4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. 7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. (Philemon 4-7 – NASB95)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I want all of you to know how much I appreciate you and the way you kept seeking and serving the Lord so faithfully even in the weird year we just experienced. How so, Pastor Paul? Let me highlight just a few ways:
- Participating in worship services and small groups via Livestream and Zoom.
- Physically coming to worship services when they were indoors, then outdoors, and now back indoors.
- Giving sacrificially of your finances to the point that even in a pandemic. We are very close to our budgeted income for the fiscal year. On top of that, we were able to give monthly gifts to special mission projects; sponsor In-N-Out appreciation dinners for four police stations; support the Open Arms Pregnancy Clinic, Operation Christmas Child, and Angel Tree…
- Praying for and supporting the decisions of the elders (whether you agreed or not). I was overwhelmed by your positive responses to the sermon I gave on March 14th and the follow up email on March 19th.
- Reaching out to one another with phone calls, emails, texts, cards, and visits.
- Spending daily personal time in prayer and bible study even during periods of isolation.
- Some of you have told me that this past year, as a result of the isolation, was the best year of your life. How the Lord used this past year in your lives in powerful ways: revealing weaknesses in your faith and then strengthening those areas; drawing your family members closer together; opening avenues to minister to your neighbors…
To God be the glory! Jesus is building His Church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. He has given us a love for Him and for one another that will continue to grow and express itself throughout eternity. I believe He is going to continue to use this church to reach and disciple more people both locally and globally. What a privilege to work together to carry out the will of our Lord and Savior.
To that end I am calling you to join me in fasting and prayer for the future of our church. As restrictions ease and we have greater freedom to penetrate our community, there is so much that needs to be done. Let me point out two areas that I am praying for fervently:
- Youth & Young Adult Ministries. This particular age group (12 – 30 years old) is being viciously attacked by the enemy of our souls. They are bombarded with lies by the education system, social media, peer pressure, movies, and music. It is imperative that we reach them with the gospel and train them to live according to God’s truth. Please pray for the Lord to raise up the right leaders to minister to this critical age group (pastoral staff and lay leaders). On top of those who specifically serve in those ministries, I would love to see our mature saints each spiritually adopt at least one youth / young adult to pray for daily and faithfully encourage in their faith. Let’s invest in the lives of our young people so they can be the future leaders of our church and many other churches all over the world.
- God has blessed us with these facilities which are used by our church family and many other Christian groups (BSF, CEF, Gideons, etc.). Faithful church members who came before us gave sacrificially so we could have these facilities, but they are getting old and are in need of repair and/or renovation. Plans will be submitted to you soon for some significant changes / improvements. We believe these changes will enable us and future generations to use these facilities more effectively to reach our community for Christ. In the 13+ years I have been at this location we haven’t done any major fundraising. All of the improvements to the facilities until now have been paid for by the sale of the Shepherd’s Community Church campus in Canoga Park or from large donations that came in from wills or trusts. Now we need to raise funds to continue the work of renovating our church campus. Please pray for the Lord to provide the necessary finances, and please consider how you might sacrificially give above and beyond your normal tithes and offerings. A building fund has been established for this purpose. The Lord led my wife and I to give our stimulus checks to this fund. If He does lead you to participate, you can write “building fund” on the memo of your check or you can give to the building fund online (https://tbbf.churchcenter.com/giving/to/building-fund).
Many years ago, I read a biography on a missionary named C.T. Studd. He was famous for a number of quotes, but a poem he wrote had a profound impact on my heart. I pray that we all will live with the same passion for Christ and His kingdom.
Only One Life
By C.T. Studd
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way.
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done.
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice.
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears.
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score.
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say:
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep.
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn.
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne.
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, “Thy will be done.”
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all.”
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.