Living in the Joy of God

Our church has been through a difficult three years: our lead pastor’s untimely departure; consequential division within our congregation; COVID-19’s inconvenience and stress; and the myriad of anxieties pressing in on most of us. As a result, we’ve lost a great deal of Christian joy. So, in response to this, our pastors will lead us through three New Testament epistles on joy (Philippians), hope (First Thessalonians), and steadfastness (Second Thessalonians). We’ll study Philippians-the letter of joy-during June, July, August, and into September. Then in the fall, we will look at the Thessalonian letters to gain a bigger perspective of these “last days” in which we live, and the hope and steadfastness Jesus offers to each of us. As Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14, “…forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And so we will do: forward, onward, and upward we will go in Christ Jesus! In joy, in hope, and in steadfastness.