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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
FROM
THE PASTOR From In
some ways, these are the best of times
at Gateway. We're on the threshold of
moving into a new building that we have
longed and prayed for many
years. Yet,
in some ways these are the worst of
times. We also face the reality of
missed deadlines and cost overruns. We
can all find things to criticize and be
unhappy about. I'm
reminded of a lesson I learned playing
high school and college football: hard
practice sessions and tough competition
build a stronger team. Likewise
in strength conditioning, the heavier
the weight you train to lift, the
stronger you become. In
other words, the tougher the situation,
the more resistance you have to
overcome, the greater the skill and the
strength that's developed. This
principle applies to all of life, not
just to sports. Every obstacle, every
hardship, every resistance we have
faced as a church is part of a period
of preparation, a time of training, for
even greater effectiveness in the years
to come. Indeed,
as the Apostle James wrote in the text
quoted above, we should consider it
"pure joy" that we encounter
resistance, difficulty, and
hardship. Why?
Because we believe God is using these
things to build in us the strength
we'll need to fulfill His plans for our
future, so that we "may be mature and
complete, not lacking
anything." For
many years, God has been doing
incredible things through the people of
Gateway Church. We've
seen lots of "best of times" -- and,
yes, we've struggled through quite a
few "worsts." In every circumstance,
God has been faithful. As we
persevere and keep "pressing in" to His
will for us, God will use even the
tough times to a good end, making us
stronger and more fruitful in
Him. I'm
excited about the future! I hope you
are too! See
you in Church Sunday. God loves you --
and so does the preacher!
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
Ministry
of the
Word:
Recent
sermons
Our quarterly e-magazine
Gateway
Today
For the Gateway family
Pastor
Jerry's Weekly
E-Mail
Gateway
Today
The
e-magazine of
Gateway Church
FALL
2005
Joyful
hardship
No
pain, no gain
(James 1:2-4)
"It
was the best of times, it was the worst
of times." So begins the classic novel,
The Tale of Two Cities, by
Charles Dickens.
by
Jerry
Sermons
Tough
training
Forward
to the future
©
Gerald R. Varnado. All rights
reserved.
