The Pastor’s Garage January 30th, 2020

It really is incredible how mild the weather has been over the last few
days. It honestly has a feeling as if something is not quite right. We have
a little outdoor rink in our backyard that has got a lot of use lately.
Sitting out there on Tuesday night around 7:30 drinking hot chocolate and
it was only -4 or something honestly had kind of an eerie feeling. I am
pretty sure that last year this time it was not getting used near as much –
it was just too cold.

Jesus tells us in the scriptures that when his coming gets close things
will start to “not feel quite right.” He tells us that the world will be in
turmoil and instability. It doesn’t take a very long look at the news these
days to feel a little unstable and insecure. Are these signs of his coming?
Undoubtedly, but how soon? Many generations have felt this and said, “He’s
coming soon!” and their generation has come and gone and so in some ways it
is easy to be skeptical and conservative in our thoughts on His return. In
the past feelings of the imminent return of Christ have sparked revivals,
prayer movements and the rekindling of people’s relationships with God.
Perhaps He is not coming back in our lifetime, perhaps he is. Regardless,
there are signs and trends which point to a changing world that is moving
towards the return of Christ. We can’t know the exact day or hour but we
can know that more and more the signs are pointing to it being a reality.
This should be a spark for followers of Jesus to focus on what is important
and to put eternal matters as a priority!

Firm Foundations got off to a great start. The workbooks came in this week
and I am excited to share them with you and put something in your hands
that will help you engage the bible on a deeper level. We will meet again
this Sunday at 9:00am to start lesson 2. It’s not too late to just show up
and jump in. Please let me know if you are able to make it.

Please pray for Mike Zorn and his team as he leads worship this Sunday.
Please also pray for Harold and Dianne Stephan from Battle River Ranch Camp
(battleriverranchcamp.com) as they share with us on Sunday. We will
hold a second offering at the end of service to support their ministry.
Please come prepared to follow God’s leading to give.

We will kick off the Conquer series again for our church on February 8th at
8:00am with a men’s breakfast. This is a great series and a great program
that puts tools in men’s hand to navigate the battle for sexual purity both
for themselves and for their children and even grandchildren. Let’s be
strategic in our battle, the enemy sure is!

From February 17-22 we are calling people to a week of prayer and fasting
in preparation for our annual meeting and for another year of health and
strength as a church in moving forward. More details will come I just
wanted to get it on your radar.

Blessings and have a great week!

Pastor Dave