a sacrifice unless it hurts”. We soon learn that the greater the sacrifice, the greater the cost. But surely the greater reward will be in the end. God is indebted to no man. He will dispense His rewards accordingly. No doubt, great treasures are being stored up in heaven. Thank you for your many sacrifices.
In His service,
Pastor Lawrence Exum
Labels: Voice of the Pastor
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11:52 AM
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