FBC Gallatin,
Human dignity, value, and worth has been our theme this summer. First, diving into the very relevant and urgent ethical issue of the sanctity of life relating to abortion, and then second, following up with a monthlong sermon series on the topic of depression, anxiety, and despair. Now I realize that these are two very heavy topics for us to have explored as a church, but I hope you can see that they have far reaching relevance in the world today and therefore good for us to grow in our biblical worldview and understanding in these areas.
And the timing of beginning a new school year coming off of the summer means that there will be a lot going on in all of our lives. So I hope we can keep the truths that we learned on our minds as we provide Christian witness in all our newly starting endeavors. Let’s not forget the importance of being there for one another as loving, caring, understanding Christians when it comes to very difficult life situations and experiences people face. I mean, if the Psalmist was perplexed with his downcast experience as we saw this summer in Psalm 42, don’t you think maybe some of your friends, family, or even yourself might feel that at times as well? In light of this, let’s apply what we’ve learned about downcast experience to help any downcast people we might interact with during the newly ramping up situations of all our lives.
On that note, I sometimes wonder how the preaching of the Word might work itself out in each of our daily lives. And I regularly pray that biblical truth would shape all of us and make a difference where we live and spend time throughout our week. So, as we drive to practices, or school, or club meetings, or work, I hope we can take the things we learned from God’s holy and inspired Word with us to make a difference in our day to day. Because I think the stakes are too high for us to simply ignore these issues of human dignity and value. There are real hurting people all around us in a fallen world, so Christians of all people must be salt and light in this world to do good and “rub off” and make a difference in our community. Gallatin Missouri itself should be a better place because of our Christian witness, and that will only happen when we Christians put into practice biblical teaching.
So, as we look to kick-off the first Bulldogs home game this month, and continue on in our classes, and join community events, and get up and go to work, let’s keep our eyes open for the hurting around us in Gallatin. And let’s make sure to also keep our Christian witness shining to unbelievers in our community because if you can provide them help, hope, and compassion, I know that it will stand out to them and make a lasting and even very significant impression on their lives.
I am praying for each and every one of you in your endeavors to make an impact on our church and community, would you also pray for me and pastor Wood as we seek to lead our church? Would you pray for our upcoming sermon series in Matthew titled “Kingdom Power” where we will explore chapters 8-18 together the next several months? And would you pray for all the ministries of our church as we seek to be faithful in the next coming year with all our newly appointed or reaffirmed ministries and roles at FBC Gallatin? Also, please plan on coming to our evening prayer service on September 11th as we will be putting into practice the biblical language of lament prayers to God together that we learned about in our downcast series. We are all desperate to God alone to move and care and help so we must all be praying for one another and even praying together to receive comfort and direction from our great God!
Sincerely,
Pastor Daniel Pelichowski
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