Dear First Pres,
Tomorrow afternoon Diane, my wife, will be heading up the hill with many of our First Pres women to the Women's Conference. It always takes a little extra coordination for our family when Diane leaves for a weekend, but it's totally worth it. The Women's Conference is a great time for her to connect with Christ and His Community in ways that nurture her soul. I hope that all of us will be praying for our Women's Conference attendees and leaders that God will do a great work among them. Meanwhile, for the guys who are left at home, on point for household responsibilities, don't be tempted to stay home on Sunday. I just checked the NFL schedule; all the west coast teams are playing on Sunday afternoon. Make it a priority to get to church on Sunday, guys; I think the first of our new sermon series, Moving into New Territory, is especially important for guys to hear.
The new sermon series, mentioned above, is based on the book of Joshua. I spent quite a bit of time studying Joshua this summer, and I'm excited to share the Gospel through the story of God's people moving into the Promised Land. God told Joshua to be strong and courageous; that's what it takes for anyone to follow God's call. I wonder what new territory God will reveal and call us into as we as reflect on Joshua together.
This Sunday I will also be finishing the Education Hour class I've been leading on the Reformed view of baptism. In particular, this week, I will be talking about the biblical reasons for infant baptism. I hope you'll be there, especially if you don't believe there are biblical reasons for infant baptism. Also, Dennis Dupertis will continue to teach his education hour class this week in the Commons.
Finally, Community Groups are back! October 12 (next Sunday) from 5-7 p.m. at various locations around our great cities Community Groups will be gathering to kick-off the next iteration of Community Group ministry. Remember, Community Groups are mid-sized groups for the purpose of building relationships (within and beyond our church community), making new disciples, and living out the Gospel in our neighborhoods. Last week we talked about being fully invested in our city, being a community that is unique within our city, and loving our city like Jesus does (if you missed last week's sermon, I hope you'll check it out online). It seems to me, that Community Groups is one of the best ways we can structure ourselves toward that end.
May the Lord lead us forward,
Posted by
