Church Family Update - July 16, 2020

Good morning everyone! I don’t have any updates or prayer requests since yesterday. Please contact me with any updates, big or small, and I’ll pass them along to the congregation. 

Once again it was good seeing real people in church last Sunday. We’ve still got more room in our sanctuary if you would like to come and join us. Our ushers have done a great job of helping us all practice social distancing during the service. If you would like to join us this Sunday please register at this link: Google Registration so that we can prepare for your visit.

A Devotional Thought (Part III continued from July 10)

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” Acts 2:46

José was eventually sent to another prison for a couple of months where he awaited his release on parole. I liked visiting this facility better as the security wasn’t so tight and the guards were nicer. José and I were counting the days until his release. It was excruciating to both of us when the date got pushed back by two weeks for no apparent reason. 

Finally the day arrived. I showed up at the prison and for the first time, José and I walked out together. I told him I’d take him anywhere he wanted to go for his first meal on the outside. He picked a local diner in Milwaukee and we had burgers, fries and milkshakes to celebrate his release. And then it was immediately off to the parole office downtown where José had to meet with his parole officer and make a plan for the months to come. 

Our whole church family had been praying for José over the past months. On the first Sunday he attended church with us we rejoiced and welcomed him into the family. All his life he had been looking for a safe place where he would be welcomed and loved unconditionally. A place where he could form meaningful friendships and use his gifts to bless others. He was looking for a family and he found it in the church.

José isn’t really any different than the rest of us. We’re all made with an innate desire for family. We want to love and be loved. We want to be accepted for who we are. We want to have an outlet to use our gifts and ideas to bless others. We’re also made to worship God through song and prayer and fellowship and giving and acts of service. 

This is the blessing of being part of a healthy “faith family.” Jesus Christ has met our deepest needs by paying the penalty for our sins and securing our forgiveness thereby reconciling us to our Holy Creator and giving us the gift of eternal life. But beyond that, his sacrifice paved the way for us to become part of His new covenant family.

The church is supposed to be a safe place where we are received and loved unconditionally. It’s a place where we form deep and meaningful relationships. It’s a place where we can exercise our unique God-given gifts and talents to bless others. And it’s a place where we satisfy our deepest longings for worship through song, prayer, fellowship, giving and acts of service. 

The church is family. And that’s what I mean when I use that phrase “faith family.” Every time I say it I’m reminded of what a deep blessing God has given us in the church. 

One final note on José. I’d like to tell you that everything was awesome after José was released from prison and he joined our faith family. But life is rarely that simple. Things were up and down for José. He had a hard time finding and keeping a job. He had a hard time staying away from friends that were a bad influence. Old habits of deception and self-preservation are hard to break. 

It was a sad day for me when I found out that José had been arrested again and would be going back to prison. But this story isn’t about me and it’s not about José either. It’s about a God of grace who has made us part of His family. God doesn’t give up on us when we stumble. He delights to forgive us over and over again when we repent and return to Him. 

And as a church, we don’t give up on each other. We keep loving people even if we don’t see eye to eye with them. We forgive people even if they’ve hurt us. Family is family. It was only through the blood of Christ that any of us were allowed to become part of this family. And He will hold us fast and bring to completion the good work He has begun in us. He will make us a lovely bride. And we’re all in this together. That’s what it means to be part of a faith family. 

José is back out of prison again. He has started a family and is actively engaged in ministry to at-risk kids in Milwaukee. Praise God!

May you find joy, comfort and blessing in being part of God’s faith family.

Pastor Jason