December 16, 2020
Leadership Notes
{The Meaning of Life}
If you haven't already done so, you really ought to connect with our digital Advent calendar. Each day is a wonderful surprise. The music. The devotions. And seeing Covenant Church people/families we miss, for one reason or another, during the shenanigans of the past nine months. What a gift!
Words cannot properly express my love and appreciation for how you live out your devotion to Jesus Christ through Covenant Church. You are faithful in worship. You are faithful in reading and learning from God's Word. You are faithful in your financial support {even in challenging times, when we might not see immediate results}. You are faithful in loving our community. You are faithful in how you help others. Your faithfulness in worship is expressed through online or in-person worship. Oh, how I love how we all are making reasonable and responsible decisions! This is all evidence of God working in our lives. We do not boast…we give all the glory to God.
Is it just me, or is it time for political signs to disappear?
As soon as it's available to us common people, my wife and I will be the first in line to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
Abigail Dodds, Christian author and mother of five, writes: "Evangelicalism needs God's Word. And it needs local, faithful Bible-soaked {pastors} to shepherd God's people. It needs to be done with 'God told me' celebrities and 'God told me' preachers. The only time I want my pastor to say, 'God told me' is if he's reading aloud from the Bible."
Darrell B. Harrison observes, "We tend to view our sin strictly in terms of actions but, oftentimes, we sin prior to the act - with our attitude. Before Cain committed the physical act of murder, God asked him, 'Why are you angry?' Not all anger is sinful, but most sinful actions are borne from sinful attitudes."
Sunday morning, a Covenant Church member had an elk in the bed of his truck. In case you're wondering, he shot it the previous day in the upper lower. He was going right from worship to the processor. Picture the scene…it's after worship. About six or seven men - and my granddaughter Liesl - were standing around the truck, looking at the elk, asking all kinds of questions. It was such an iconic, Great Lakes region scene. I should have taken a picture.
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why a billionaire should be treated by mainstream media as an expert on things like science, medicine, pandemics, and vaccines? Asking for a very, very, very non-billionaire friend.
Samuel Sey observes: "One of the best things about heaven is when I get there, I'll never be tempted to look away from Jesus."
Echoing what Samuel Sey says, I find that worship becomes sweeter when it's more about Jesus and less about me. You, too? Glory and praise.
Finally, as we've made our way through this election and pandemic year, evangelical writer Josh Daws makes this pointed observation:
I readily admit that I'm more afraid of a totalitarian society than I am of covid. However, living in fear of totalitarianism is sinful too. God is sovereign over viruses and society. Wherever you fall in these debates, trust Him. Cast all your anxieties on Him. He cares for you.
That is lovely…
Richard
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