As of Saturday, April 4, our State is under a shelter-in-place order by Governor Kay Ivey. What has been seen by many as a suggestion now has become law. Simply put, everyone should STAY HOME with few exceptions. As a result of this order and to do our part to contain this COVID-19 virus, we are closing our church offices and our facility until this order ends (as of now, May 4). Our ministerial and professional assistants will be working remotely from home. If you call the church office you will need to leave a message and we will return your call promptly. For those who drop their tithes and offerings at the church, we ask you to please mail to the church (our mail will be held at the post office and picked up by our financial secretary).
We plan on continuing to live stream our 10:30 a.m. worship on Sunday mornings and provide a Bible study lesson via Facebook or other various media platforms. We will record our services and make those DVDs available in May for those of you who do not have internet access.
This time of State, national and international crisis is a time for the church to shine. We do that by obeying the law, which in turn will protect ourselves and others. When it is necessary to leave home, please practice safe distancing and wash your hands often (and don’t forget to moisturize). We need to all stay connected by phone or social media. Please let your LifeGroup leaders/teachers and church staff know of any needs that you may have.
Also, during this time when we are hearing nothing but bad news with multiplying cases of coronavirus and deaths increasing daily, businesses closing, loss of jobs, poor financial markets, etc., the enemy would want us to be afraid, to worry and to despair. For the believer, worry is sin. God says to trust Him (Matthew 6:25-34). One verse I hear quoted more than any other during this time is 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul reminds Timothy that God has “not given us the spirit of fear.” We need to remember the context of this verse.
Under the severe persecution of Nero, with Paul in prison and condemned to death, it would be natural for Timothy and other believers to be afraid and to refrain from speaking out for Christ. The same tendency to fear affects believers today as well, often for much less reason, not unlike this pandemic. Paul would remind us that this fearful attitude is not from God. He gave us the Spirit of power (Acts 1:8), the Spirit of love (Galatians 5:22), and the Spirit of a sound (sober) mind (1 Corinthians 2:16).
I am praying for you all!
Bro. Art