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This Sunday
Sept. 3, 2017
Sermon Title:
"Really?
Not Really!
Scripture:
Matthew 16:21-28
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 August 31, 2017
"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'"
Matthew 16:24-25
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
I like to think of Memorial Day and Labor Day as "bookends" of summer, one officially beginning the summer season and the other signifying its end. The purpose of bookends is simply to hold up a row of books, and books are full of stories of people, how lives change through seasons of life. As I think back over the months of June, July, and August at MLEPC, I can think of many stories of lives touched and changed by the gospel as we have done ministry together. Good things have happened this summer at MLEPC, and I highlight a few of those below.
- Pastor Carolyn has come to be our transitional pastor, and I'm personally grateful that she comes to us with a true pastor's heart, a heart like Christ's, a heart that cares for the least of these. I've seen that firsthand as we have visited in hospitals and care facilities. As Director of Congregational Care at MLEPC - I'm grateful that God has sent us a pastor who cares!
- VBS brought in almost 250 children to hear the Word, some, we know for the very first time. Through VBS, Fired-Up Friday, our Youth mission trip to the Wade Center in Bluefield, WV and Mission Possible, we were a church family who shared the gospel this summer.
- M:P 10 was a success, and I think what made it so special this year was how it was so well covered by prayer, led by our Prayer Promoters Team, Pastor Carolyn, and our two Kenyan pastors, Pastors Hudson and Job.
As I reflect on the above three points, they can be described by three words, "care, share and prayer." The scripture above, part of our passage to reflect on Sunday in worship, tells us why we care for one another, why we share the gospel, and why we bathe everything in prayer. Because Jesus says, "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me." Jesus modeled care and prayer as he shared his life with the disciples and others and wants us to do the same.
What might that look like for you personally in this fall season of MLEPC? We have a great opportunity to grow closer to one another and to the Word as we embark on a study of Ephesians. Pastor Carolyn will begin a sermon series on September 10 on this rich letter written by the Apostle Paul. I cannot begin to count the hours that have been put into the development of a small group study to complement the sermon series, and there are 27 people who are being trained to lead this study! At our first training session this week, the tables in the City View Room were filled with these leaders, encouraging one another and sharing with one another ideas about how to best build stronger relationships among our church members and those who are a part of our church family through this study. And it's not just through small groups, our Sunday School classes - Cornerstone, Lamplighters and Welcome - will continue to meet, along with a women's group studying Charles Stanley's book, "When the Enemy Strikes." Additionally, Adam's Quest groups continue to meet, and there will be a prayer focused group on Wednesday evenings for those who are studying Ephesians another time during the week. Please take advantage of one or more of these opportunities to share time in the Word and in each other's' lives as we care for one another. And as we bathe everything we do in prayer, may the stories we write in this fall season be stories of lives changed for the better as we share the gospel and life together, drawing closer to God through following Jesus.
In Christ's love,
Linda Pokrajac
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