Message from the Pastor at Grace Chapel
The words of Ecclesiastes 3:1 have been ringing in my ears: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” We all have used many words to describe this unique time…trying, confusing, fearful, painful, etc. But whatever the time, it is always time to trust in the Lord . . . no matter what. And trusting in the Lord is not always the same. The Scripture tells us to trust Him for sins to be forgiven, for wisdom to know what is best, for peace in a time of panic, for healing of diseases and depression, for patience when we want everything right now, for love to care for others, and for hope when the present is not pleasant.
So as we trust the Lord together at Grace Chapel, we are taking steps…day by day; week by week…on what the Lord wants us to do as His people. Grace Chapel took the step this past week to sanitize Club 50, greet one another without hugging and shaking hands, and encourage one another. The Mission Team to Mexico was delayed in returning so they were not present. And the Lord blessed with a good worship service led by David and the Praise Band, Anita Pratt, Jeff Hollis and Jay Shannon.
But this coming Sunday the Mission Team would be back and it raises the question about their possibly being contagious. So we are encouraging everyone NOT to come to Club 50 to worship this Sunday, March 22. We are suggesting that you join the service at 10:00 am by the streaming video on our Facebook page. David and the Praise Band will lead in worship and I will bring a message. Club 50 will again be sanitized with the encouragement of no personal contact with one another and seating separately if anyone does come.
This arrangement is only for this Sunday, March 22. We will be making a decision about Sunday, March 29, next week and will let you know.
Nevertheless, the Lord is giving all of us a unique time to examine our lives (II Corinthians 13:5, 6), to think about good things (Philippians 4:8), to be joyful always, to pray continually, to give thanks in all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5: 16, 17, 18), to learn the secret of being content (Philippians 4: 12, 13), to love one another as Christ has loved us ( I John 3:16), and to do everything to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31).
Finally, I encourage you to see this unique time as an opportunity to share the gospel with anyone the Lord puts in your path. The coronavirus confronts us all with our mortality. It is a matter of life and death, and we are very prone to normally live our lives without the awareness of how close we are to death all the time. So if anyone you know, or it may be yourself, who wonders what will happen to them when they die, we have been given the words of eternal life. John 3:36 – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
My love and appreciation to all of you.
I am His and yours,
Don Elliott