My First Word of Hope...

For my first word of hope in this series, I must present, perhaps, the most obvious item. We were blessed to receive into our fellowship six Christians who, following membership class on Luther's Small Catechism, have chosen to make public confession of their faith, and join us on our life-long journey in that faith. If you did not attend that service on March 15th, you may observe it, and see them, by going to our website at ebenezerlutheranchurch.com and clicking on that date's [late] service recording. On that service video, you will also find the baptism of two of those adult new members!

Whether you were there at the service, see it on the website, or neither - I invite you to introduce yourself to someone you don't recognize, and perhaps you will meet one of the new members. Perhaps it will not be one of them, and you will have had the opportunity to meet another brother or sister in Christ and strengthen our Christian family bonds. That could very well turn into another word of hope for our church family.

Perhaps this word of hope reflects a larger hopeful sign in our surrounding culture. I have posted a newsletter from an independent Lutheran organization on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall hallway which points to some interesting survey results in recent years. Barna Research has presented some speculation and questions about what the data truly means yet asserts that it is positive. I have highlighted a portion of the article. Please read it and repost it for others! Be blessed and remain hopeful.

Pastor John