Dear Friends,

I’m still rejoicing the time we spent with H.W. Parker and former friends of the church.  It was the missions committee who came up with the idea of a missions rally combined with our 45^th anniversary to celebrate what God has done.  Thank you missions team for all the work you did to make this happen.  It was a slam-dunk!  Thank you to archives, kitchen team, worship teams, set-up/ break down team, office staff, and all who helped, big or small.  You made it possible for us celebrate God’s real and personal presence in our lives – bless you.  The talks given on Saturday and Sunday are on the church website (sjum.org).  In the “sermons” area, you can listen online or download the mp3 file.  I was asked to speak on the future of the church Saturday evening, and at least a dozen people said to me, “you have got to share that message again!”  It is online.

There is another celebration going on, and it is the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In fact, this is why we exist as a church today.  Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity.  It is about Jesus.  He is alive, and He seeks to be alive in us and in the church.  Please get a bible and read Acts 2:42-47.  This is the church after the resurrection.  What would it be like if what happened then would happen in us right now?  H.W. Parker spoke of a time when a group of people experienced the resurrection power of Christ thirty years ago.  That was then, and this is now.  So what would it look like if we were to experience that kind of power today?  Is God still at work?  Can He do here what he did in Acts 2 or thirty years ago?  Pray, plead, and petition God for it to be so.

My Jesus Christ, the living son of God, be real in you now and forever.

Pastor Kent