Weekly Update// Pastor Chris
Dear Asbury Family,
I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Although I missed being with you for about two weeks, I am genuinely grateful for the time off. This break has left me feeling refreshed and recharged, and I am eager for the energy and excitement that the upcoming year holds.
This Sunday in worship (January 14), we are launching a new series with perhaps the longest title in sermon series history: "You Keep Using That Bible Verse. I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means." Inspired by the popular 1987 movie Princess Bride (don’t worry, I'll explain the reference at the beginning of my sermon), the series aims to dissect commonly misinterpreted Bible verses and delve into their proper context. My hope is that these messages will encourage us to read Scripture in its entirety, rather than extracting individual verses here and there. The verse we'll examine this Sunday is none other than Jeremiah 29:11. I invite you to join us for what is sure to be an inspiring morning.
I want to express my gratitude for your incredible generosity to Asbury throughout 2023. Our leadership team will provide a more complete picture in the next couple of weeks, but overall, 2023 turned out to be a great year, ensuring our church’s vitality into the future.
As I conclude this email, I want to share with you the Wesley Covenant Prayer. John Wesley adapted this prayer, and it profoundly influenced his theology and preaching. He expected the people called "Methodists" to pray this prayer at the beginning of each new year as a way of remembering and renewing their commitment to Jesus Christ.
“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
Blessings,
Chris