“The Bride Is Beautiful”

We just finished up VBS on Friday. It’s my favorite week of the year. It’s busy, chaotic, loud, tiring, and wonderful. The Lord brought many children here. Each day we had about 170 children attending. The Lord also provided lots of volunteers to help—about 60, in fact. Laughter, fun, biblical teaching—these experiences make me realize how much Christ loves our church, and how beautiful she is in His eyes. It’s easy to be pessimistic. We shouldn’t be. Christ is at work at CBC, purifying and beautifying her.

One story from this week provided a vivid example of Christ's work among us. A brother shared with me that he volunteered to help the kids grow in their walk with Christ. What he found surprised him. He realized that God was using the children to grow him in his love for Christ. That’s Christ at work. Through serving he gained; he didn’t lose. What’s true for him is true for our entire church. As we serve through VBS, AWANA, Sunday school, greeting, nursery, audio/visual, music, small groups, ushering, men’s group, women’s ministry, etc., Christ shows up and makes us beautiful together. The mechanism is the Word of God preached, taught, and believed (Eph 5:26).

Beloved church family, thank you for serving the children. Thank you for using your time, resources, and energy for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 8:35). Thank you for making this last week as awesome as it was. The Spirit uses you to show me how precious and lovely we are together in the sight of Christ who shed His blood for us. Our beloved church is the glorious bride of Christ “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Eph 5:27).       

Pastor Chance Sumner