“The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is good, to expel the love of what is evil. Thus it is, that the freer the Gospel, the more sanctifying is the Gospel; and the more it is received as a doctrine of grace, the more will it be felt as a doctrine according to godliness.”
— See who said this and why it matters at the bottom.
1. From the Pastor’s study…
As you will see below, we are planning for a Phase 1 return to gathered corporate worship on May 31! I am excited, and ready to have you all back in the assembly with us who have been leading. On that day, it will have been eleven Lord’s Days that worship has been only on live stream. And for many of you, whether because of your age, your health, or your assessment of the risks, it may be many more Lord’s Days yet to come.
As I have been thinking about our return, It has been striking to me to see how divided our already-divided country has been in its approach to this virus.
We Americans at times seem to look at different sets of facts, through different grids to interpret those facts, with different priorities and different prescriptions as we think about moving forward in the midst of this pandemic.
And unfortunately, it feels like our views are often in line with the particular cable news channel or particular news websites we frequent, so that this virus has only served to amplify our polarizations.
My desire for our congregation is that we would remain unified in love even if we don’t see eye to eye on all aspects of this novel coronavirus or the reopening process. I’ve been coming back often to Romans 14 as I’ve been praying about our return.
In this passage, Paul is addressing some people who eat all foods, and some who eat only vegetables; some observe Jewish festivals, and some do not (14:2, 5). Similarly today, some wear masks, and some do not wear masks; some will feel free to gather for worship, and some will feel that it is too risky to gather for worship at the present time.
Paul’s primary concern is not that they all think or do the same thing, but that they accept one another, love one another, build up one another, and refuse to judge one another or disdain one another (14:1, 3, 10, 13). “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor” (I Corinthians 10:23-24).
Each one of us serves the Lord God as Master (14:4, 8); each one of us will give an account of ourselves before God (14:10-12); Christ died for each one of us (14:9, 15); each one of us must be fully convinced in our own mind of our position on these matters of conscience (14:5, 22-23); each one of us must live for the Lord and for the good of the church (14:6-8, 19-21).
May the Lord grant us the wisdom and ability to “do all to the glory of God,” and to “please all men in all things, not seeking our own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved” (I Corinthians 10:31-33).
2. Lord willing, we plan to return to worship on May 31.
The Session voted this week to plan to gather together again for corporate worship on May 31, and immediately to allow on-campus ministries to resume in accordance with the Governor's order (10
or fewer participants inside, and 20 or fewer participants outside).
Our plan: As our state is reopening in phases, so also we will resume gathered corporate worship in phases. Here’s what Phase 1 will look like (more details will be sent out to you next week):
We will have a single morning worship at 10:00 a.m. using up to 50% capacity in our sanctuary and up to 50% capacity in our gym (the live stream will be shown in the gym on the screens), following distancing guidelines in our seating as families.
Evening worship will continue only to be live streamed.
There will be limited Nursery, no Sunday School, and no Church Time.
Our caution: We will be taking steps to ensure that our coming together is as safe and healthy as possible, so we ask you to use common sense and love and respect one another in your fellowship. If you would like to wear a mask, please do so. We recognize that our plans may need to change if circumstances worsen, so we will be monitoring to see if we need to postpone our resumption of gathered corporate worship.
Our encouragement: Please return to corporate worship when you feel it is wisest for you and your family, and if you are sick or at high risk please continue to join us from home via our live stream.
3. Welcome, Ashley Biggs!
Ashley Biggs is coming on board as our new Assistant Youth Director on May 18!
Ashley is the daughter of Mike and Janna Biggs (Mike is a former RUF Campus Minister and current PCA pastor in Norman, Oklahoma) and the sister of Stephen Biggs (the current Director of Students and Families at FPC Jackson). Ashley’s the sixth of seven children.
She recently graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Graphic Design. Ashley enjoys painting, cooking, and being around people.
She has worked with youth at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Oxford, MS, and Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC, so we’re excited for her to arrive and begin her ministry among us.
Pray for her as she transitions onto our staff and into the lives of our young ladies.
4. April financial update —
Praise God for His incredibly generosity through you His people in April!
In spite of jobs lost, hours cut, and a down stock market, you gave sacrificially and faithfully to continue our church’s ministry and our support of other ministries and missionaries.
Please continue to give your tithes and offerings, whether in person, in the mail, or online.
Don’t forget about the Education Building Fund - as soon as the balance reaches $115,000, through our monthly payments and your gifts, an anonymous donor family will retire the debt through CCS in gratitude for the unity of the church and school in kingdom ministry.
5. We’re planning for VBS!
If you are able to volunteer for VBS, please contact Kristi Clark at kwclark24@gmail.com or Adelle Johnson at ajohnson@ccs.ms to join us for the best week of the year!
6. For your weekend reading and watching…
Each week we’re posting on our blog, Notes From the Orchard. Check out these contributions from our staff:
The Shortest but Most Encouraging Blog You’ll Read This Week, by Wilson Van Hooser (5/8/20)
Some Thoughts on Returning to Public Worship, by Caleb Cangelosi (5/11/20)
Love and Unity, by Dean Williams (5/14/20)
The teaching series on Depression is also available online.
7. Worship with us this Lord’s Day
We’re continuing to live-stream our worship services this Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. and Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Pastor Caleb is preaching on I Peter 1:13-21 in the morning.
Pastor Carl is preaching on Proverbs 9 in the evening.
Important links:
Download the Sunday bulletins.
8. Sound Technician Needed
As we continue to seek to live stream our worship services with excellence, we are in need of four more volunteers to assist Rick Goodwin and our Sound Team.
Formerly, one person has been able to run sound for our worship services. But since we now have to mix sound for the room and for the live stream, we need two people to work each Sunday.
No experience is necessary - you only need to be 16 or older and have a servant’s heart and commitment, and Rick can teach you how to use the equipment.
For more information, email Rick Goodwin (rick@pearorchard.org) and read this description of the work.
Thanks for reading! Your time is valuable, so I’m thankful for letting us have some of it.
1 covered smile to go: Lord willing, by the time we return to gathered corporate worship, our new porte cochere will be complete! It’s higher and longer than the old one, and now covers our handicapped ramp - we’re excited about being able to shelter more people more effectively on rainy days. It’s been nearly a year since our north entrance was closed, so it will be nice to have that door available to us again, and not to have the eyesore of destruction/construction on our property.
Take out: The Gourmet Takery will continue to feed you and your neighbors through May and June.
Quote: “The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is good, to expel the love of what is evil. Thus it is, that the freer the Gospel, the more sanctifying is the Gospel; and the more it is received as a doctrine of grace, the more will it be felt as a doctrine according to godliness.” — Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847)
Why it matters: Chalmers’ sermon “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” is a must read as we seek to live holy lives by the grace of God. My sermon this Lord’s Day is about the motivations for our pursuit of godliness - and the foundational motivation must be the grace of our holy God who has sent his Son to die for our sins and to redeem us from every lawless deed. The more love you have for Christ, the less love you will have for sin - so pray that God would fan into flame your affections for Him!