From Pastor Rhett:
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Faith Community Church,
Yesterday was the first official day of spring. Though we have yet to experience the warm, sun-soaked days that will arrive in the coming weeks, we are reminded during this time of year of our God’s unwavering faithfulness. Not only is he sovereign over the seasons, he is sovereign over sin and is committed to making all things new through the work of his Son, Jesus Christ. We, as his disciples, are privileged to be a part of this global, God-sized mission of restoration and renewal.
Missional Prayer Focus
As we move toward Holy Week and Easter Sunday, we are focusing together on missional prayer, our first Refocus 2020 strategic priority. Missional prayer is prayer that is preoccupied with the proclamation of the Gospel to the nations, both locally and abroad. Our current sermon series aims to dive into just a few of the missional prayers of the Old and New Testaments. So far we have looked at Abraham’s intercession for the righteous in Genesis 18 and Solomon’s temple dedication prayer in 2 Chronicles 6. This Sunday, we’ll turn our attention to Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17, a prayer which weaves together the love of God, the mission of God, and the unity of God’s people in a remarkable way.
There are many opportunities for us to grow in our concern for the spread of the gospel and in our exercise of missional prayer in the coming weeks. Consider joining our adult Sunday school series, entitled BLESS. This series aims to help us invite others into a life-giving relationship with Jesus. You can see a preview of this series in this video:
We also want to encourage you to read the missional prayer devotionals, included in your Sunday bulletins and uploaded to our church website each week. These devotionals are intended to lead us into a deeper understanding of missional prayer, and to guide each of us toward a more robust commitment to praying missionally. You can find the devotionals online here.
Events: Looking Ahead
There are a number of exciting events with missional aims coming up for our church:
· Saturday, April 6: Women’s Spring Luncheon (10 am-1 pm). Tickets are on sale every Sunday for the upcoming luncheon, with an anticipated attendance of around 100 women. We are still looking for men who will be willing to serve at this important outreach event. Please contact embracinghope@faithchurchwc.
· Sunday, April 7: Potluck (5:00pm), followed by missional prayer service.
· Friday, April 19: Good Friday service (6:30pm)
· Sunday, April 21: Easter (no Sunday school). As many of you know, Easter is a time when our church can show hospitality to visitors and newcomers. Ask the Lord to direct you to one or two people to invite to our service, and pray that God would use these services to draw people to himself.
Finally, please continue to remember Pastor Nick in your prayers as he preaches this month at our sister church, Naperville Presbyterian.
In Christ,
Pastor Rhett