Finding Our Place

Greetings in the Name of our Lord,

Finding Our Place

February and March will be full of opportunities for us to find our place in the faith family we call Stonebridge Church. These months will be full of worship, fellowship, and new places to grow in our faith as we move toward Easter. 

It all begins on February 14 with our Ash Wednesday services. Beginning February 21, we will have dinner and group activities for all ages on Wednesdays through Easter. This month we are starting a new middle school class on Sunday morning as well as a new adult offering in late February or March. Confirmation for teens exploring their faith began last Sunday with nine confirmands joining Pastor Jana after worship. (Check out the website for more information on what is coming up at Stonebridge UMC.)

Let’s make this season a time to recommit ourselves to the full life of the church. Make every effort to be in worship each Sunday; join a small group; make sure your kids are participating in our children’s ministries on Sunday morning and Wednesday evenings; and encourage our teens to come every Wednesday evening for the youth activities. 

God is so good and continues to bless our church. Every week I hear stories of how God is working through our church and its members to help others in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us in three places that the church has a purpose in its diversity and unity (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:14-16; Romans 12:4-5). 

We all come from different places, with different personalities, different gifts, different families, different ages, and different backgrounds. Yet, God through Christ molds us together into a unified body of Christ. 

Life is a journey of FINDING OUR PLACE. Finding our place in prayer, finding our place in worship, finding our place in generosity, finding our place in service, and finding our place in showing others Jesus through word and deed.

Through the Church, God has given us traveling companions on the journey of life. Just as we need trustworthy companions, others around us need us to be companions for them. Children, teenagers, adults—young and old—all of us need to know that there are people who care for us and will stand by us. People whom we can turn to for wisdom. People who will pray for us. People who want the best for us. 

I will look for you Sunday morning as we conclude our sermon series on the Beatitudes. We will cover the hardest and most promising blessing: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, we will face resistance, but God gives us the grace and ability to handle whatever life throws our way. Some might say that God does not give us anything we cannot handle. It is better to believe that life cannot give us anything God cannot handle. 

Christ is depending on us to Find Our Place – to be the church. There is someone today who is depending on us to be the Church. To Find Our Place where we can make a difference for Christ and others. 

Have you found your place?

Invite someone to join you in worship this Sunday. 

Pastor John Allen 

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)