January 2018 Newsletter

For Parents on the Go:

1) Skiing, Snowboarding and Tubing at Snowflex in Lynchburg, Virginia. Saturday, January 13th. We will be leaving the church at 8:00 am. Cost: $35 plus lunch money. All students who are going will need to fill out a release form and bring a valid ID.

2) Superbowl Party: Sunday, February 4th in CREW. Cost: one side dish or dessert.

3) Wednesday Nights we will be starting a new series examining The Apostles Creed. We will be breaking it down into sections and discussing what Christians believe and why they believe it. Our prayer is that the students would walk away from the series better understanding their faith.

4) Sunday Mornings we will be starting a new series examining the Old Testament prophets and sharing what it looks like to be a voice for God in a changing culture.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.-Lamentations 3:22-23

Dear Parents,

I love New Years! The excitement of beginning afresh washes over me every year and I look forward to the clock striking midnight and starting a new year. As Christians we don't have to wait for a new year to start over with God; His mercies are new every day.

God's mercies are new every morning because each day only has enough mercy in it for that day.

This is why we tend to despair when we think that we may have to bear tomorrow's load on today's resources. God wants us to know. We won't. Today's mercies are for today's troubles. Tomorrow's mercies are for tomorrow's troubles.

Sometimes we wonder if we will have the mercy to stand in terrible testing. Yes, we will. Peter says, "If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14). When the reviling comes the Spirit of glory comes. It happened for Stephen as he was being stoned. It will happen for you. When the Spirit and the glory are needed they will come.

The manna in the wilderness was given one day at a time. There was no storing up. That is the way we must depend on God's mercy. You do not receive today the strength to bear tomorrow's burdens. You are given mercies today for today's troubles.

Tomorrow the mercies will be new. "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:9).

I am learning everyday (I realize I don't know completely yet, but I am learning) how difficult being a parent is. I find myself apologizing to my parents for the way I treated them. Parents we can be thankful that God's mercies are new in 2016. When we make mistakes as parents God's mercies will be new. When we lose our temper and speak harshly to our children we can remember that God's mercies are new. When we look on social media and feel we don't measure up to all those "perfect" parents we can remember that God's mercies are new. Parents, take comfort today that God's mercies are new and fresh for all of us everyday and every year.

I don't know what awaits us in 2018 but I do know that God's mercies will be new and fresh. I know that the same God who sustained us in 2017 will sustain us in 2018 and that is why I look forward with eager anticipation to a brand new year.

Reaching, Teaching, and Releasing,

Pastor T Welch