August 22, 2025, 4:00 PM
Greetings in Christ!
However, I pray that we at FCC can be more and more like Jesus and be aware and involved with the hurts and needs in the community around us.
I hope and pray all is going well for you and you've had a good week.
One of things that amazes me about Jesus was how He was so perceptive and responsive to the needs of others.
In the 6th chapter of Mark's Gospel, we see that Jesus knew the disciples needed some rest from their ministry activities. He encourages them in Mark 6:31 to "come with Him to a quiet place and get some rest."
We all need to heed that advice from time to time. BTW: When was the last time you got alone in a quiet place with Jesus?
Immediately after Jesus said this, He and the disciples got into a boat to get away for a bit. The Gospel account tells us that when they landed the boat, they noticed a large group of people had followed them.
Jesus was not bothered by this, though. In fact, Mark 6:34 says He had compassion on the people and began teaching them because "they were like sheep without a shepherd."
I am amazed that Jesus was not upset by the interruptions to His schedule. He could have told everyone to go away and that he needed some alone time.
He did not. He cared for their needs, putting His desires on the back shelf.
I pray that we would all be more like Jesus in that sense.
I know, however, we all will fail. All humans (me included) will let others down at some point.
That is why it's so comforting to know that we have a Savior in Jesus who truly cares and will never let us down!
However, I pray that we at FCC can be more and more like Jesus and be aware and involved with the hurts and needs in the community around us.
One of my goals as a leader of the Lord's church is to see the local church have a great balance of being IN the world, but not OF the world.
I love what John Stott said in his book "The Living Church," "Jesus wants neither the ingrown 'religious club' nor the 'secular mission' (or religionless Christianity); he wants an 'incarnational Christianity' that’s mindful of the church’s 'double identity' - we’re called simultaneously out of the world and into the world."
That is one of the reasons I am so excited about this coming Sunday (08.24.25) at FCC.
We're calling it "COMMUNITY DAY" and we'll be featuring several of our community partners and involving them in the morning worship service.
Brother Fred Mitchell will give an update on the Russell Cave Church of Christ.
Pine Meadows Nursing Home will be represented by Paulette Baker and Nicole Poole as they bring special music. This will also be the first Sunday with ALL of the students back on campus. We will do a special lunch for our guests (especially new college students) after the morning worship service.
I hope and pray we'll see you this Sunday at FCC!
In Him,
Greg H.
