Preaching
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A word from our Pastor
Grace! That, I think, is the best way to describe much of the past year. New faces have been added to our fellowship, which is always an encouragement, but the greatest joy of all has been the new hearts that have been received in new birth. Yes, there have been a few conversions, and with this, a few baptisms. What a privilege to witness the work of God's Spirit taking effect in the souls of men.
In addition to this, we have been on the receiving end of abundant financial blessing, enabling us the opportunity to completely paint the inside and outside of the Sunday School building. And again, so wonderfully, the Lord has ensured in the most wonderful way, the virtual meeting of our budget.
We have given more to missions than ever before, and the next year bodes even more exciting things in our support of missionary endeavours, especially in the sending of our own missionary to North Africa to serve in the Muslim world.
Our Conversation Groups continue to be well supported, and the fellowship of our members one with another seems to be very warm.
Indeed, the Lord has been gracious to us and we praise Him for that.
However, the year has also had a few heartbreaking moments, with two of our members graduating to glory. While we praise the Lord for the life and witness of Sandy White and Wally Tribelhorn, we sorely feel their loss. The Psalmist speaks of life as a vapour, in reference to its brevity. The vapour that was the life of these two saints was of the most fragrant kind, and as we remember them, we praise God for the way He presented Himself to us through their lives.
Even more heartbreaking however, has been seeing some walk away, some from the church and one from the faith she at one time seemed to hold so dear. As your pastor, you need to know that I am not indifferent to this. In those quiet moments of my soul, I grieve deeply over such things. How we need to pray earnestly for one another, that none might fall away. But pray...is anybody praying?
Prayer meetings remain, in the words of Leonard Ravenhill, the Cinderella of the church. How is it that that which is the greatest need for the body, corporate prayer, is the least supported. We see a slow, but apparently steady growth in church numbers, but not in the prayer meetings. Am I encouraged? No! How can we possibly hope for a powerful meeting with our God, for any increase in our current experience of God's grace (which is O', so gracious) if we do not pray? I try so many times to encourage our members to the prayer meetings, but so many still stay away. You need to know that it is then that I find myself asking: Is my ministry having any effect, or is the congregation just satisfied that they have someone to fill the pulpit each Sunday.
You need to know my heart, a heart that longs for spiritual blessings for you that surpass all that you could possibly imagine: O' why won't you pray!
But here I am, your pastor until the Lord moves me on, or takes me home, and until He does, I will press on to deliver His Word as faithfully as I possibly can Sunday by Sunday, pleading with the unsaved to come to Jesus and to find life, and pleading with the saved to awaken from their sleep, to surrender everything, and follow Christ with every ounce of their beings.
"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father...that you may be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in your inner being, that Christ may dwell in your hearts, through faith."
I love you all!
David Holdt
