Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Consider this quote from A.W. Tozer, a writer and pastor:
The popular notion that the first obligation of the church is to spread the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth is false. The first obligation of the church is to be spiritually worthy to spread it.
(From A.W. Tozer, Of God and Men).
Now Tozer is not saying, “Get your spiritual life perfectly in order before you go and spread the gospel.” He is saying that in order to spread the gospel, we must be people transformed by the gospel and filled with the Spirit. Sharing the gospel flows out of our growing relationship with Jesus Christ. In Acts 1:12-26, the passage for this Sunday, the disciples of Jesus are preparing for the mission Jesus has given them. They do so by dedicating themselves to fervent prayer and by seeking God’s choice for the replacement of Judas. The early disciples (and this should be equally true of us today) knew that to be effective witnesses they must first be prepared spiritually to go “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
The link to the livestream for our worship services (8:30am and 9:45am) can be found here.
Please let us know of your interest in the Haiti Mission Trip (July 23-31, 2021) by February 28
If you are interested in joining us and others from our presbytery to serve in Haiti this summer, please let me know by the end of this month. Indicating interest does not commit you to going on the trip. For more information, check out our Haiti trip informational page.
Caring Network Baby Bottle Drive: Bring your bottles back by February 28!
We are in the home stretch for the Caring Network baby bottle drive. If you would like to participate, you may (1) Fill a baby bottle with change and return it to the church office by Feb. 28, (2) or donate through the Caring Network website.
Prayer Requests
Jerry Juzwiak: We praise God that Jerry’s leg continues to heal following an infection requiring hospitalization; please pray for continued healing for our brother.
Steve Roberts: Steve continues to receive antibiotics to address the infection in his back. Please pray that Steve will be able to return home from Central DuPage Hospital tomorrow as planned.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Rhett