April 8, 2026

On behalf of a very blessed and grateful congregation, I want to give a giant SHOUT-OUT to those members in our music ministry who served and led us so well this past weekend. Preparation for these services started months ago, and many of these musicians invested many hours in regular rehearsals and then in additional ones in order to provide us with such excellent music. Thank-you all! What a blessing you are to all of us!!

I am often asked “how the Easter services went.” And I really do not know how to answer that. After all, the true measure of effectiveness will be seen in fruit that is grown over the long haul. It is certainly nice to have more people than normal in attendance, but what makes a service good, is not the number of people present, but what happens in the lives of those who are present. So, the question I need to ask is more along the line of “what happened in the lives of those who were here?”

And this is what I want to encourage and challenge you with. Imagine that God answered every prayer you prayed about those who gathered this past weekend. In other words, if you prayed for unbelievers to come, they did. If you prayed for people to trust in Christ, they did. If you prayed for believers who’ve lost their bearings, to come back, they did. If God answered all your prayers this past weekend, what would have happened?

Holiday weekends are meaningful, but they can also be hectic with the additional family and friends’ gatherings. This coming weekend is not a holiday, but every Sunday is Resurrection Day for the church. Our singing will point us to Christ, the text will engage our hearts and the sermon will expose the gospel. As the hymn says, “Will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.”

Pray for believers to prioritize the gathering and to come to be fed and edified. Pray for unbelievers to come and hear the gospel and believe! Pray for the people who were invited to come. Pray for the people you’ve invited, to come. Pray for the church to display the gospel and help people see the reality of Christ. Pray so that as God answers your prayers, his church displays his glory.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: Luke 18:31-34