February Newsletter

February Newsletter

To the Church Family at Faith Baptist Church;
            In February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Therefore, February is sometimes known as the month when love is emphasized.  In the church, love should be emphasized every month. Have you ever considered how much the New Testament uses the word love?  In the gospels, God often audibly calls Jesus “my beloved Son.”  Paul in all his letters, Peter in his, John in his, and James in his all refer to fellow believers as “beloved.”
            We need think of our fellow church members as “beloved.”  O. S. Hawkins in The Connection Code points to some reasons why.  Below I list and then expand on his thoughts. First, as believers, we are family with each other.  God is our heavenly Father; we are his children.  That makes us brothers and sisters in the faith.  We should strive to be a close-knit, loving family, always supporting and encouraging one another.
            Second, we need to see each other as friends.  In Philemon 1:1, Paul calls Philemon his friend.  Acts makes it known that Paul had others he considered his friends.  Amazingly, Jesus called us his friends.  As his friends, we can be friends with one another.
            Third, we need to see each other as fellow workers.  In Philemon, Paul calls Philemon his “beloved fellow worker.”  Have you noticed that God often sends out workers in pairs?  It was Moses working with Aaron his brother who led the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.  Jesus sent out his disciples “two by two.”  Paul always seems to have had a fellow worker, whether Barnabas, Silas, or Timothy.  Sometimes when I am doing a wedding, I remind the couple that together they are stronger in their union than they would be alone by quoting from Ecclesiastes 4.  It tells us that two are better than one, have a good reward on their toil, help each other, and can better defend better against a common foe.  There is strength in numbers.  As fellow workers in the church, we can bring people to Jesus, help them grow as disciples, and together minister to the needs around us.
            Fourth, we need to see each other as fellow soldiers.  We have a common enemy, Satan.  We as God’s people are in a spiritual battle.  We stand together against the devil’s schemes to divide and destroy us.  We must stay together in the battle, or the enemy will over-power us.  When one of us in wounded in the battle, we need the help and encouragement of others, not abandonment or criticism. 
            In this “month of love,” let us make the loving effort to always see each other as family, friends, fellow laborers, and fellow soldiers.  Together in love, we can be God’s people which he can use to carry out his purposes of love in the world.
             
Your pastor, Ken Harmon