Although recent events have left many of us scrambling this week, none of this is a surprise to God. Despite the inconveniences we face, I believe that God intends to use these circumstances to grow us as His people. I would like to encourage us all to be on the lookout for unique opportunities that God has placed in our path, whether they be to grow us, to reach out to others outside the Body of Christ, to serve others, to connect with other believers, or to bring glory to His Name. We don't get to choose the opportunities, we only get to choose how we will respond to them.
The Elders are recommending that we all plan on a time of worship at home on Sundays while we are unable to meet together. This weekend we will be sending out an email with links to resources for you to use so that we can worship together as a community, even though physical distance may separate us. One of those links will be to a video message that Doug is preparing, providing our regular teaching from the Scriptures along with the usual visuals that we have become accustomed to in order to help us to focus in on the meaning of the passage. We are also working on having a playlist of worship music that we would have sung together so that you can sing along, or even just listen, as you offer the Lord the praise He so richly deserves. A word of advice - be intentional with this time and remove as many distractions as possible. Sure, you could probably listen as you do dishes or something else, but I would encourage you that you will get far more out of the experience if you give God and His Word the attention that they deserve.
We have a new session of Cross Training that will begin on March 29 with a choice of two classes. These will be taking place via video conferencing at the usual time of 9:30 on Sunday morning. You can read more detailed descriptions and signup here.
For those of us who have children at home, this is an important time to be actively involved in their spiritual training. There are a ton of videos for children on RightNow Media that you could watch and discuss together. For those not familiar with RightNow, we have a license as a church to an entire online "video library" of Bible study materials. Let me know if you would like a free account and I will have an invitation sent to you to setup your own password.
On behalf of the Elders, we recognize that there will be many people who will face some financial difficulty as a result of the virus containment measures, and so we anticipate an increase in benevolence activity in ministries such as our food pantry, and at the same time we recognize that some within our congregation may be unable to give what they normally give through the offerings. The vast majority of the church’s regular expenses and financial commitments continue whether or not we’re physically present on Sundays, so we ask that you mail gifts and offerings to the church (PO Box 566, South Sutton, NH 03273) while we are not meeting on Sundays.
If you have questions about any of this or if you need assistance please let me know. And don't forget to keep an eye out for those God-given opportunities hidden among these unusual circumstances.
Mark