Dear First
Methodist Family,
There is power in prayer and there is power in the Word of God. Combine these two dynamic sources with the power of the Holy Spirit, and explosive spiritual energy is unleashed in the believer’s life, resulting in renewed faith, victory and answered prayer.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Someone has pointed out that this passage is God’s telephone number because it shows what happens when we pray.
Alfred Lord Tennyson was “on target” when he wrote, “More things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of.”
The Confirmation Sunday we just experienced was an answer to countless hours of effort and countless hours of prayer. We saw God’s Word, prayer, and Spirit all coming together in the lives of our confirmands and it was a wonderful experience of God’s grace and love. We shared in some transformational moments with the largest group of confirmands in our history; it was a very special time for them and for our church. I am so thankful for them and for all the hard work of the leaders and mentors who began a year ago preparing for this Sunday. I encourage you to continue praying for our confirmands as they move into our youth ministry. They are in a special place in their lives and in our church and I hope you’ll pray for them and encourage them.
|
|
|
The theme verse for this year’s Confirmation Class is “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good, acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 This verse describes what happened in the lives of so many of our young people in this year’s confirmation experience. The stories are amazing in how so many have grown. One of our young ladies now considers the other 59 confirmands as part of her new family. What a picture of community the church is supposed to be.
This Sunday is also a special day for our church. It’s Mother’s Day. So bring your Mom to church this weekend! The message is titled, “The Me In Mommy.” We also have small gifts for every mother in attendance, so I hope you’ll be with us for this special, once-a-year time to honor mothers as we worship. It is appropriate to set aside a day to honor these very important people in our lives.
I hope you also prayed for General Conference of The United Methodist Church this year. It’s always important to pray for this very important leadership group in our denomination.
There are 36,000 United Methodist Churches in our country. I just received word that we’re in the top 100 of those churches in attendance. I’ve been invited to go Atlanta in August to represent our congregation as a senior pastor of one of those churches. I encourage you to pray about our role in this gathering.
