Looking Up – God’s Kindness to Us
Dear Hope Church Family,
I recently had the privilege of meeting with a young man who was, for the first time in an official sense, ready to put his faith in Jesus Christ into his own words. He had been baptized as a covenant child, been raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord by his parents, and actively participated in the Children’s Ministry at our church. He had been a part of the most recent Communicants Class, and now he was ready and willing to take the next step.
In between the morning worship services, borrowing our church administrator’s office chairs, we plumbed the depths of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He articulated in an age-appropriate way his great need of a Savior and his trust in Jesus to be that Savior for his need.
This Sunday, as he and many others take their membership vows and affirm their faith in Christ publicly, he will be admitted to the Lord’s table – welcome to commune with saints, welcome to conspicuously declare his need of Jesus, and welcome to rejoice in God’s never-ending supply. He is free to partake of the means of grace and be assured of Christ’s love and provision week after week.
I love these conversations. I love the simple beauty of (using a phrase from generations ago) covenant children “improving upon their baptism”. It is one of the most delightful and encouraging aspects of serving our congregation as an elder.
Please join me in rejoicing that this young man is just one of 15 covenant children we are welcoming into our membership from the Communicants Class. And there are another 10 Discovering Hope participants who will join Hope over the next several weeks, too!
This is God’s kindness to us. This is God’s gracious keeping of his promise to build his church. This is such an exhilarating season in the life of our church.
Grace and peace,
David