A Pandemic Invitation to Come
By Dennis Schaffer
Posted on September 25, 2020
Hello, friend!
I wanted to be sure you know we're going to do something a little different during our Sunday morning services this weekend at 9:00 and 10:30. Based on Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-30, we're calling these "Come Unto Me" services.
2020, with its mixed bag of pandemics, politics, and other problems, has pushed a big "Pause" button on many peoples' lives. God recently reminded me that at all times, including pandemics and election years, God's children are able to find rest as we "yoke up" with Christ. Our "new normal" must be defined by our relationship with Christ. We cannot just wait to respond to the world's circumstances. Christ has overcome the world to bring victory to us.
That being said, Sunday, I am encouraging and inviting folks to gather with our Open Door family in-person or online if there are health concerns as we bring our personal bags of burdens to Christ. Humanly, it has been a difficult year. We have individually suffered loss, and even the small things have added up.
You and I both know this because we can see it in lives. We all talk about how this year has affected us. Psychologists already have a new condition coined as Post Covid Syndrome. Long-term effects of Covid and 2020 stresses are forecasting the doom of many families. Domestic abuse is up 20%. The use of controlling substances is up over 40%. Riots and fear-lords have gripped our world. Personal interest in security systems and weapons to protect from home invasion has risen astronomically. Overall happiness and morale in the world is scratching new lows--and we're not even in a time of world war...or are we? Tensions across international borders are terse.
We know it. We feel it. What hope is there to lift our burdens?
Friend, I do not want to leave you hopeless. There is hope.
To press on, we must acknowledge these difficult facts. Hope is found when we give these stresses over to our Savior Who is standing at the ready to welcome us close to His side where His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
I am looking forward to coming to Christ with whoever will come.
In Him,
Pastor Dennis Schaffer
