Rejoice in the Lord!

Hello Everyone!

I hope all of you have been rejoicing over the course of the last week. Rejoicing over the fact that God has poured out His amazing Grace upon us through Jesus Christ. Remember, Joy is a state of being glad--it is having a happy heart. A happy heart that is the result of understanding that we deserve the eternal wrath of God but instead we are given grace and mercy because of His great love. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes from understanding what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-7:

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

Last week our family had the privilege of experiencing joyful and gracious fun with family and friends in Eastern Washington. Everytime we are able to get out and enjoy God's beautiful creation I am again reminded of God's incredible grace. In Omak Washington we stayed in a little cabin located on 170 acres of land bearing the fruit of thousands of apple and pear trees. Seeing the fruit of God's physical blessing on mere trees pales in comparison to what He has given to us spiritually. As if salvation from His wrath was not enough, God promises to show us the surpassing riches of His grace for the rest of eternity. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)

God continues to bless Summit Lake Community Church. On August 24th, the vote to extend Jeff's stay as co-pastor was unanimously approved! God has provided for our church in a miraculous way so that both Jeff and I can minister as co-pastors together. I will be working on a temporary basis with the Washington Army National Guard as a chaplain ministering to soldiers and families of soldiers who have deployed in support of the global war on terrorism. Please pray that we would be stewards of the Grace that God has given us as a church as we look for ways to minister to those in our community who need to experience the love of God through His people. There are hundreds of people in our community alone who are ready to hear the Gospel through both words and deed.

One more friendly reminder: we will be having our annual "work" day at the church this Saturday, September 6th, starting at 9 am. Lunch will be provided and we will work until Leonard Hays gets tired! We will be doing various odd jobs around the church to include weeding, cleaning and tearing up some decking. Childcare will be available for those of you who have very young children. I hope to see you there. Have a great rest of your week.

In the service of the King,
Pastor Don