As we get ready to celebrate our 10th anniversary at CTR, I want to take a moment to say thanks. I give thanks to God for each and every one of you! Most especially, I give thanks to the Lord for you in these two broad areas:
I give thanks for who you are in Christ!
It is hard to pin down and name, but there is something about CTR that is good, and that I believe is also precious in the sight of the Lord. There is a genuineness and love here. It isn’t taught or manufactured, it is who you are in Christ! It is who we are collectively and together.
-A genuine love of the Lord and a desire to know him more.
-A true love for each other, and a warmth to those who join us.
-A willingness to serve Christ and others without fanfare and over the long haul – a long obedience that is rare.
-A down to earth, unpretentious heart that is evident to all.
I give thanks for your faithfulness and support!
-You have been faithful to the Lord and to CTR through good times and bad, through the myriad changes that have come our way over these past ten years.
-You have been a support to me personally through some dark and difficult days, the times when my leadership was not as effective as it could have been.
I have said this before, but it bears repeating again especially at this time: I love serving this congregation! I marvel at who you are, and at what God has done in and through you! I look forward to what the Lord will do, where we will go in the future. At ten years, we are only at an inflection point, a comma or a dash (a favorite of mine – as you know)!
As we celebrate our ten years as a body this Sunday, let us give the Lord thanks for his faithfulness to us. Let us give thanks for His presence with us and among us. Let us give thanks for the good things, even the precious characteristics we see and celebrate at CTR. This Sunday, let us raise the roof with shouts of praise! But let all of it serve to give us strength and perspective for what lies ahead. We have much work to do, and the Lord is by no means through with us yet!
Anniversary Prayers
Our time of prayer this Sunday is going to be less structured and more informal. We are doing this to give everyone in the congregation opportunity to offer spontaneous prayers that are especially meaningful and important to them. I ask you to start thinking now so you will be ready when the time comes. What is it you want to give thanks for? What is important to you? What prayer do you have for CTR in the years to come?
You Do Not Want to Miss
We are blessed to have Bishop Barnum with us to visit and preside at Confirmation. We are especially blessed he has agreed to speak. If you have not had a chance to hear Bishop Barnum, he is passionate, deep and clear in his proclamation of the Gospel. In his own prayers and sense of what the Lord is saying to him, Bishop Barnum is speaking from John 21:19-25 with a message that is specifically for us at our 10th anniversary celebration. He is not to be missed!
IITB Early on Sunday, Help Needed!
Finally, in light of all the festivities after church this Sunday IITB is being done before the service. Please join us at 8:30am to help assemble lunches. The more help we have, the faster it will go.
Also, the IITB monthly offering is being delayed until next Sunday. There will be a special offering for Bishop Barnum’s Discretionary Fund instead.
See you Sunday!
-Bill
