Monthly Archives: May 2020

May 21 2020
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COVID-19, Faith, Living Wisely

COVID-19 Pastoral Letter No. 10

Dear Church Family and Friends,

This past Monday, the Governor announced another loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings.  Our church is able to open our attendance up to 50 percent of our capacity.  This means that the RSVP system that has been in place for worship attendance for the past two weeks is no longer necessary.  Our pre-COVID-19 average worship attendance was about 60 percent of our capacity.

I’ve really enjoyed hearing from some of you that you may be comfortable returning to in-person worship soon, and I really look forward to seeing you.  This Sunday will be another step toward “returning to normal,” although we are closer to the beginning of this process than the end.

As you return to worship, please remember that we are still observing social distancing. While we would all love for that to be over, please continue to be mindful that in some places, assemblies of worship have been incubators for the virus.  So, please continue to patient and stay with the social distancing protocol for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Once again, as long as social distancing is recommended, if you decide to stay home for reasons of conscience or from an abundance of caution, we honor, respect, and support your decision. We continue to offer livestream service at 11 AM and 5 PM here.  If you find that there are still starts and stops and gaps in the livestream service, you may access the recorded service, which is available shortly after the conclusion of the livestream.  This should eliminate those difficulties.  If neither of these works well, our audio sermons are available at Sermon Audio.  We are continuously working to improve the quality of our livestream, so hopefully, it will improve week by week.

Here’s what you can expect when you arrive at church:

  • Bulletins and hand sanitizer will be available in the narthex.
  • There will be no nursery.
  • We strongly urge you to wear a mask upon entering and exiting the building.
  • The deacons will direct you to a reserved spot to provide for social distancing. If you are at high risk, let the deacon on duty know so that you can be seated in the back and dismissed first.
  • The entire order of service, including music, will be included in the bulletin so that hymnals and Bibles don’t need to be touched and passed around.
  • Parents will need to be in control of their children at all times. This means entering, exiting, and going to the restroom.
  • Protocols will be in place to eliminate hand-to-hand contact in the distribution of bulletins and the collection of offerings.
  • Dismissal will take place back to front.
  • Upon being dismissed, we urge you not to congregate in the narthex, but to proceed directly outside.

ZOOM SUNDAY SCHOOL

Pastor Julian Zugg will continue to teach the adult Sunday School class on the Holy Spirit on Zoom.  Watch your email for the Zoom links to Adult Sunday School, which runs from 9:40-10:30 and the Zoom chat after Evening Worship, which begins around 6:15.

Once the class is over, please make sure you log out of the Zoom meeting, as the church’s account is used for other meetings, and we can only run one meeting at a time.

FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE

Reformation 21 has the story of Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year.  This is an account of one man’s experience during the last plague that London suffered, which took place in 1665.  Almost twenty percent of the population of London died during this plague.  The measures that were prescribed to control the plague were not that different from what governments and the medical establishment are attempting to do in the twenty-first century, although today, we are better armed with information and technology.  However, one striking difference is that the government urged the people to “implore the mercy of God.”

Defoe is better known as the author of Robinson Crusoe, and his Christianity comes through in both books.  He was raised in a Nonconformist (Presbyterian) home, which made him ineligible to attend Oxford of Cambridge.  Defoe attributes the cessation of the plague to the merciful hand of God

During this time, I am very grateful for the leadership, care and the hard work of our officers.  It’s such a blessing to see each man put his gifts into action, and for us to all work together to care for our congregation.  If you need anything, please contact one of the pastors, your shepherding elder, or deacon.  We want to pray with and for you, and help you with any spiritual or material needs that you have.  Especially, please let us know if you are sick, have a specific need, are out of work, or have a reduced income from COVID-19 circumstances.  This is the time for the Body of Christ to all work together and in dependence on him, to pull through this situation, and come out of it with greater unity and maturity in Christ.

Personally, I have greatly missed seeing each one of you, and the conversations that we are able to have by just showing up.  And I really miss my Sunday School class and the children of the church, and look forward to seeing them back soon!

Love in Christ,

Pastor Clay

 

May 14 2020
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COVID-19, Faith, Pastoral Letters

COVID-19 Pastoral Letter No. 9

Dear Church Family and Friends,

We opened up for in-person worship this past Sunday for the first time since March 23.  It was a great joy to see those of you who were able to make it.  This was a huge step in our effort to once again be able to gather together as a congregation as social distancing measures are eased.   This week, we are getting RSVPs for worship attendance.  If you would like to come to morning worship and haven’t sent in an RSVP, there are still a few spots open.  No RSVP is required for evening worship.

As long as social distancing is recommended, if you decide to stay home for reasons of conscience or from an abundance of caution, we honor, respect, and support your decision. We continue to offer livestream service at 11 AM and 5 PM here.  If you find that there are still starts and stops and gaps in the livestream service, you may access the recorded service, which is available shortly after the conclusion of the livestream.  This should eliminate those difficulties.  If neither of these works well, our audio sermons are available at Sermon Audio.

SUNDAY SCHOOL TIME CHANGE

Our Adult Sunday School start time has been moved back to the regular time of 9:40, to allow time for those of you who can come to church to be able to make it.  Julian Zugg will continue to teach his class on the Holy Spirit.

READING MATERIAL

Here are a few items for your reading pleasure.

First, I’ve been thinking through the whole idea of ambition in the Christian life.  Often, we associate ambition with self-promotion and self-seeking, which are not behaviors that God calls us to.  But we are to be ambitious to live godly lives, and as Paul writes to the Thessalonians,” to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands . . . “(1 Thess. 4:12, NASB).  This article does an excellent job addressing this in a concise way.

Here is a short article about trusting God through trials and walking by faith, particularly when we don’t know what the Lord will require of us, or when a trial will end.

I doubt many of you are associating COVID-19 with the mark of the beast, but this writer takes the opportunity to address this topic and to redirect us to the purpose of the Book of Revelation, which is to reveal the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over all his and our enemies that he has won for us.

Here’s an inspiring tribute to a man who faithfully pastored the same church for seventy years!  While most of us would have some doctrinal differences with him, this kind of faithfulness to our Lord is rare, and is to be celebrated.

I enjoyed the blessing of taking six classes from Dr. R. C. Sproul when I was in seminary.  As much as these classes helped to form me into the pastor that I am today.  However, this three minute video on how Dr. Sproul found immense comfort in the promises of God during his final illnesses is one of the most encouraging words that I’ve received  from him.

During this time, I am very grateful for the leadership, care and the hard work of our officers.  It’s such a blessing to see each man put his gifts into action, and for us to all work together to care for our congregation.  If you need anything, please contact one of the pastors, your shepherding elder, or deacon.  We want to pray with and for you, and help you with any spiritual or material needs that you have.  Especially, please let us know if you are sick, have a specific need, are out of work, or have a reduced income from COVID-19 circumstances.  This is the time for the Body of Christ to all work together and in dependence on him, to pull through this situation, and come out of it with greater unity and maturity in Christ.

Personally, I have greatly missed seeing each one of you, and the conversations that we’ re able to have by just showing up.  I really look forward to seeing you again whenever you are able to attend worship.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Clay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 08 2020
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COVID-19, Faith, Pastoral Letters, Prayer

COVID-19 Pastoral Letter No. 8

Dear Church Family and Friends,

The big news this week is in light of the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions by the State of Texas, we were able to have our dress rehearsal last Sunday to ensure that we can expeditiously carry out the procedures that we have implemented to reduce the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus.  This went very well.  Now, are able to open to 25 percent of our building capacity.  We sent out RSVP requests by email on Tuesday.  We have taken all of the reservations that we can for this Sunday.

We thank you for your patience as we are still learning this “dance” of administrating social distancing while facilitating the gathering of God’s people.

If you didn’t get your RSVP in but would like to worship with us this Sunday, you may worship with us Sunday evening at 5:00.  No RSVP is necessary.

Pending confirmation by the session, we will have a similar process next week of RSVP for the morning service, so  No RSVP will be necessary for the evening service. Watch for the email early next week about worship on May 17.

Here’s what you can expect when you arrive at church for morning or evening worship:

  • Bulletins and hand sanitizer will be available in the narthex.
  • There will be no nursery.
  • We strongly urge you to wear a mask upon entering and exiting the building.
  • The deacons will direct you to a reserved spot to provide for social distancing.  If you are at high risk, let the deacon on duty know so that you can be seated in the back and dismissed first.
  • The entire order of service, including music, will be included in the bulletin so that hymnals and Bibles don’t need to be touched and passed around.
  • Parents will need to be in control of their children at all times. This means entering, exiting, and going to the restroom.
  • Protocols will be in place to eliminate hand-to-hand contact in the distribution of bulletins and the collection of offerings.
  • Dismissal will take place back to front.
  • Upon being dismissed, we urge you not to congregate in the narthex, but to proceed directly outside.

As long as social distancing is recommended, if you decide to stay home for reasons of conscience or from an abundance of caution, we honor, respect, and support your decision. We continue to offer livestream service at 11 AM and 5 PM here.  If you find that there are still starts and stops and gaps in the livestream service, you may access the recorded service, which is available shortly after the conclusion of the livestream.  This should eliminate those difficulties.  If neither of these works well, our audio sermons are available at Sermon Audio.

Watch your email for the Zoom links to Adult Sunday School, which runs from 10:00-10:45 and the Zoom chat after Evening Worship, which begins around 6:15.

PRAYING FOR MISSIONARIES

One of the ways that we can serve the Lord during this time of social distancing is by praying for our missionaries.  Most missionaries say that their greatest need is prayer.  Is this just “spiritual language” because it sounds unspiritual to ask for financial support?  Apart from the Lord answering the prayers of his people, all of the financial support in the world will not accomplish anything for God’s kingdom.

Here are the missionaries that our church supports and the venues in which they serve:

Nick Bullock:  Ministry to the Military and Internationals, Covenant Fellowship Church, Stuttgart, Germany.

Brenda Carter:   Mission to the World, Taiwan.

Mike Cuneo:  Mission to Italy, Viterbo, Italy.

Mat Lamos:  Blue Ridge Presbytery, PCA, Gent, Belgium

John Rug:  Mission to the World, Valparaiso, Chile.

Kaz Yaegashi, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Japan

Julian Zugg, Miami International Theological Seminary, International Theological Education.

Names of missionaries who work in sensitive areas have been redacted.

As far as how to pray, here are seven prayer requests for missionaries from Wycliffe Bible Translators.  And Mission to the World, our denominational missions agency, has a nine week prayer plan broken down to one prayer request per day that you can pray.

READING MATERIAL

Here are a couple of items for your reading pleasure.

Tim Challies is going through a study of Thomas Watson’s All Things for Good, a very helpful Puritan book less than 150 pages long.  In this week’s section, he writes about “when the very best of things work together for evil.

Here is a short article by a pastor in Zambia about how COVID-19 exposes the lies of the prosperity gospel.

During this time, I am very grateful for the leadership, care and the hard work of our officers.  It’s such a blessing to see each man put his gifts into action, and for us to all work together to care for our congregation.  If you need anything, please contact one of the pastors, your shepherding elder, or deacon.  We want to pray with and for you, and help you with any spiritual or material needs that you have.  Especially, please let us know if you are sick, have a specific need, are out of work, or have a reduced income from COVID-19 circumstances.  This is the time for the Body of Christ to all work together and in dependence on him, to pull through this situation, and come out of it with greater unity and maturity in Christ.

Personally, I have greatly missed seeing each one of you, and the conversations that we ’re able to have by just showing up.  And I really miss my Sunday School class and the children of the church, and look forward to seeing them back soon!

Love in Christ,

Pastor Clay

May 01 2020
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Faith, Family, Pastoral Letters

COVID-19 Pastoral Letter No. 7

Dear Church Family and Friends,

     The big news this week is in light of the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions by the State of Texas, we are beginning to reinstitute in-person public worship.  We are having a dress rehearsal this Lord’s Day to ensure that we can expeditiously carry out the procedures that we have implemented to reduce the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus.  On May 10 and May 17, we will be able to open to 25 percent of our building capacity.  We will do so by RSVP.   Look for an RSVP email to come to you next week!

     As long as social distancing is recommended, if you decide to stay home for reasons of conscience or from an abundance of caution, we honor, respect, and support your decision. We continue to offer livestream service at 11 AM and 5 PM here.  If you find that there are still starts and stops and gaps in the livestream service, you may access the recorded service, which is available shortly after the conclusion of the livestream.  This should eliminate those difficulties.  If neither of these works well, our audio sermons are available at Sermon Audio.

    Watch your email for the Zoom links to Adult Sunday School, which runs from 10:00-10:45 and the Zoom chat after Evening Worship, which begins around 6:15.

THE MINISTRY OF TOUCH

     I wouldn’t consider myself a “touchy” or a “huggy” person.  But touch is probably what I have missed the most during the COVID-19 pandemic.  No hugging, no shaking hands, and no ability to comfort people through touch.

     This has made me think about how much ministry is carried out thought touch. Whether it’s a handshake, a hug, putting my hand on someone’s shoulder as I pray for them, patting someone on the back . . . all of these are small gestures that communicate love and care.

     While I support and respect the current social distancing measures in place, I’m reminded that we can’t go on indefinitely without touch.  People need to know that they are loved.  Sometimes, words aren’t quite adequate to express this.

     I’m reminded of the time my family and I visited a church on vacation whose pastor had been influential in my development.  I visited to experience the worship of that church and to hear the pastor preach.  I have no recollection of the sermon, or of any of the elements of the worship service, but there is one thing I will never forget.  Nobody got out the door without a handshake, a hug, a pat on the back, or some form of touch from that pastor.  This made me realize that for all of his wisdom and eloquence, the quality that people would remember most about this man is that they felt loved.  That’s what we miss when we are deprived of touch.

  READING MATERIAL

     Here are some items to encourage you:

     Tim Challies summarizes Eight Ways Temptations Work for our Good from Thomas Watson’s All Things for Good.

      Are you battling sin?  Part of putting ofF the old man and putting on the new man is changing our preferences.  Even secular psychologists tell us that if we are trying to break a bad habit, we need to replace the undesirable behavior with a greater good.  Thomas Chalmers writes about how the only way to dispossess our heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new affection.

  1. C. Ryle writes concerning dealing with besetting sins:

     “Look less at yourself, and more of Christ, and you will find besetting sins dropping off and leaving you, and your eyes enlightened more and more every day (Holiness 426).

THANK YOU FOR BIRTHDAY WISHES

     Thanks to you who wished me a Happy Birthday this week!  It was a great day!  I stayed home, exercised, read, enjoyed time with our family, and played with my grandson!

     During this time, I am very grateful for the leadership, care and the hard work of our officers.  It’s such a blessing to see each man put his gifts into action, and for us to all work together to care for our congregation.  If you need anything, please contact one of the pastors, your shepherding elder, or deacon.  We want to pray with and for you, and help you with any spiritual or material needs that you have.  Especially, please let us know if you are sick, have a specific need, are out of work, or have a reduced income from COVID-19 circumstances.  This is the time for the Body of Christ to all work together and in dependence on him, to pull through this situation, and come out of it with greater unity and maturity in Christ.

     Personally, I have greatly missed seeing each one of you, and the conversations that we’re able to have by just showing up.  And I really miss my Sunday School class and the children of the church, and look forward to seeing them back soon!

Love in Christ,

Pastor Clay    

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