Weekly Newsletter 3/1-3/8
Published 3/2/2026
Weekly Newsletter for 3/1-3/8
Announcements:
- 3/8 Children's Lesson Training. After our 11 am gathering this Sunday the 8th, we will hold a brief training on our new Gospel Project curriculum for our young ones. We will discuss our new model for our children's lessons which take place during the sermon on Sunday mornings.
- Community Groups. If you are not currently in a community group that meets during the week, we want to encourage you to take that next step of participating in one soon. These groups are our churches DNA where we can engage in community, learn from Scripture, and bear one another's burdens.
Prayer Requests:
- Russ Williams. Continue to pray for the health and healing of our brother, Russ Williams. He has been home for a week and a half now, but is still not to his full strength.
- Pray for Gospel Opportunities this week. What we mean is we need to be praying for opportunities to share the gospel with others, invite others to church, and to love on those in our families and community.
Devotion from Acts 18:1-17:
In our study of Acts 18:1-17 on Sunday, we discussed some important points regarding Paul's life and work. Paul had arrived at Corinth, a large and prosperous city famous for its immorality. One thing we worked through however, was the gospel way of life that Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila were walking in. Paul had been run out of every city, beaten, and rejected, but the gospel partnership with the gospel power couple Priscilla and Aquila was what got him back on his feet. They provided him a job and a place to stay so that he could continue his ultimate work of debating in the synagogues. In other words, we saw that Paul's work as a tentmaker was a means to an end. That being, he lived and stayed, so that he could preach and reach. All ministers such as myself praise the Lord for the Priscilla and Aquila's of the world.
Now, Paul yet again sees rejection in the Corinthian synagoge as the Jews became hostile towards his message, so Paul shakes off his garments, and turns from them to the Gentiles in Corinth. I think it's safe to say, Paul would have been frustrated, and a bit discouraged from this event, but what follows him leaving the Jews for the Gentiles amazes me. Verses 7-8 read, "And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized."(Ac. 18:7-8 ESV).
It is important to understand when driving to a far destination that when the GPS redirects and recalculates, it's not necessarily because you're a bad driver, but to get you swiftly and safely to your destination. In this case, Paul's mission was the same as Christ's which was to "seek and save that which is lost"(Lk. 19:10) Paul had initially tried to achieve this by reaching the Jews and religious people of the city, but had been redirected by God through their hostility. We may be tempted to ask God why when in Paul's shoes and become irritated by God's redirection in life, but God had a better path for him in a different direction to achieve the same goal. The text says not only was Paul able to convince the synagogue ruler, Crispus and his family, showing God blessed Paul's faithfulness in the first place, but the passage goes on to explain how many Corinthians believed and were baptized!
What a joy knowing that our Shepherd redirects us for our good and not for our harm. God's plan is good and He is infinitely wiser than any of us could ever be. Thus, when we are hindered in accomplishing our plans and goals, when we are frustrated with the direction the Lord is leading us in, remember Paul being made to shake his garments and turn to the Gentiles. It was not his original plan, but it was God's good plan, and many came to faith because of Paul's willingness to submit to God's will and stay the course. Keep on, my friends. Jesus will shepherd us well to our destination for His glory and our good.
Written by Anthony Lampron, Pastor