You are on a journey. In the day-to- day busyness, you may not think about it every day. But you are. You can look back and see important moments and milestones. You can look back and see some mountaintop moments, where you were on top of the world. You can look back and see some valleys, where you barely made it.
My prayer is that you can look back and see a common denominator: God’s faithfulness in your life. Even in spite of your wandering and missteps, God is always present, always protecting, always inviting, always calling, always correcting, always leading.
This week, I am beginning a new sermon series – “Trust the Journey.” We will follow Moses and the People of Israel from the Exodus out of Egypt to the Promised Land. As we follow their journey, we will see our own journeys and we will see our GRACE Church journey. What can we learn as we look back? And how can we faithfully look forward to all God has for us?
On Sunday, the first message of the series will be “By Faith.” We will be looking at Exodus 12-14. God is on a rescue mission -leading the people, after over four hundred years in slavery in Egypt, to freedom. But the people will have to trust and risk. Where is God inviting you to live “By Faith?”
Also on Sunday, we will commission our first Global Mission Trip Team since COVID. Our team departs Sunday to the Netherlands and Germany in support of an emerging partnership between GRACE and the Iranian diaspora in Europe. The team will engage with a growing congregation, two refugee centers, a house church, and a media ministry, and through it all, will have an opportunity to listen, learn and love in this challenging yet inspiring context in which the Iranians are now calling home. This visit will open our eyes to what God is doing in Europe through the presence of Muslim background believers from Iran and how GRACE Church may play an integral role in this mission. Please join me in praying for this team and this new mission partnership.
Finally, tomorrow we are hosting our annual “Trunk or Treat” at Northampton Community College. I can’t wait for next year, when we will be able to host the event on our new campus. Our GRACE Kids Director, Ben Kraihanzel, tells me that we have 434 people signed up as of this minute. What a great opportunity to invite our community to know GRACE! Bring your kids and your grandkids. Or just show up to help welcome people. Be sure to come by and say hey – I’ll be the one with the “under the sea” trunk and really good candy!
On the journey together,
Dr. Marnie Crumpler
Senior Pastor