The Answer for Dangerous Times

Pastor’s Pen…
We will hold services this Sunday.  The results of the board poll were along the same lines as last week.  .  No Sunday school yet, and the nursery will not be available.  We will be following the protocols as outlined by GA-18 guidance.  Face masks are required, social distancing and no physical contact. This Sunday we will use bulletins printed untouched by human hands, with songs, etc. printed therein.

On Saturday at 10:30 a small group of us will again meet to sanitize the sanctuary and prepare for Sunday.  If you wish to help, your presence will be greatly appreciated.  No Sunday school yet, and the nursery will not be available.  We will be following the protocols as outlined by GA-18 guidance.  Face masks are required.  

If you feel uncomfortable attending just yet, we understand the uncertainty you feel.  You can join the live-stream on Facebook (at 10:45 am) or the delayed service posted on the website Sunday afternoon.  We are blessed to have the technology available that allow us to still worship, and those in our church family who have the expertise to bring us the service online.

We had twenty-one people attending in person last Sunday and several hundred world-wide by way of the live-stream  presentation.  We are looking forward to this Sunday.

The following article excerpt from the British medical journal Lancet is significant.
Social distancing might be the most effective way to reduce spread of the new coronavirus, a study published Tuesday in The Lancet suggests.
Using an outbreak model, researchers in Singapore found that a combined approach of physical distancing -- quarantining infected individuals and their families, closing schools and practicing workplace distancing -- reduced the estimated median number of COVID-19 cases in the population by as much as 99.3 percent.
Since Sunday's bulletin will be full with music and responsive reading, I will include the Pastor’s Pen here. The message, “The Answer for Dangerous Times,” is taken from 2 Timothy 3:1-17.
I don't have to tell you that we are living in dangerous times! Yet most of us consider the main danger the coronavirus or the resulting economic and employment fallout.
But the apostle Paul warned of a different kind of danger, a moral and spiritual eroding of values, plus persecution of Christians. This danger includes a godless, arrogant hostility toward the things of God, biblical illiteracy, religion without the Word or the Spirit, broken lives and homes, plus growing persecution faced by believers.
The answer to this danger, from Paul's inspired perspective, is God’s inspired and inerrant Word. Scripture was written by human authors under the superintending of God's Holy Spirit, and was without error in the original manuscripts. It is trustworthy and sufficient for our every need. It tells us how to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, and what doctrines to believe. It reproves us when we get out of line, helps us get back on track, and instructs us in how to live day by day. 
My prayer is that the Lord will use this message to warn us of spiritual and moral dangers, while encouraging us to look to His Word for answers for these “perilous times.”
Don Hawkins, D. Min.                                                                                                                     Interim Pastor

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