April 28, 2019
Blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ our risen Lord and Savior!
This week our message was not recorded. I was visiting Trinity UMC, in Arcadia, IN. This was the place of my first appointment. I was invited to return for their last service. Today the doors closed for the congregation of Trinity UMC.
I was reminded of two very important things today. First, that the church is not a building. Many people recalled fond memories during the service of the ministries and activities that took place there. It is a nice church, with great property in the middle of town. Weddings and funerals were held there, people heard their call to ministry there and countless dinners and fellowship happened within the walls of the church. However, it is the people that gather together that are actually the church. The memories come from the people engaged in those activities, events and ministries that mattered. It is a building that God consecrated to serve the kingdom through the UMC, but now that ministry, in that building is finished. Just as we are reminded every Easter, out of death comes life!
The people that called Trinity UMC their church home will now go off to other congregations and places. They will look for a new church home and new church family to grow and to serve. God will bring new combinations of people together in faith and it is in that faith they will have a chance to grow.
The second important thing that God reinforced to me today was the impact that we can have on other people, even if we are only in one place a short while. When we are obedient to God and seeking to do His will, for His kingdom, we will have an impact on all those we come in contact with. It might be one chance encounter, 4 months or several years, but when Christians are obedient to serving God, major impacts can happen for the Kingdom.
I want to say thank you to my brothers and sisters at Trinity UMC. Thank you for the love that you showed me and the friendships that we share. I pray that our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ will guide you on your next step of your faith journey.
Praise God,
Pastor Jeremy
This week our message was not recorded. I was visiting Trinity UMC, in Arcadia, IN. This was the place of my first appointment. I was invited to return for their last service. Today the doors closed for the congregation of Trinity UMC.
I was reminded of two very important things today. First, that the church is not a building. Many people recalled fond memories during the service of the ministries and activities that took place there. It is a nice church, with great property in the middle of town. Weddings and funerals were held there, people heard their call to ministry there and countless dinners and fellowship happened within the walls of the church. However, it is the people that gather together that are actually the church. The memories come from the people engaged in those activities, events and ministries that mattered. It is a building that God consecrated to serve the kingdom through the UMC, but now that ministry, in that building is finished. Just as we are reminded every Easter, out of death comes life!
The people that called Trinity UMC their church home will now go off to other congregations and places. They will look for a new church home and new church family to grow and to serve. God will bring new combinations of people together in faith and it is in that faith they will have a chance to grow.
The second important thing that God reinforced to me today was the impact that we can have on other people, even if we are only in one place a short while. When we are obedient to God and seeking to do His will, for His kingdom, we will have an impact on all those we come in contact with. It might be one chance encounter, 4 months or several years, but when Christians are obedient to serving God, major impacts can happen for the Kingdom.
I want to say thank you to my brothers and sisters at Trinity UMC. Thank you for the love that you showed me and the friendships that we share. I pray that our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ will guide you on your next step of your faith journey.
Praise God,
Pastor Jeremy
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