JOY in the Journey!   

Life, they say, is a journey. And any journey has its twists and turns, it’s ups and downs, it’s times of exhilaration, and its times when we can feel pretty weary and worn down. In the midst of it all, we all, need a little help now and then to re-group, to be encouraged and to be renewed. We need to be reminded of where we are headed, and why. We need to be reminded of how to get there, and of the important truth that we were never meant to make the journey alone.

I am thankful to the Lord for bringing me alongside of you as your pastor, and it is my hope that in the next few weeks that we will all find a great deal more joy in the journey together!

I have every reason to believe that we will. For our God is an awesome God! He assures us that has a great hope and a future for us all. If we will seek him with our whole heart, and trust him as fully as we can; if we will walk together and work together, living in light of his Word, He has promised to guide and bless us, beyond what we can think or imagine!

He longs to pour out, among other things, a renewed and greater joy in our lives. And that deep, abiding “joy of the Lord is our strength,” (Nehemiah 8:10) in meeting the other challenges that life brings our way.

So I want to encourage us all to consider this a new day, a new leg in our journey, with clearing skies ahead, and lots of joy to be discovered along the way. I invite you to gather for our times of weekly worship, with an open spirit and a hopeful anticipation of what good things the Lord has in store for us.

I would encourage you to reach out and reconnect with your extended church family too. Life has a way of pulling us in different directions, down different paths, but the journey is better done together. Our burdens are divided and our joys are multiplied. So who have you missed? Why not let them know. Who might need your prayers or encouragement? Why not let them know that God loves them and that you love them too. I look forward to reconnecting with those from church that I was privileged to get to know somewhat in years past. And I look forward to meeting everyone else, and joining in the journey that the Lord has for us together.

I also want to invite you to join with me in a short-term Bible study throughout the month of August, that will be all about discovering and experiencing more of the joy of the Lord! We will be opening God’s Word together and opening ourselves up to allow him to speak his wonderful joy into our souls! We will gather from 7 – 8:15 PM each Monday night in August (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th). I will facilitate our times, but we will invite the Lord to lead us in this journey of joyful discovery!

Yes, it’s the beginning of a new day, a new leg in our on-going journey of life, filled with the promises of hope, and love…and joy in the Lord! You won’t want to miss it!

Let’s discover the joy of the Lord in our journey together! See you soon….

                                                                                                                                 With Love in Christ,

                                                                                                                                      Pastor Brad