Greetings Sunnyside Community Church,
Here we stand, at the beginning of another week. I trust that your mind and heart are encouraged in the truth; in God’s unfathomable greatness and goodness to us in Jesus Christ. I trust that His Word has been a lamp to your feet and a light to your path; that your times of reading and reflecting on the Word have rejoiced your heart and equipped you for faithfulness.
We thank the Lord for His many blessings to us; His unfailing faithfulness and presence to us at all times in all places; His abundant provision for our needs, material and spiritual. On this Memorial Day weekend, we especially thank the Lord for the liberties that we enjoy in this nation and for those brave service men and women who paid the ultimate price to defend those liberties. We have much to be thankful for in that regard.
We thank the Lord for answering our prayers on behalf of many in our congregation. Please continue to pray for the ongoing physical difficulties of many. Please continue to pray the Lord to encourage our hearts and minds with the Word.
We thank the Lord that we continue to make progress towards getting back to normal; whatever “normal” will be moving forward.
We are glad that we are able to meet together, live and in person, this Lord’s Day. Both the 9:00am and 11:00am gathering times are full up; 25 in each. As we continue on, if the numbers of those desiring to gather continue to increase and the limit to the size of our gatherings remains at 25, we will be looking to add a third service time. It will either be Saturday or Sunday evening, probably at 6:00pm. Please be thinking about that and considering being willing to come to that gathering in order to free up a Sunday morning slot for those who really need to attend at that hour. We’ll keep you posted.
We are looking forward to observing the Lord’s Table in two weeks; the first Sunday in June. In anticipation of that event we have ordered communion packets that have the cup and wafer packaged together. We will be using those during our gathering and for those at home who will be watching via ZOOM or online, they will be available to you for pick up or delivery. If you would like the packets delivered please respond to this email and we will be in touch with you when the packets arrive. For those who can pick them up at the church we will let you know when they are available; probably next week.
Many of the ladies have sent cards expressing thanks for the flowers delivered for Mother’s Day. It was a loving gesture of your church family and you are most welcome.
As we pray this week, let’s remember to pray for the leaders of our nation, for those making decisions regarding the re-opening of businesses and activities, and for our first responders, doctors, nurses, public safety officers. We thank the Lord for those who faithfully serve our communities in these ways; always, but especially now. Let us pray the Lord for wisdom and strength.
Pray for churches and church leaders as they work through the challenge of meeting the needs of their congregations and charting a path toward re-convening services. Pray for wisdom and discernment to proceed wisely with confidence. Pray for patience and forbearance when frustration over the way things are going (or not going) begins to mount. Pray God to empower His people so that Christ will be honored by their response as we continue forward.
Pray for our missionaries, especially those laboring to meet the needs of the poor; those particularly significantly impacted by the shutdowns in their communities. Pray the Lord to encourage and equip our missionaries in the Philippines in their labors to care for the poor of the greater Manila area.
May the Lord bless you this day as we worship together. As we reflect on the question “What is Prayer?” I trust our time in the Word will be an encouragement to you; that you will be refreshed in spirit as we head into a new week.
In the Love of Christ,
Pastor Guy