Archive for December, 2008

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

Hello family. We hope that everything is going well for you during these turbulent times. We are thankful that in the midst our trials as individuals, as families and as a nation our God is “an ever present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Paul encouraged us “that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). There is an unchanging nature of God’s purpose that stands firm in the heavens, and we are now more than ever reminded that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:16-18) Christ alone is and will always be our great hope, for all other things are passing and fading. Therefore we rejoice in this holiday season, being thankful and reminded of the fact that there is eternal life and reward waiting for us in heaven. It is given by our great God who invaded history purchasing our lives on the cross through the death and resurrection of his Son. This is the gospel we stand on, this is our focus, and this is what we’ll continue to preach forevermore. Times and circumstances change, God and his eternal purposes never do.

In light of this, we are all the more thankful for you, our partners in this great ministry, through which we are able to preach this hope of Christ. Please let us know how we can support and pray for you in any way, as you have been so dear to and supportive of us these many years. If I may, let me continue to share with you some good tidings as a reminder of what this season is all about. This past month we were able to take a team back to Krakow, Poland to do a series of outreaches for university students there. Over the course of a five day period, another fourteen people gave their lives to Christ and are now being followed up by our church there. One of the young men’s names was Piotr, who had been exposed to the church growing up, but had gone astray during “the wonder years”. However, this past month, in the middle of a crowd of about 15 of his friends, he boldly made a commitment to follow Christ, asking for any way that he could connect with our church to grow in relationship with this Jesus who came to save. This is what it’s all about because times change, but Christ’s gospel and mission do not. Thank you so much for your support in our ministry! We love you!