Trinity Lutheran Church - Town of Wilson

Nothing but Christ ...

Posted by on 24 September 2009 | 0 Comments

Nothing but Christ …

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. I Corinthians 15:58

A big THANK YOU to all those who were involved in planning the “surprise” this past Sunday.  How blessed I – and my family – have been to be part of His ministry here at Trinity and St. Thomas.  What a great day it was as we celebrated God’s grace and mercy poured out abundantly on us.  Indeed To God Alone be the glory!

Our focus and our trust needs to be in the Lord at all times.  My prayer is that as we continue to work together in this corner of God’s kingdom, our focus would be the same as the apostle Paul who wrote:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

I Corinthians 2:1-5

Our focus needs to remain – Nothing But Christ.  That sounds so simplistic, doesn’t it?  But with Christ, His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weaknesses.

Throughout the past ten years we have seen His power as we have kept our eyes on Christ.  Keeping our eyes on Him, there have been

V  15 Baptisms at St. Thomas and 31 Baptisms at Trinity;

V  5 Confirmations at St. Thomas and 30 Confirmations at Trinity;

V  9 Marriages of St. Thomas members and 16 Marriages of Trinity members; and

V  24 Funerals at St. Thomas and 31 Funerals at Trinity.

In order that this may continue to be our focus in the days to come, may we adopt the goals suggested by the Psalmist:

1.      Entering His gates in worship, filled with thanksgiving, in order to be built up and strengthened in our life together.

2.      Know that the Lord is God by participating in Bible Study.  As we do, we will be firmly grounded in God’s Word.

3.      Serve the Lord with gladness.  This can be done in the following ways:

a)      By supporting our ministry, sharing the abundant life and building God’s eternal family with our members and our communities.

b)      By supporting our mission work throughout the world so others too might know of the wonderful love and power of God unto salvation.

Again, thanks for acknowledging my ten years of ministry among you.  Also, and thanks for the gifts and well wishes – they certainly were not necessary, but indeed they are appreciated.

May our focus continue to be nothing more, nothing less than Christ.  To God Alone be the Glory!

In Christ’s service,

Pastor Jabs