April 9, 2015

 

Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:

 

Next weekend (April 17-19), our church will be sending two groups away on retreat. Our MLEPC women will enjoy a "Garden Getaway" at Salt Fork Lodge in Ohio on Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. No doubt, they'll enjoy conversation, prayer, shared testimonies, worship in song, growth through Bible teaching, and sleep. Well, maybe they'll sleep . . . at least a little. Let's pray for them as they retreat for a few days. And men, let's "man up" while they are away by keeping things running smoothly on the home front. It's a valuable way for us to bless the women as they take time to seek the Lord's blessings. We'll look to see the guys in church on Sunday morning, even though the ladies will be away. It will be a rare Sunday with more men than women in the sanctuary, but we'll look to God for a dynamic morning of worship and growth in faith here on site, too.

 

The other group heading off on retreat will be our confirmation class. We have a group of youth who are preparing to join the church soon. They'll appear before Session at the end of April and then be presented to the church family during worship on May 3--Youth Sunday (single service at 9:00 a.m.--don't miss it!). This retreat to Cook's Forest is a highlight in their confirmation process led by Andy Hromoko, Liz Mayfield, and Pastor Lee Clark. Let's pray that these youth bond together with the Lord and each other in a life-changing way during the weekend of April 17-19.

 

I mention these two upcoming retreats not only to keep us aware of the good ministry opportunities at our church, but also to encourage the value of taking dedicated retreat time with the Lord and fellow believers. It was not uncommon for Jesus to try to find times to retreat from the crowds with the twelve disciples, although the crowds often thwarted those efforts. It was even more common for Jesus to retreat by Himself for prayer and meditation in solitude with His heavenly Father. If we would grow in faith and remain energized in our daily walk, we really do need these away times with the Lord. The Spirit uses them to recharge our spiritual batteries, and on some occasions, He intervenes to give us a full spiritual battery change and exchange. We can miss these life-sustaining and life-transforming opportunities when we don't retreat.

 

Having clearly embraced the value of retreat, let us just as clearly note that the purpose of our retreat times is not for us to stay on retreat. No, we actually retreat with the intention of advancing. We return better able as Christians to talk the talk, walk the walk, and live the life before our fellow Christians and the watching world. We return with hearts intent on advancing the gospel of Jesus and the Kingdom of God in daily activities. Our retreat is intended to give us resources to advance in love and service to Christ.

 

Which leads to a third ministry opportunity offered through our church: Pastor Steve is providing a seminar on how naturally to share the Good News with others as a most important way to forward God's work. It is scheduled for this Sunday, April 12--a week in advance of the retreats, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. We know God calls us to reach out to the world with the life-changing word about Christ, using our own unique voice and approach. Pastor Steve looks to help us learn to do just that through the seminar. All are welcome!

 

Retreat to advance!

 

Pastor Tim

 

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