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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
FROM
THE PASTOR From I
know that this verse looks forward to a
time when God will reconcile all things
to Himself in Jesus Christ, but it also
reveals something of what God is about,
what God is always working
toward. For
example, Paul tells us that "if anyone
is in Christ He is a new creation; the
old is gone, the new has come" (2 Cor.
5:17). When
we come to Jesus God renews His image
in us that has been tarnished by sin.
He allows us to put away the past in
order to live for the future God sets
before us. We discover a new way of
living, we establish new priorities, we
make new friends, and we have new goals
and ambitions. It
gets even better! The God we serve
"gives power to the weak, and to those
who have no might He increases
strength. Even the youths shall faint
and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall, but those who wait on the
LORD shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they
shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:29
31). There
have been times when the enemy has been
successful in spreading discouragement
over my life and ministry. There have
been times when I just didn't seem to
have the energy to keep up the good
fight, to persevere in the path God had
set before me. There
also have been times when aching joints
and sore muscles have joined the lines
on my face to scream at me that I'm too
old to have grammar school children,
that I can't keep up the rigorous pace
they require, that I can't finish the
race. But
again I'm reminded of God's word from
the Apostle Paul: "Therefore we do not
lose heart. Though outwardly we are
wasting away, yet inwardly we are being
renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16). The
aches and pains dissolve in the utter
joy that Aaron and Bethany bring to my
life! I
find that if I'll just keep close to
Him and hide His word in my heart that
He indeed makes all things new,
including me. I find that "I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens
me" (Phil. 4:13). The
season we call "Spring" comes and goes
each year, but the joy that comes
through the renewal of life by the
power of God is something we can have
and enjoy through all the seasons of
life -- and through every difficulty
and hardship we encounter. Joy
is God's renewable resource. Each day
is a day the Lord has made, let us
rejoice and be glad in it. Praise His
Holy Name! In
all the uncertainties of living in a
fallen world there are two things you
can count on: God loves you and so does
the preacher. See
you in church Sunday!
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
Ministry
of the
Word:
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sermons
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Today
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Today
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Gateway Church
SPRING
2003
Renewed
by the power of God
Then He who sat on the throne said,
"Behold, I make all things
new."
(Revelation 21:5)
Spring
is here -- and I'm glad! Spring is when
the earth begins to renew and replenish
itself. To me Spring is an every year
reminder of the plan and purpose of
God, "I make all things
new!"
by
Jerry
Sermons
'Therefore
we do not lose heart'
Each time, the declaration of God's
Word came and the Lord renewed my
strength! He "satisfie[d] my
desires with good things" so that my
"youth [was] renewed as the
eagle's" (Psalm 103:5).
The
joy of the Lord
