Thought for February 2022

February is the month of celebrating love. Many expressions of love will be communicated throughout the coming days to those who are near and dear to us.

I would hope that we will also reflect on the love that God has for us. In our current message series we've looked at the many blessings that God has given out of His abundant love towards us - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3)

In the coming weeks we will also see that we are to love each other, as members of the Body of Christ. Paul is thankful to those Ephesians believers for their love for each other - "...ever since I heard about...your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you..." (Ephesians 1:15-16)

Remember, we are all encouraged to read the Book of Ephesians on a regular schedule as we work through this new series. One chapter a day (for about 2-3 minutes) is all you need to do: Monday, chapter 1; Tuesday, chapter 2; Wednesday, chapter 3; Thursday, chapter 4; Friday, chapter 5; Saturday, chapter 6.

Together, let's love God and love each other well in the days in which we live!

Thought for January 2022

John MacArthur shared the following story.

Several years ago the Los Angeles Times reported the story of an elderly man and wife

who were found dead in their apartment. Autopsies revealed that both had died of severe malnutrition,

although investigators found a total of $40,000 stored in paper bags in a closet.

He goes on to say, "the book of Ephesians is written to Christians who might be prone to treat their spiritual resources much like that miserly couple...they do not take advantage of the great storehouse of spiritual nourishment...that is at their disposal."

David Powlison, in his book Seeing With New Eyes, states, "You will not go wrong if you plunge into Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Master it. Be mastered by it. Work Ephesians into your thinking, your living, your prayers, and your conversation. The Bible is vast and deep, and human life is diverse and perplexing...Ephesians aims to teach you how to live."

So, as we begin a new year we will take a dive into the book of Ephesians during our Sunday Worship Service and Sunday School. I will preach through this great book during the service and then in the Sunday School time we will discuss questions from the Bible passage of the day.

In these days, starting a new year, we need to learn how to live. Join us on this journey as we seek God and the wonderful work that He wants to do and will do!

October Thoughts

Francis Chan in his book, “Letters to the Church”, reminds us, “There is no greater honor on earth than to be part of God’s Church”.

We have been “called out” of our old life of sin to a new life of forgiveness and freedom (2 Corinthians 5:!7). We have been made one by the work of Jesus on the cross and therefore come together to love, worship, obey, and serve Him — the One Who has rescued us. We proclaim the one name, Jesus Christ, and the one message that can truly change a person’s life (1 Corinthians 15:1-11).

Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). His work is being done here, in and through us, as His body (1 Corinthians 12:27) and as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). May God continue to build His church as, together, we hold out hope to those who need it.

September Thoughts

September has arrived and with it all the fresh new starts and familiar normal rhythms. New starts are experienced by students heading back to school, advancing to the next grade in their journey. Normal rhythms are encouraged as schedules that were relaxed through the summer months return to their usual pace.

New starts and normal rhythms come to our AMBC family as well. Fall is an opportunity to get moving again and see ministries re-start and serve the people of our church and community. We are looking forward to Sunday, September 12 at 9:45am as we have our “Kick Off Sunday”! Come that day and learn more about what is planned for the coming months.

Normal rhythms also are important in the life of our church. COVID and summer have maybe removed each of us from a “regular routine” of church attendance and involvement. Now is the time to jump back in to those familiar normal rhythms. We must recognize that, as believers, we were meant to live connected lives. The picture in Scripture is that of a body. Just like our physical body is made up of many parts that are fitted and working together, so too are we, as Christians, a part of the body of Christ. Paul says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we are all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many…Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27)

So as we come to this fall season, let’s jump back in, together, to those normal rhythms and maybe some new starts as well.

August Thoughts

As Summer rolls on into the month of August, we can hopefully continue to enjoy the wonderful weather and the beautiful surprises that have come our way through the spectacular thunderstorms. God’s incredible creation has been evident all around us and, once again, we can’t help but acknowledge the Creator of it all. He has made Himself known to us not only through what we see around us but also through His Word!

Because of this, we also continue rolling through our series “Summer in the Psalms”. I hope that you have enjoyed the overview of some of these fabulous poems/songs. We have been reminded of the fact that “this book was given to us by God as a reminder that worship is at the center of everything”. 

Now, more than ever, we need the sure reminders of truth that are found in the Scriptures. We have no other hope than hope in our God. We come to His Word expecting to hear, to learn, and to grow. We cannot and must not stay the same. May these “songs” that were written so long ago continue to ring in our ears, hearts and minds in the days ahead as reminders of truth that God has for us. 

July Thoughts

Can you believe it…summer is already here! This time of year brings us beautiful sunny weather and a chance to maybe take life at a little slower pace. Rest, we all can use some of that from time to time. But as we do that this coming summer, let’s not forget the important things that God puts in front of us.

We are called together as a body of believers to worship God and serve Him while loving and encouraging one another along the journey. Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV) remind us of this:

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

This summer, let’s take these words to heart. We must continue to do these things while enjoying some down-time for recharge and refreshing. God is still busy at work, even in the summer, let’s not miss out on all that He is doing - and then, let’s join in!

June Thoughts

As we enter this sixth month of the year we have much to be thankful for!

First, a good spirit is present in our church. This is evident as we meet together each Sunday, but also was seen in our recent Annual Meeting as we celebrated all that God has been doing in the past year, as we selected leadership positions for the year ahead, and as we approved a budget to guide us as we seek to fulfill the ministry that God has for us.

Next we are thankful for the decreasing COVID-19 cases and the relaxing of some of the guidelines. We are grateful for God’s protection to those in our church and community. In the past few weeks we have seen a steady increase in our attendance and ministry opportunities are now being added to our calendar.

Also, we are praising God for His work in His people here in the Candor area. We enjoyed a very special National Day of Prayer on May 6th as 38 brothers and sisters in Christ gathered at McNeil Pavilion to spend time praying together. We look forward to more opportunities like this in the coming months.

As we move into the coming summer months let’s submit ourselves to God and His leading in our personal lives and the life of this, His church. Will you pray with me for a continual sighting of new faces that join us for worship, for consistent, joyful giving, and for willing hearts to serve Him in the ministry opportunities we have?

On Sundays, we have recently looked at Spiritual Warfare and Prayer. Remember that the battle is ever-present around us and we are to be praying people - honest prayers about everything that are continually lifted to our Great God. We need Him and His forgiveness, love, guidance, and power each and every day! What a mighty God we serve!

May Thoughts

“April showers bring May flowers”, we’ve all heard the saying. As I write this there is the sound of steady, much needed rain. The brilliant colors that will come out in the coming month will be exciting to see. Isn’t it interesting that in our walk with Jesus we also see this parallel thought.

Some things need to happen first so that other things may follow. As we recently examined in our Sunday messages, VICTORY in the daily, spiritual battle we face doesn’t come unless we are STRONG, PUT ON the whole armor of God, and STAND FIRM. In the messages of coming weeks we will also discover that the underlying need for these things is PRAYER. I mentioned this quote in week 2, “Prayer is the very spiritual air that the soldier of Christ breathes. It is the all-pervasive strategy in which warfare is fought.”

We pray first and always - it enables us to be strong, put on the armor and stand firm - and the ultimate end is the glorious blooms of victory that God has promised.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 (ESV)