To read our entire October 2019 Newsletter: Click here

Except from Pastor Parsons article: Give and Take; Give More

If you’ve ever entered into a long-term relationship of any kind with someone else, you know that there is some level of give-and-take. It doesn’t matter if it’s friendship, work-related, or love. There has to be some level of compromise because you probably don’t agree on everything. Compromise is not a bad thing; in fact, it is necessary to find some kind of harmony, rather than one person giving up all their ideals or preferences. With compromise, all parties involved can complement one another, to fill in the gaps where the other does not.

This is especially true within the church. We’ve talked many times over about being a body of Christ and how there are different parts to the body. It must be so or nothing could truly be accomplished within the church. When you’ve spent long periods of time with your brothers and sisters of this congregation, it’s easy to see how we can work together, how we can compromise when needed, how we can become one whole, rather than many separate parts.

To read our entire September 2019 Newsletter: Click here

Except from Pastor Parsons article: Never Alone

If you didn’t already know, I love Country music. I play it or sing it while I’m getting things done. I was recently singing a song by John Michael Montgomery called “I Swear,” and the following lyrics stood out to me: “I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky I’ll be there. I swear. Like the shadow that’s by your side, I’ll be there. For better or worse, ‘til death do us part, I’ll love you with every beat of my heart. I swear.”

It’s a nice, sappy love song, and this line is to meant to express that he will never leave her, no matter what. The reason this verse jumped out at me is because he promised to always be by her side, just like a shadow. That’s a nice sentiment, but it struck me that shadows aren’t actually always by our sides. When things get darkest, they disappear.

It got me thinking that God makes a promise just like that to us, that he is always going to be there with us. But unlike the promise from the song, God is able to keep his promise. God’s promise can be found in Isaiah 54:10. “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.