Dear Church Family,
On July 4, America will celebrate 250 years as a nation. That sounds pretty old until you stop to think. For example, today I received a picture from a church family who is traveling overseas of a church they just visited. The church was built in 1512, 264 years before we were founded, which means this one building is more than twice as old as we are as a nation. Compared to the rest of the world, we are a young nation!
While we are still young, we have arguably had an impact on the world as a nation since our involvement in WWI more than 100 years ago. Our impact has continued to grow, and we have become a leader in world politics and economics.
As important as this is to celebrate as citizens of this nation, I believe we have something more important, much older, and much more impactful, to celebrate.
On July 5, just as we do every Sunday, we will come together to worship God and praise Him for salvation through His Son, and the grace He shows and gives us each day. This is an activity that has been in effect for more than 2,000 years and one that can impact people for eternity.
Hebrews 13:14 states, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” I pray this will also be in your mind as we celebrate our nation’s birthday. This nation, even this very world, will someday come to an end. Yet that won’t be our end! Eternity is coming, and that is worth celebrating every day!
My prayer is that the celebration of your faith would be transparent, even contagious. In 2 Corinthians 5:2, Paul writes, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
May you, on this 4th of July, and even beyond, celebrate being part of our wonderful nation, but focus on being an ambassador for our great God!
I love you all,
Pastor Daniel