A Note from Pastor Brad
Good morning church!
May the Lord bless you on this fine Monday morning. It would appear as though fall is finally here. There’s a crispness in the air that, I have to admit, is rather refreshing. I guess we will have to wait and see if this year’s winter is anything like last year’s. (Personally, I pray not!) Natalie and I are still waiting for this baby to make her appearance. We are hopeful that this week might be the week. Thank you so much for your prayers for us, for Natalie especially. We are definitely ready to meet our little girl, but we’re trusting in the Lord’s provision and timing as to when that will be.
Yesterday’s sermon was one that I thought a lot about. Granted, I labor over every sermon I deliver, but yesterday’s was one that consumed the majority of my thoughts throughout the week. The story of 1 Kings 22 presented a particularly striking challenge when attempting to keep every thread tied to a singular narrative. I enjoy that challenge, and I’m thankful that God’s Holy Spirit doesn’t leave me to my own wit and wisdom in order to decipher his Word.
If you missed Sunday, I hope you will take a few moments and listen to this message. I pray it blesses you in the remembrance that God is in control.
Last week, I wrote a brief blog, entitled, “A high view of preaching the Word,” in which I sought to express my thoughts on why preaching is so important in worship in the church. This is a topic I come back to now and again. It keeps me true in this endeavor to expound and explain God’s redemptive design throughout the ages. Here’s an excerpt:
The Word of God is still paramount in the church’s worship. Or it ought to be. Nothing comes before the Word. There is nothing that has greater value than the opening and preaching of God’s Word. It’s preeminence in the life of the church and the churchgoer cannot be renegotiated. We read and recite it. We sing. We gather around it. We study it. We expound it. We rejoice and revel in it. We are convicted by it. We are changed by it. We are sustained by it.
The Word that controls everything, keeps everything and sustains everything, too. His Word guards us in the peace that it gives us — namely, “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). And that’s the thing: this peace comes through the preached Word. As God’s Word is taught and brought before God’s people, his children are made to see the God who is above it all and in it all. I don’t know about you, but I find tremendous comfort in that thought.
May God bless you immensely this week with renewed appreciation of his never-failing mercy and never-ending faithfulness and all-surpassing peace.
Blessings 🙏
Pastor Brad