An open letter to CHCC rejoicing in Him

An open letter to CHCC rejoicing in Him

Praise Him! Our annual business meeting was held Sunday after morning worship, our Harvest offering was taken and God moved once again in the hearts of His people. All recommendations were approved by more than a super majority vote and our folks were nearly unanimous in their voting. We are now a plurality of Elders led church! Our morning regular offering was approx $2,700.00 and our Harvest Offering almost matched that with another $2,675.00! Nearly $5,400.00 was given by His people. We can now finish the Children’s Ministry rooms in the next couple of months. The new Elder board will start the process of Deacon nominations for congregational approval and the Elders will begin Shepherding God’s flock at Center Hill. Exciting times for sure. It’s Thanksgiving week and as Senior Pastor, I want to take this opportunity to thank God for each and everyone of you. I will say this again, no Pastor could ask for a better congregation to minister to. You are kind, generous, committed to the Word of God and ever growing in your love for Christ. Our Pie and Praise time on Sunday was amazing for me as Pastor. God was pleased. Watching and hearing families sing, It is ‘Well With My Soul’ and ‘And Can it Be’ nearly brought tears to the eyes of one crusty retired cop. (I actually saw teen aged boys singing) And the testimonies,…. they should have been recorded and as they say “That would have preached”. Tammy and I both want to thank you for the generous gifts during the month of October for Pastor Appreciation month. The gift cards, money, baked goods, jerkies, meals, cards, hunting blind, and the Getty Concert Tickets and overnight stay are so very much appreciated. We are continually humbled by the church’s outpouring of love and kind words. I have received so many emails and phone calls from many of you over the past several months expressing your love not only for Tammy and I but for your love of the Word of God and the God of the Word. You have expressed what God has been doing in your life to expand your view of Him and how He shows His grace in some of the deepest ways possible. I wish I could share each of them but most were spoken in confidentiality and were quite personal. Nothing means more to me than to know that God’s Word and His Son is exalted in the lives of our congregation, nothing! Once again, I love being your Pastor! Soli Deo gloria! PG

I’m not sure I feel thankful

I’m not sure I feel thankful

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me….O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you….But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;….. Salvation belongs to the Lord! It is so easy to give thanks to God when He pours out all good things upon us, isn’t it?  When life seems to be filled with blessing upon blessing, we raise our voice heavenward and proclaim God’s goodness and our gratitude. But what about the times when the struggles of this world seem to be mounting up?  When the blessings of God are but a memory?  When His voice has grown silent and His presence at a distance?  Do we give thanks then? Seems an odd question and silly proposition.  Give thanks when I’m not thankful for my situation.  Who in the world would be thankful for being in the belly of fish?  But that is exactly what Jonah did.  He prayed with a thankful heart to His Lord even in the midst of uncertain times and near fatal circumstances.  He understood the truth of what Paul would write many generations later, that with ‘thanksgiving’ we are to make our requests known to Him without anxiety (Phil. 4:6,7)  What radical thinking! What did Jonah have to be thankful for?  The same things you and I have in the midst of the darkest night.  God is powerful (Psa 68:28), He watches our very steps (Psa 139:3), He compassionately cares for us (1 Peter 5:7),  and that He is continually in the process of conforming us to His son’s image which is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28, 29).   Even when our situation would seem to dictate our crying out in hopelessness or at least a pity party, it is then that God’s peace is promised to us as we cry out to him in honesty and thanksgiving. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love and faithfulness! Sola Deo Gloria