| Dear Friends, I know who you are. Assuming you are in Christ, you are a saint. According to James Montgomery Boice, Dr. Harry Ironside, who was pastor at Moody church in the 1920’s, used to travel many miles by train. On one of these trips, a four-day ride from the West Coast to his home in Chicago, Ironside found himself in the company of a party of nuns. They saw him reading his Bible and began to have conversations with him, learning that he was a pastor. One day Dr. Ironside began a discussion with the nuns by asking if any of them had ever seen a saint. They all said no. He then asked if they would like to meet one. They all said yes. That’s when he told them “I am a saint; I am Saint Harry.” He took them to verses of the Bible to show that anyone who is a follower of Jesus is a saint. James Boice says “So it is with us. Your name may sound funny when you preface it with the title ‘saint.’ But you may rest assured that it does not sound funny to God—whether you are a Saint George, a Saint Lucy, or a Saint Harriet. God knows us all by name, and it is he who calls us saints in Christ Jesus.” That’s who you are. You’re a saint. We think the word saint means “someone who demonstrates exemplary virtue or righteousness.” In the Roman Catholic tradition, sainthood is officially conferred on those who have lived lives of exemplary holiness or godliness (there is also the requirement that the person performs two verifiable miracles). But in the Bible, believers are called saints. Like everything about our lives as Christians, the designation is not about our performance or our goodness. It’s because we have been set apart for service and have had Jesus’ righteousness imputed to us. And if that’s who we are – saints – then we have something to live up to. We have a new identity that we need to embrace and express in how we live. Here’s how William Hendricksen explains it. He says “a saint is a person to whom the Lord has shown favor, and upon whom, accordingly, there rests a great responsibility. He who is a saint must remember that he has been called to be a saint.” Back in 2013, a young man named Terron Armstead became a different kind of saint. Terron played offensive tackle at UAPB and was drafted in the third round of the NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints. On the day he was drafted, Terron had a major change in his life. All of a sudden, he was wearing a different jersey, practicing with new players at a different practice facility and reporting to a new coach. After nine years with the Saints, a few weeks ago, Terron signed a new contract with the Miami Dolphins. He is set to earn $75 million dollars over the next five years, with bonuses that could boost him up to $87 million. On the day you became a saint, things changed for you too. You had new teammates. A new coach. A new playbook. And an inheritance that makes Terron Armstead look like a poor man. Just as the owners of the New Orleans saints gave Terron Armstead the a great gift when they drafted him, so God has given you a great gift by making you a saint. It’s a gift we need to embrace. To own. To live up to. Thank God that He has set you apart and called you to a new way of life, a new identity. And then live it. Live like the set apart, called out person that you are. Live your life in such a way that others will see your choices and your character and they will say “he plays for a different team.” |
Sunday, we heard about how God is using the folks at Deeper Still Arkansas to help women who have experienced the deep trauma of abortion through their weekend retreats for post-abortive men and women. The next Deeper Still retreat happens June 24-26, and there is still space available for any man or woman who would like to attend. All costs have been covered through scholarships, so the weekend is free for all who would like to attend. Please pray for the retreat. And if you have questions or would like more information, visit https://www.deeperstillarkansas.org/retreats.html.
Men and women, we’ll be installing fencing and assembling a gazebo out by the playground on Saturday. If you can come all day, great! If you can come for an hour, that’s great too! Hope to see you at church on Saturday.
And there’s lot more happening this month at Redeemer.
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backyard bible club | Jun 27~JUL 1
| We’re getting close! Have you registered your children yet for the Backyard Bible Club? Why not? Do it now! We need to know how many will be coming. You can click this link to register. |
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And one more opportunity for you to send an email inviting other kids to join your kids for the club. I’ve made it easy for you to cut, edit, paste and send.
Dear ,
Our church (Redeemer Community Church of Little Rock) is having a weeklong Backyard Bible Club this summer for kids fifth grade and younger. It’s the week of June 27 – July 1, and it’s each morning that week from 9:30 – 11:00. It’s going to be all about the Ten Commandments. I thought maybe your kids would be interested. And I thought maybe by the end of June, you might be looking for an activity like this to keep your kids busy for an hour and a half in the mornings!
The Backyard Bible Club is free, but you do need to enroll your kids. You can do that by clicking here. And if you have any questions, let me know and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll see what I can find out! 0. It’s going to be all about the Ten Commandments. I thought maybe your kids would be interested. And I thought maybe by the end of June, you might be looking for an activity like this to keep your kids busy for an hour and a half in the mornings!
The Backyard Bible Club is free, but you do need to enroll your kids. You can do that by clicking here. And if you have any questions, let me know and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll see what I can find out!
| After teaching His disciples how to pray, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus shared a story about a man who wakes up his neighbor at midnight asking for three loaves of bread. And He explains that good fathers don’t give stones to their children when the kids are asking for bread. Finally, He wraps up His teaching on prayer with something that is often overlooked. We’ll examine Jesus’ parable about prayer this Sunday. See you in church. Soli Deo Gloria! Pastor Bob |
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