Pastor Terry Giles, M.Div.

Happy New Year-The Lord Has come!

As we close out this year, the word "challenging" seems an understatement. We have had to reassess our priorities and redesign our worship experience. Congregations that were struggling before the pandemic found it particularly hard to reinvent themselves. Some ministries downsized or merged, while others flourished and grew on Social Media. One thing is clear...We are the Church...and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!" (Matthew 16:18)

Jesus came at the right time. Christ traveled from limitless eternity to be confined by time to become one of us. Yet some of the saddest words in the Bible declares that “He came to His own and His own received him not”. He was in the world, (the world He made) and the world did not know him. But as many as received Him, those who believed in His name to them He gave the right to become the children of God. (John 1:11-13

The power and purpose of His ministry was to tear down the kingdom of Satan and establish the kingdom of God. That happened through every lesson taught, every sermon preached, and every miracle performed. The exclamation point to it all was His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven where he sits at the right hand of God interceding for the people of God.

To the dismay of his disciples, Jesus announced that He would have to return to the Father, to prepare a place for us but declared “I will come back and take you to be with me” …. While His story is not over—the end of time is near. Saints,the end of pandemic is near, the end of racism and social injustice is near, the end of life-- as we now know it -is near!

We can honestly say, Happy New Year (only because) the Lord has come and will come again!

Peter reminded his readers that Christ’s coming should motivate all believers to live in anticipation of his arrival. He wrote, “in that day everything will be destroyed. So, what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God…but God made a promise to us and we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives. (2 Peter 3:11-13)

Charles Swindoll wrote, “a ministry that emphasizes the Lord’s return but does not emphasize a godly life is heresy. Whoever highlights the coming of Christ is also responsible to teach the importance of a pure life. At the appointed time, the end shall be. You are ready, aren’t you?

2021 is here and we can declare with without reservation or hesitation-Happy New Year (only because) The Lord has come and will come again-Amen!

From the desk of Pastor Terry Giles & Lady Cheryl Giles