From the Preacher's Pen - February 2010

From the Preacher's Pen February 2010

"Faith, Hope and Love"

Good Morning!!
I hope all of you are having a wonderful day as you connect with God, community and each other through faith, hope and love. These three powerful connecting words are what the Apostle Paul introduced at the end of I Corinthians 13. Paul writes, "Now these three remain: faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is LOVE. Love, when connected to our faith and hope in Christ makes one of the strongest bonds that anyone of us can ever experience. As we continue using this word "CONNECT" as the key word in our relationships with God, community and each other; we see how vital our faith and hope in Christ are in making the connection solid. In February we will continue to make the connection; we will see how our faith, hope and love in Christ enables us to PRESEVERE in difficult times. Faith, hope and love empower us to lovingly TRUST God. Getting to know God better as we communicate with him and He with us connects us with a lasting bond. Faith, hope and love are strengthened through our prayer life. We hope you and your family and friends will find your lives connected through these three powerful words, Faith, Hope, and Love.

Some day we know that faith will be made complete as we come into the presence of Jesus at his coming. All the hope we have in Christ will be realized as we stand in his presence. Love will then be the greatest because it will be the eternal bond that connects us all. Until Jesus comes may we all experience the powerful bond that Faith, Hope and Love provides in connecting us together in the work of building His Kingdom.

Sometimes, like the early Corinthian Christians, we lose sight of the connecting power of these three words. Like them we allow divisions to come in among us. We can even become full of pride with all the gifts and blessing that we experience as Christians. Paul loved these Christians and knew that the three connecting words that are today vital to the connectedness of the church are Faith, Hope and Love. He comes to the conclusion of his letter and encourages them as I would encourage each of us too, "13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men/women of courage; be strong. 14Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Praise God for the faith, hope and love that connects us here at SVCC. May this new month of February find all of us growing more and more in our Connection with God, community and each other.

On a closing note: thank you all for your prayers and financial support of God's work that continues to go on in Haiti and the recovery of that nation; especially in the lives of our friends at the HOPE orphanage. We will be receiving financial help for HOPE through the month of February. Thank you for your love.

Thankful for faith, hope and love,