Letter to Congregation 09-08-2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In an email I received this week, there was a point that, given my week, I needed to hear. As such, I believe it is important to share. Often, we find ourselves under extreme pressure be it from home, health, finances, ministry, grief and more. Right now, people are under pressure as they try to recover from the many natural disasters, loss of loved ones, and finding a way to live with life with a Corona virus that will always be somewhat present. When under extreme pressure, it’s common to want to escape it. In Hebrews 12:1-2 Paul shares how Christians are called to handle these times of extreme pressure. “…Let us run the races with endurance looking to Jesus…” The Greek word used for endurance is key to understanding how we handle extreme pressure. The word literally means to remain under—to endure and bring God’s grace into every situation. To make it through every extreme pressure means recalling Paul’s words to look to Jesus in these times and trust knowing that we cannot make this go away on our own.
In times when we are under extreme pressure, we look to Jesus in many ways, but one is through prayer and worship. Even if we ourselves are not under this pressure, we gather together to pray for those who are. This week we continue in our hybrid phase 4 abridged worship. We will gather to pray and worship an amazing Trinitarian God who guides us and promises to be with us to endure all things. Additionally, session will be meeting do to its normal work as well as continuing to discern the way progressing forward. Please understand that this is an arduous task and they have needed much endurance that Paul speaks of to do so. As we gather for worship, wherever you may find yourself worshiping, let us pray for our leaders and for all people who are trying to endure extreme pressures of life.
In His Peace,
Pastor Nicki
*If you are worshiping from home, I would encourage you to use the YouTube platform for optimal streaming quality. Additionally, feel free to sign on early no need to wait right until 10am anymore. *
YouTube: live stream and recording can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ESPresbyterian
Facebook: click on the link below near the time the service begins at 10:00am to watch the live stream https://www.facebook.com/espresbyterian/
Additionally, bulletins and an online hymnal have been put on the website and can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/sunday-bulletin/
Ways to give– mail or drop of check/cash through no contact mail slot in office window. Drop off envelope in offering plates before or after worship services. Donate on our website by going to the home page at https://www.espresbyterian.com/ and clicking on the Donate button in the upper right corner. Designate where you would like the money to go by using the note section
