Each week we see this printed on the front of our Gazette. It’s a statement of what our church is about – or at least where it is heading, by the grace of God. Yesterday our new church council met to unpack what this means for us in the months and year ahead. What does it mean to be:
- Gospel-driven
- Connected
- Generous
- Mission-minded
- Outwardly focussed.
Our new paint and chairs are a small part of our mission focus. They are outward signs of new beginnings. But God’s work of restoration is much more about our hearts. In Ezekiel God makes this promise to His people:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (36: 25,26)
PT Forsyth said, “That which goes deepest to the conscience (i.e., the grace of Christ, cleansing our hearts and forgiving us) goes widest to the world (truly meets and fills the world’s greatest need).”
Pray that as God softens our hearts and cleanses us from any idols, we will be the people He has made us to be. Pray for our church council and for their leadership.
And let’s look forward with confidence and expectation to all that He has for us.
Kathryn Button.