October 18, 2024, 6:00 PM
Greetings in Christ and Happy Friday to you.
I hope and pray the week has gone well for you.
I laugh at church signs that go wrong. There's one that proclaimed, "Don't let stress kill you, let the church help!"
We laugh at those, but there are some truths said in jest. If the church is not centered on the Lord, it can become just a bunch of more commitments and obligations we have to meet in our busy lives. Church becomes like a club we belong to.
Jesus never intended it to be that way.
I'm not saying it's easy to follow Jesus, but we should have less stress in our lives.
Many of the spiritual benefits of following the Lord will translate into physical benefits for our health. Things like peace, tranquility, trust in God, humility, and generosity result from having the Holy Spirit and walking with Jesus. These things cause our health to be better because our physical health is influenced by our spiritual health. Medical studies have consistently backed this up.
Following Jesus, in many ways, results in us having a lighter load to carry (less stress not more). Jesus did/does the heavy lifting. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 11, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. It could be that stress, and difficulties have a lot to do with WHO and WHAT we are yoked with. Essentially, a yoke was a harness used by oxen and other animals to ease the work of hauling a load. It was also meant as a designation of servitude and carrying the burden of a task or mission.
Are we truly yoked with Jesus or are we trying to carry way too much of the load?
I pray that all of us are walking in the path of righteousness. It's not always the most popular, but the best by far!
Please note that our next big outreach event will be coming up in less than two weeks. We’ll be hosting a "TRUNK or TREAT" at FCC on October 31st. Halloween and Lexington’s trick-or-treat will also be on the night of Thursday, October 31st. That night, we will have candy for the kids, chili for the entire family, and an indoor maze. We’ll be advertising this event at Glendover and Picadome Elementary Schools along with some houses and apartments close to the church. We'd love to have several folks involved. Please sign up at the information desk in the main foyer.
On Sunday mornings at FCC over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at the letters found in Revelation 2 & 3 written down by the Apostle John to seven churches in Asia Minor. We have looked at four of the churches so far. Here’s what we have left to cover:
10.20.24 - SARDIS - “The DEAD Church”
10.27.24 - LAODICEA - “The LUKEWARM Church”
11.03.24 - PHILADELPHIA - “The Church with an OPEN DOOR”
May God bless and I hope to see you again soon!
In Him,
Greg H.
