Liberty Vineyard family,
Since Sunday when y’all installed me as Pastor, this beautiful opening prayer has resonated in my heart and mind: “O Lord our God … visit our congregation with Your love and favor; enlighten our minds more and more with the light of Your everlasting gospel; graft in our hearts a love of Your truth; advance us in holiness of heart and life, nourish us with all goodness and Your great mercy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” Though we have our ups and downs at Liberty Vineyard and in the circumstances we each face, God has visited and continues to visit us with unending love and favor! Not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because that is who God is! His faithful love endures forever! It doesn’t we won’t have any troubles, but we can rest in the confidence that the Lord is always with us and always for us. God is faithful, forever faithful!
On the previous Sunday, Pastor Nancy spoke an excellent word from Acts 23 in which she wisely exhorted us to speak with honesty and resist the temptation to tell our stories where we self-select facts to present ourselves in the best way possible. She also encouraged us to responsibly use the gifts and graces we’ve been given for the glory of God and the good of people. Our Acts journey continues for several more weeks, and what a rich and rewarding journey it has been!
I close by praying for each of us the prayer that Paul and Sosthenes prayed over the church in Corinth 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 – “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Amen! Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
My journey, like yours, has had both lows and highs –
raw breathless wonder, heartbroken sighs,
seasons of plenty, days of delight,
parched desert wanderings with no end in sight.
Songs in the sunshine, songs in the night,
songs when we’re fearful, songs of delight.
Prayers in anxiety, prayers when storm-tossed,
prayers for the desperate, when all hope seems lost.
Some dreams fulfilled, others buried with time,
dreams that seem silly, others somehow sublime,
dreams formerly dreamt long forgotten, asleep.
Nothing’s wasted or lost, for God’s reach is quite deep.
Through the highs and the lows, one thing remains clear –
the Lord has been faithful, year after year.
God is with us and for us each moment, each breath,
the one thing that’s constant (plus taxes and death).
May we live in the present more fully, and rest
in the fullness of Trinity love – God’s the best!
I gratefully give all I am to The King
of creation – each soul, being, world, everything!
Church, thanks for your trust! Oh, Lord, grace us to stay
interdependent, united, as we trust and obey
our Lord Jesus, who’s faithful to lead and provide,
as we listen, love fiercely, and walk side by side.
Believing in Jesus, we are born from above.
Spirit, fill us today with your pure, perfect love.
With a wholehearted “yes” to my Sovereign’s call.
Jesus is risen! Christ is all!
With you on the journey,
Karen Sculley
Pastor, Liberty Vineyard Church
(404) 388-0518
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