January 29, 2017

The Shepherd's Corner

THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

God’s willing in April we will try something new: We’ll divide the once-a-month family fellowship into three regions—Central, South, and East.
Those who live in central San Gabriel Valley will meet as one group. Those who reside in south of San Gabriel Valley and north of Orange County will meet as one group. And, those who domicile in east of the San Gabriel Valley and west of San Bernardino area will meet as one group. I certainly hope these regional fellowships will bring us closer together and deepen our faith in and understanding of the Lord.

As far as church activity is concerned, I am more on the cautious side. I would like to keep it to the bare minimum. I will not add another activity to your already busy schedule if it is not really necessary. But, there is another reason why I am on the cautious side when it comes to church activity: I would like to free us up so we will have more time to be salt and light outside the church. I don’t want us to only hang out with our brothers and sisters from the church; I want us to meet and make friends with those who are not from the church. Who knows, we are the only Christian they talk to, which means we become their only chance of seeing Christ.

God uses various ways to bring people to Him and one of the ways is through friends. I have heard stories of how someone came to know Jesus through a friend in school, through a friend at work, or through a friend who shares similar hobby. But, we should not make friends solely for the purpose of bringing people to Christ. We make friends for the purpose of making friends. Since Jesus is the big part of our lives, it is only natural that His Presence will flow into our friendships. It is usually in that natural relationship Christ shines the brightest and people are more receptive.

Pastor Paul

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