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 Pastor's Notes
Greetings and grace to you in the
wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Summer has arrived as far as we are all concerned even if the summer
solstice hasn’t officially happened yet. School is out. VBS is only a few days away, and the
swimming pools are open! Though the
seasons change, as well as the seasons of life, the Lord changes not and is
faithful! He continues to bless in
mighty ways, for which we are thankful.
Our family would like to express a heartfelt appreciation for your love
shown to us during the passing of Pam’s father, James Reyer. We thank you for every expression of
love demonstrated to us. You are
our family. We love and praise the
Lord for you!
June is not only the beginning of summer, but also the beginning of a
new Sunday School year and Church Ministry Teams year. ERBC is greatly blessed with people
willing to serve the Lord. You
might not always see the big picture.
There are a total of 14 Sunday School classes, which require 21
teachers. All classes involving
minors require two adults be present.
You math geniuses have already calculated; we have 7 adult and 7
non-adult classes. Counting those
21 individuals with Church Officers, Select Teams and Servant Team Leaders
there are 56 different individual adults engaged in leading ministry at ERBC
for the upcoming year. Add in the
other 45 individuals that signed up to serve on the Servant Teams and 101
individuals expressed their willingness and commitment to serve the Lord
through ERBC. If memory serves me
correctly, we have never been above 80 before. Yes, the Lord is doing a work in our
midst! He is greatly to be
praised.
The calendar for June presents many ministry opportunities. Youth Retreat is May 31-June 2, and will
culminate that Sunday night in the Youth Ministry leading the evening Worship
Service @ 5:30pm. Vacation Bible
School continues to be a great ministry and evangelistic opportunity. Sunday, June 9 we will have a VBS
Outreach & Celebration. The Outreach
will begin @ 3:30pm, as we go door to door in our community inviting all K-12th
grade students to participate in VBS June 10-14 from 6-8:30pm. The VBS Celebration will begin @ 5:00pm
on the south lawn with food, inflatables and fun. Many of our youth and young adults serve
at Camp Joy, June 17-21. Please be
in prayer for them and the camp.
Sunday, June 23 @ 5:30pm the Cavaliers Quartet will be in concert at
ERBC. A love offering will be
received. The 2019 God &
Country Celebration is June 30.
Please bring a side dish, drink and dessert for lunch fellowship after
morning worship.
I hope our 2019 verse has become the desire of your heart and soul, and
now you echo Paul’s desire, “That
I may know him,” (Philp. 3:10a). One of the things I know about the Lord
is that He is faithful, as I have been reflecting upon His faithfulness over
the last several weeks. May 19
marked my 28th year being surrendered to the ministry of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. There were several
days during those twenty-eight years that I honestly didn’t know what to
do or if I was to continue or not.
There have been times of personal failure in various ways. But, never once did the Lord fail in His
faithfulness to me or my family.
Whether during the bad times or the good and great times, the Lord was
faithful to make Himself known, show His hand of provision, and grant peace,
supply courage, strength, and even perseverance. Honestly, there is not a week that
I do not cry out like David in Psalm 61:1-2, “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” David was on the run from Absolom when
the Lord inspired him to write these verses. Certainly this was the desire of
David’s heart, and should be ours not only when we are overwhelmed. If we discipline our heart and direct it
to desire to know the Lord in ever increasing and intimate way, then in the bad
times, as well as in the good and great times He will be the desire of our
heart. The Lord will assure us of
His faithfulness and ability in such a way that we can also say with David, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine
enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: in the
LORD will I praise his word. In God
have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will
render praises unto thee. For thou
hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Ps. 56:9-13) God is good, all the time!
By His grace,
Toney
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