Dear Members and Friends of IBCZ,
I trust you all had a wonderful Christmas season, and that 2019 will be a year in which you experience God’s goodness and faithfulness in wonderful ways. Even as a few weeks ago we celebrated the coming of Jesus into this world, He is still with us, just as He promised. About the only thing we know for certain regarding this new year is that we don’t know for certain all we will encounter! Some wonderful new opportunities may await us, or some challenging circumstances may be thrust upon us. What a joy to know that whatever we will face as we venture into a new year, we do not journey alone, but the living God is with us.
Last Sunday I introduced our new sermon series that will take us to Holy Week – a study of the life of Abraham (Gen. 12 – 25). If ever anyone experienced the presence of the living God with him on his journey through life, it was Abraham. Furthermore, not only was God with Abraham, but God was constantly working on behalf of Abraham. God assured Abraham when He called him (Gen. 12:1-3) that He would bless Abraham, making his name great and making him into a great nation, and that He would bless all the peoples on earth through Abraham.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so we can trust that God will be with us as we journey into a new year just as He was with Abraham. And as with Abraham, not only will God be with us; He will also be at work in our lives bringing about His good purposes for us and through us in this new year.
So, let us move ahead with confidence and gratitude!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob