Happy New Year! I pray everyone had a wonderful Christmas, in spite of it being in 2020. Praise God that Jesus came to deliver us from our sins! Praise God for Immanuel, our Serpent-crusher, who will never leave us or forsake us.
It is a great joy to begin another year with my church family. I’m so thankful to be alive, even more thankful to be alive in Christ, and to be sharing my re-born life with you. May God be honored in our lives in 2021 - individually, in our relationships, in our marriages, in our families, and in our corporate worship and fellowship as a local body of believers. May God graciously move to save our children and grandchildren, and may they love Him with all their hearts. May this coming year be our most Christ-exalting, God-honoring, Scripture-obeying year as a local church – all for God’s glory alone and our continuing sanctification.
A key to our sanctification is found in Romans 12:1, Read that verse and ponder this question: What happens corporately when individuals within the body have presented themselves to God as living sacrifices? Or, to put it more succinctly: What are the corporate benefits of personal devotion? In answer to that question, I’m going to start a list to which you can add your own thoughts.
When my life is presented to God as a living sacrifice:
- I am dominated by His plan and purposes and not my own.
- I am more concerned about our corporate life than my personal life.
- I give thanks always for those with whom I share life.
- I consider others more important than myself.
- I quit trying to be everyone else’s Holy Spirit.
- I celebrate His transforming work in others.
- I become more gracious.
- I remember my identity in Christ.
- I am no longer controlled by fear.
- I keep my eyes on Jesus and press on, knowing I can trust Him.
What will 2021 be like for RCC? No one knows, but we can be confident of this: If we are presenting ourselves as living sacrifices, we can go forth together with great and certain confidence that our great and gracious God will work all things for our good and His glory.
Pressing on with you, with our eyes fixed on Jesus,
Pastor Butch