February 2nd

I read something earlier this week that I believe you will appreciate by Frederick Leahy in his book, The Cross He Bore; here is what he said: “…there is no halfway house between the doctrine that Christ is both God and man and that Christ is merely man.  Someone has said that a Jesus who is just less than God is like a bridge broken at the farther end.  Such a Jesus could not deliver from Satan and sin, and such a Jesus the Bible does not present.”[1]  There are over two hundred words in the apostle Paul’s long sentence that makes up Ephesians 1:1-14; within these verses we discover the role that all three Persons who make up our Triune God have in our salvation: The Father planned our salvation (vv. 3-6), the Son provides our salvation (vv. 7-12), and the Holy Spirit applies our salvation (vv. 13-14).  This Sunday we will plumb the depths of Ephesians 1:7-12 to discover the riches of what Jesus accomplished on behalf of the Christian. 

On a separate note, I want to thank you for taking the time to fill out Meadowbrooke’s church questionnaire; we have compiled the data and have shared it with both our church staff and the board of elders.  We have found the surveys very helpful in helping us focus on the areas of our ministries that need the most improvement.  Over the next few weeks, I will work with the staff and the board of elders to develop a plan that will include tangible actions steps to help each of the staff (including myself) grow in the areas that need the most improvement.  Our plan is to share with you what we have learned from the surveys soon (hopefully sometime in March).  

I want you to know that I praise God for you and the part you play in Meadowbrooke as a part of our church family!  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in our 9:00 and 10:30 AM worship services. 

Peace,

Pastor Keith