From the Pastor

Abounding in Steadfast Love
(Joel 2:13)

I think it’s appropriate that Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday both happen in February. At a glance, they can seem like opposing or contradicting events, but they are intimately connected for us as the Church. On Valentine’s Day, we celebrate the love that we have with those God has given us. On Ash Wednesday, we remember our need for God’s loving-kindness. Both events are centered on relationships; therefore they are both centered on the Church.

The Church is meant to be a place full of relationships; between us and God and between us and those God gives us. Since all people are created in the image of God, all people want to be loved and want to show love.  Everyone wants to be in a relationship, and the Church should be a place that practices loving relationships. The Church is where God lives out His loving relationship with His creation.

February is a great time to remember who God is and what His desire is for His Church. “Return to the Lord your God [why?] because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). Just like our greatest desire is to love and be loved, God’s greatest desire is to give His love to those who turn to Him. What good is His love? The love of God is never-ending, always-forgiving, eternal-life-promising, and forever-present and all He asks of us is to turn towards Him so He can drown us in the love that He wants to give.

Valentine’s Day = love and Ash Wednesday = we need love, this is the cycle of our relationship with God. He loves and we need that love. As the Church, we have that love and that relationship, so what do we do with it?  The Church is the place where Christ lives in relationship with His people and it’s not just about physical space (we are always the Church) but within the physical space we are brought into intimate relationships with God’s family to practice how we are called to live as the Church. So how is God’s Church at Resurrection practicing needy-love this month?

We can grow in our understanding of who we are in the study, This Is the Church (starts February 11). We can grow in community in gatherings, like Welcome to Middle School Youth Group (February 4) for fifth graders, Welcome to Resurrection Brunch (February 14) for those new to our family, and Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper (February 17) for all with hungry bellies. We can practice living as the Church in worship every Sunday and on Ash Wednesday (February 18). And we can follow God’s plan for His Church in a special Voters’ Meeting (February 8) that discusses God’s Ministry Expansion Campaign.

This is the relationship that God has placed you in, receiving His love and giving His love as an eternal member of His Church!

Your brother in the Church,
Pastor Zach Sarrault