Dear Church Family –
Let me tell you about Pastor David Wilcox. Pastor Dave was the pastor of McCoy Memorial Baptist Church in Elkhart, Indiana when I was in seminary. They were looking for a seminary student to be a part-time Assistant Pastor, and I was looking for a part-time ministry. The church provided a house and a small salary, Pastor Dave provided a powerful education. I learned more from Pastor Dave about being a pastor than I learned from the seminary classroom. He’s a dear friend and enduring role model.
In preparing yesterday’s message on God’s gift of love, I came across some sermon notes from Pastor Dave, “Essential Qualities of Genuine Christian Love.” Let me share them with you as a follow-up to yesterday’s message. Here’s Pastor Dave:
“This is not a ‘why’ but a ‘how.’
1. Don’t live in isolation. Spend quality time with those you love. ‘Redeeming the time because the days are evil’ (Eph 5:16).
2. Learn to carry one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2). Healthy churches care for one another.
Pray for one another.
Do things for others.
Take a meal.
Babysit for them.
Mow grass.
Write a card.
Listen to them.
3. Give something to those you love.
Ask yourself, ‘What do I contribute to this relationship?’
We are stingy in our giving to one another.
Men, give your wife extravagant gifts! Gifts of sacrifice.
Love cannot survive if you give only scraps of your time, scraps of your thoughts, scraps of yourself.
Reading again those thoughts from Pastor Dave stirred my heart to step up my love for others. I hope they do that for you, as well.
One of the many wonderful things about Christmas is that it creates a slice of time when people are more than usually disposed to do the kind of things Pastor Dave highlights—things that reflect the love of Christ and project that love into the world around us.
At the end of my notes from Pastor Dave’s message, I wrote down a joke he told. Enough years have gone by that I cannot now remember how the joke relates to the message! But, for your chuckle, here it is!
“A sign in an employee lunch room said, ‘After Tea Break, staff should empty tea pot and stand upside down on draining rack.’”
See you Wednesday for our Christmas Day service. There’s some great music planned, some carol singing, and a two-part message from myself and Todd Busenitz, pastor of Oshoto Community Bible Church in Oshoto, Wyoming. Most importantly, gathering at church on Christmas morning honors the Lord whose birthday it is.
Merry Christmas – Pastor Tim
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