Down by the Creek – March 2017

From the Pastor’s Desk

Dear Friends,

As I write this I am preparing for my trip to Liberia. I have lots of feelings swimming around inside of me as I leave.

I am thankful for all of the people that have provided me with the chance to go. I am thankful to be a part of a congregation that is willing to follow God down unexpected paths. It is clear to me that God is driving this mission trip. Too many events have come together which communicate to me divine initiative. I trust that God will reveal unexpected discoveries to us and to our Liberian hosts. It is a powerful experience to visit the land that was settled by people who migrated here from slavery to seek new opportunities in Africa.

I am also thankful to the people who have made financial contributions so that I can go. I have been blessed by family and friends who have covered the cost of this trip. I am thankful to the session for providing supply pastors so that I can leave here.

I am not sure how I will do as a 4 day revival preacher. The experience will push me out of my comfort zone. But I am going to trust that God has equipped me even if I am not so sure.

Please keep the 5 of us in your thoughts and prayers while we travel and seek to be faithful.

Peace, Sam


Devotion:

Hebrews 13:1-12

“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

This passage is meaningful to me as I head off to visit a strange land. These words were originally written as a conclusion to a sermon. The writer wants his hearers to understand that love for one another must continue and the way you show this love is by how you treat strangers. The preacher wants his hearers to know that the strangers in our midst may be the presence of God.

So how do you treat the stranger in your midst? Do you show hospitality? Is your hospitality limited to only people that share your political opinions? Do you show hospitality to the person who may speak a different language or has a different ethnicity? As we encounter the “stranger” we are invited to remember that this “stranger” may actually be an angel from God.