Celebration of 33 Years

How awesome it is to Celebrate 33 years with the Commerce Family! It rejoices my heart to walk among you all and to be your Pastor. As I muse over the past 33 years I immediately note quite a few of our Commerce Family has continued on into Eternal Life. I remember them and most often the place where they sat and worshiped with us. When I came to you those many years ago there were 12 members and I was shocked that they had decided they wanted me to Pastor and I didn’t even know I was a candidate.  It was my first Pastorate, and O how green I was!  God has blessed us as we have sought to fulfill His will in this little country Church.  We are no longer a little country Church for the city has caught up to us big time. But what you see here on this hill is truly not what we are, for we are blessed to be so much more.  In these 33 years, with the Commerce Family’s faithfulness to the Lord’s House – your servitude, your giving, your concern for the less fortunate – together we have taken the Gospel of Jesus Christ into many nations, into many prisons, and all around the good old USA. And in our midst, God has raised up Teachers, Ministers, Missionaries, and Servants for the Kingdom of God. Together we have done exploits for Jesus; with about 35 people we added on to the Church in 2000 at a cost of approximately $150,000. The Lord met the need daily as we worked. And in 2012 we burned the mortgage! We continue to have a “vision” to expand one more time!  At the 25^th year we opened the Corner Stone and saw pictures of the past – but the most important item was: One Page of the Bible and circled in red on this page was “I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt 16:18 – We are a Blessed People as we sought to obey the Word of God!  Our Quest Matt. 25:34-36; It is our quest to send forth the Word of the Lord and to Minister to the less fortunate and together we have accomplished this. Our desire is to be a Lighthouse on this Hill and to send forth the Message of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour! On a personal note, thank you for always voting one hundred percent each year, when a vote of confidence as comes before the congregation. I am overwhelmed at your trust and love for me!    Loving you, Pastor

Song of the Ages

What an Awesome sight; Amid the host of heaven, thousands upon thousands stand before the Lamb, singing a New Song: “Thou art worthy, to open the seals: for Thou wast slain, and hast Redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:...”  O God give us a  longing for the “time” to just sit in Your presence, with no agenda and take in the majestic awesomeness of His Holiness.  The hour is upon us wherein we must take the time to commune with Him, to see Him high and lifted up – a time when we are caught away from the cares of this life and focused upon this Glorious Lamb that was slain from the foundations of the world for us – for you & I!  As we focus on Jesus the Lamb of God, a song arises   ♪“Behold the Lamb, Slain from the foundation of the world!♬  As we look to the Old Testament we see the origin of a Blood Sacrifice, “The Day of Atonement” – however it had to be repeated and repeated, every year there must be an offering for the sins of mankind. Jesus’ God’s Lamb was Sacrificed once and for “all!”  The writer of Hebrews wrote regarding the New Testament Sacrifice of Christ’s life: “Not by the blood of goats and calves, but by Jesus own Blood, He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained Eternal Redemption for us!”  How often do we think about this Sacrifice of our God and His Son?  There should be a daily remembrance of this precious Gift. Many military men and women have sacrificed for which we are grateful — but the Sacrifice of the Ages liberated the world!  Not only are we free today, but because of Jesus’ we are made complete and our soul has an Eternal destination. Worshiping with you and loving you, Pastor – Ps 105:1

He Is In Our Midst

As I Ministered on the “Rock” last week, it has constantly been on my mind how Great our God is!  If only we could bring our flesh under control and live in the Presence of our Lord and Saviour. There are earthly things that must be accomplished in our lives, but God promises to never leave us!  What a powerful thought!  He has grounded us in Him, on the Solid Rock! Believe me, the winds of adversity blow against the saints of God – Yet He is there, even in the midst of the storm! “He is in our Midst!” If we could just settle down to meditate upon Him and the thought that He is in our Midst – well, we realize He is there even when we are out of order, or discomforted: Yet He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comfort! Perhaps we should start each day and welcome Him into our day, and maybe there are those who do just that!  How comforting it is to know He dwells in our midst!  But if He dwells in our midst then He knows us very personally. Something is lost today in our society, we perhaps don’t always think of Him being in our every day business.  We love the thought that He never leaves us, He’s always there, we can call on Him in the midst of trouble; Think on this, He is always there in our midst! Remember He sees our heart as no one else can. Is there anything in our heart that should not be there? We are truly in a warfare not just with the elements of our world but with our own flesh and our spirit.  Interesting to note the Apostle Paul’s thoughts in Rom. 7:18-19 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”  Paul confesses he delights in the Law of God and in VS 23 “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” This is why God sent Jesus and this is why Jesus sent the Holy Ghost, that there would be an ever present conviction in our life. O Lord be ever present with us! Dwell in our Midst is our Prayer! Loving you, Pastor    Matthew 12:35