Covid lockdown – Day five (5)
Covid lockdown – Day five (5)
It’s been a hectic day today, trying to ascertain the weekend service and how to meet the government restrictions for churches. Bulletins had been printed, all preparation completed to have Communion, a special message on the cross, all done!
But all that changed today when we contacted the Covid Centre at the WA Police. The restrictions for all that we had planned were NOT going to allow us to give the required time or reverence to what we had planned for our physical gathering.
Therefore, much to our dismay and disappointment, we will not be having any physical attendance at the chapel this Sunday morning or evening, with both services being able to be viewed via our online media service.
We will move our Communion service and special message on the cross to next Sunday when we can gather, even though still restricted in numbers. We encourage you to set aside Sunday morning 10:00 am and Sunday evening 6:00 pm with your family this week, and join us via our cameras for worship and the teaching of God’s Word.
Pastor Chuck Smith always would remind us at Calvary Chapel Pastor’s conferences with the following, “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not break.”
The Apostle Paul taught us, 2Ti 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
No matter the restrictions, the roadblocks, the detours, the storms we face, God will always enable us a way to reach the lost, to minister to His Church and to never lose hope!
Be ready in season and out of season – This tells us when the pastor should be ready to preach the word. He should be ready always. He should preach it when it is easy and preach it when it is hard. He should preach it when the fruit is evident and preach it when the fruit seems invisible. He should just preach it.
There was once a Church of England clergyman who was gloriously saved. When Jesus changed his life, he started preaching the gospel to his whole parish and they all got saved. Then he started preaching in neighbouring parishes, and the clergymen of those parishes were offended. They asked the bishop to make the man stop. When the bishop confronted him he said, “I hear you are always preaching, and you don’t seem to be doing anything else.” The changed man answered, “Well bishop, I only preach during two seasons of the year.” The bishop said, “I’m glad to know that; what seasons are they?” He replied, “In season and out of season!”
Your life and that of your families will not always have a smooth road where well-made plans are always able to be carried out. Things happen!
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are in a battlefield all the time and as soldiers we need to be ready for whatever the enemy may attempt to disrupt our serving the Lord.
I pray that the inability to gather together physically for you and your family to be with the rest of the body of Jesus Christ here at Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour this Sunday, will re-ignite your passion for fellowship, remind you of the privilege it is to gather with the Church and to look forward to being together with a newfound fervour and zeal.
Pastor Israel and I look forward to teaching God’s Word to you in your homes this Sunday and our worship team will bring the blessing of praising the Lord into your family.
Though not physically gathered here at the chapel, as God looks down from His throne He will see us gathered still, in worship and praise of Him, from many a vantage point.
So, both Sunday services will be online this Sunday – Lord willing, we will be back collectively the following Sunday and truly celebrate the Lord’s Supper, His table of Thanksgiving together!
Calvary Women – the first Tuesday morning ladies Bible study will commence Tuesday week here at the chapel, 9:30 am – the 16th of February.
Remember Jesus is coming soon!