Pastor's Note

I might be the only one, but sometimes I wish I had a little more time during the Sunday sermon! Or, more often, I sometimes wish I could redo parts of the sermon and add a little more clarity. If I could do either of those things, I might go back and clarify the distinction between those who baptize infants (paedobaptists), and those who do not (credobaptists, i.e. us), and how they differ in their understanding of the new covenant (the subject of Jeremiah 31:31-34).

On May 3rd we will be begin a six-week sermon series on church membership and discipline called "Holy Belonging." If I may be transparent, I am less excited now for this series than I was when we began 1 Samuel or jumped back into Romans. As a rule I generally prefer going through books of the Bible as opposed to topical or thematic series. And nobody wants to talk about church discipline. So why this series?

"You can't put God in a box." I don't know if you've heard that phrase, or even used it yourself. It is used essentially to say that God is mysterious in nature, and when we try to define Him with theological and doctrinal terms, we are creating inappropriate (or even wrong) boundaries and limitations on an infinite God. I understand the sentiment.

Sunday begins a new round of adult Sunday School classes, and I think we'll be ending the season on a high note! (We'll take a break from Sunday School in the summer.) Here are the three classes we're offering:

Sometimes short Bible verses are the best Bible verses. This is true with the two simple commands of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17; "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing..." That is also our goal and my request of you next week as we lead up to Resurrection Sunday. Many of us lead full and busy lives. My request is that we all intentionally make next week full of prayer and praise. Here's how we will do that together!

All of a sudden, we are squarely into the Easter season (as marked by my annual tradition of enjoying Cadbury Creme Eggs). Each year we have our own calendar of events, intended to lead us into worship of God and appreciating the significance of the cross/death and resurrection of Christ.

This Sunday we will touch on one of my favorite verses in Romans 8:1; "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Another of those verses that I consistently go back to is Hebrews 10:24-25; "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Earlier this week Karla sent out a substantive email with information on three important pieces - a Personal Ministry Survey, a draft for a revised CBC Constitution and Bylaws, and a prototype/draft of our new CBC Discipleship Pathway. We'll be talking more about each of those over the next weeks and months. For now, I just wanted to touch on the Personal Ministry Survey.

This Sunday, we will be on question 20 in our catechism time on Sunday mornings. Thus far, the catechism questions have been establishing God's holiness, our sin, and the need for a Savior. The upcoming questions will revolve around the nature of redemption and our Redeemer. I've enjoyed these catechism times so far (especially this last Sunday), and I hope they've been fruitful.

I thoroughly enjoyed our Heritage Night last Friday evening, and am very grateful for those who worked hard to make it happen. That team is now asking the question - should we do it again? I would love to know what the rest of the church thinks. Should we host another "Heritage Night" next year, or sometime in the future? Should we make it an annual thing?