What a rich privilege it is for each of us to be appointed in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ through the church as pastors and elders. I marvel that God has taken us as ordinary men from out of our sins and miseries, redeemed us through Jesus Christ our Savior and not only set us on a path of thankful living for such redemption, but also placed us as shepherds and stewards of His church. You can imagine, then, the state of my marveling a year ago when I was appointed to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and this highly esteemed body of the church as president. I cannot adequately describe the immense honor of such an appointment. This has truly been a humbling experience. Thank you for your prayers, for your grace and for your counsel. I also want to give thanks for the Executive Committee’s iron sharpening iron. I hold each member in the highest esteem. Finally, I thank my Savior and King, Jesus Christ, for His everlasting love and grace. Now for the state of the church. While weaving Classes reports, visits with Classis Presidents and permanent committees’ activity throughout the report, here is what I believe to be the state of the church in terms of what is good, what are those opportunities for growth and a proposed vision for next year in reliance on the grace of God. But first, let me preface the report with the reminder of what the church is called to do.
It is my belief that modern Christianity cannot comprehend its spiritual heritage apart from the Swiss Reformation in particular. I grant that the German Reformation played somewhat of a role, but the Lutheranism that was handed over to contemporary Protestants was frequently too closely associated with many of the tenets of Roman Catholicism. For instance, both Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism teach a doctrine of infused grace when one is baptized or receives the Lord’s Supper. Regarding the Lord’s Supper particularly, a hair-fine difference exists between the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Lutheran view of consubstantiation.
Congratulations to ’23 alumnus David Voytek on sustaining his licensure exam before the Western Classis of the RCUS. David is now officially a licentiate, authorized to preach the Gospel and accept a call to a congregation. May the Lord bless you, David, as you seek His will and as you minister in the field white for harvest!
Worshiping as a synod is a joyful experience, filled as it is with praise of our glorious God via His Word proclaimed, a multitude of voices joined in rousing response, and dependence on Him evidenced by the prayers of His saints thankful for His grace and love in Christ Jesus. During one of the worship services we sang “I love to tell the story,” whose first stanza reads: “I love to tell the story because of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story because I know ‘tis true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else could do.” The story is the gospel that testifies to God’s merciful love to sinners by grace through faith in Jesus Christ to His glory. (John 3:16, Rom. 5:8, and I John 4:9-10 come to mind). We whose faith is indeed in the Jesus Christ of THE story, rejoice not only that God had the story told to us, but by the work of His Holy Spirit we believe it to be true and it indeed satisfies our inborn longings for fellowship with God as nothing else could do. Because only THE story is the power God sovereignly uses to save us out of the misery of our sin and restore us to His favor from the moment we believe and forever ultimately in glory…. “I love to tell the story; ‘twill be my theme in glory.”
It is a joy to report that the new church building on the property which Rev. Sloan and I visited in western Nepal (Bardiya) is completed! At the time of our visit, it was merely an open field and with the beginning of a stone foundation. Now it is finished and being used for the glory of God!” – Rev. Dennis Roe from the July 2023 Westminster Biblical Missions Newsletter on Nepal
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