Thankful for You
But we ought always to give thanks
to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the
firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the
truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13
Beloved,
I grew up at All Saints Lutheran
Church in Palatine, IL. My family was faithful to attend church as long as I
can remember. When I was confirmed in 8th
grade, my parents gave me the choice of whether I wanted to continue to attend
church. I did not give it much thought,
but just continued to go to church. It
may have been my close relationship with my mother or it could have been innate
sense that I was just supposed to go to church. Regardless of the reason, I
have always enjoyed going to church even before I made a decision to follow
Jesus Christ. I have always loved the church.
I am thankful that God has always
instilled in me a love for the local church.
As I have grown in my Christian walk, my love for the church has only
deepened. The more I learn about the
church and the more I live in fellowship of the church, the more my love grows
for the local church. In my current role as a pastor, I meet a lot of people
who do not have the same love for the church. It seems that I have at least one
conversation a week trying to convince people of the value of the local church.
And the most surprising thing is that most of these conversations take place
with Christians.
Although the view of the church has
fallen on hard times, I am so thankful to be part of the faith family at Park
Baptist Church. We get a great reminder every week to express our thankfulness
by singing,
I'm
so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God.
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God.
I am so glad that I am a part of
the family of God at Park Baptist Church. The church is my family. The people
of Park are my spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers,
grandmothers and grandfathers. And as a
part of God’s family, we always have a reason to rejoice in thankfulness. Paul
writes, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you.”
Beloved, I am thankful for you. You
have been chosen for salvation, sanctified by the Spirit, and given faith to
believe by the grace of God. I pray this Thanksgiving you will be grateful for
the family of the Park Baptist Church.