| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Christian community” Our Bible verse for today: “I give thanks to my God for my remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3-5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “We are partners in the work” The Apostle Paul was a man with a mission. He spent decades traveling around his part of the world preaching the gospel, winning people to faith in Christ, starting new churches, discipling Christians, supervising groups of churches, and raising up new pastors and leaders. He also organized humanitarian relief efforts so Christians in one place could help Christians in another place who were in need. To accomplish all of that, Paul needed the assistance and partnership of other Christians. Everywhere Paul went, other Christians stepped-up and came alongside to help him in the work. Often, the assistance or resources they were giving Paul wasn’t for the benefit of their own church or community. Sometimes it was for other places where Paul was also working, some of them far away, such as the offering he took among the churches to help the struggling Christians in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-26; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4) This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church we will be hosting a missionary pastor from Romania. For many years Aniel Naste has had a ministry to bring the Good News of the Gospel and humanitarian relief supplies to poor people living in remote farming villages in eastern Romania and western Moldova. However, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Aniel’s ministry efforts have been focused on the war refugees living in refuge camps on both sides of the Ukrainian border. Aniel purchases van loads of supplies, recruits Christian volunteers from Romania, the USA, Canada, and European countries, and goes into the camps to bring physical and spiritual healing. To accomplish this, he needs the partnership of other Christians in other places. People like you and me need to care enough to be willing to help – and maybe even to go. Jesus has called all of us to be global Christians. The Great Commission, as given in Acts 1:8 says, “… and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Maybe your circumstances are such that you can’t go to Ukraine, or to any other place that feels like “the ends of the earth” – not even on a short-term mission trip. But you can give so others can go. Maybe you could give a donation so Aniel and his teams can continue going into the camps. We can be global Christians by being willing to partner with other Christians working in other places for the cause of Christ. This is an important element of Christian community. I encourage you to join us this Sunday, March 12th, at Oak Hill Baptist Church in Crossville so you can hear Aniel’s report, listen to the stories, see the pictures, and perhaps help. The work belongs to all of us. We are partners in the kingdom-building work of Christ on earth. God bless, Pastor Jim (Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are close-by or, if you are geographically distant or a shut-in, then join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville) |
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