Discover God's Love

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,
as good stewards of God's varied grace:”
-- 1 Peter 4:10

Friends of Atonement,

            Welcome to 2014!  Thank you for your participation and support of our ministries here at Atonement in 2013.  We have experienced another great year of ministry with a record number of new members, record numbers at the food pantry and major facility upgrades, including a new columbarium. In addition, our Laying Foundations for the Children of God Capital Campaign has been blessed with an offer of $25,000 in matching funds. Donations given to the campaign through February will be matched by a generous anonymous donor.
            I’ve been using the phrase “Discover God’s Love” for some time now.  I use it as the title of the newsletter, and today it’s up on our church sign.  To me it expresses a deep need in our world.  For many people, God’s love and care for them is not obvious.  They do not connect their blessings, the successes they have or the good things that happen to them with a loving, caring heavenly Father.  They do not find peace in their hearts from the love of a Savior, or power in their lives through the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.  Many people in our world need to discover God’s love.
            And that’s what God put us here for!  As Peter wrote, our blessings have come to us as gifts from God.  Now let’s use them to serve one another – in and out of the church – to demonstrate God’s love. What gifts do you have that you can put to use to help others “discover God’s love”?  Maybe you have a skill you can share or show off at the upcoming Talent Show on February 23.  Maybe you have a valuable item you no longer need that could be sold in support of a ministry.  Maybe you have a passion to serve on the Stewardship Team, Caring Team, or as a community volunteer.            
             You are part of what makes this congregation so wonderful.  I hope more and more people in and around our community see what I see when they look at Atonement: people gathering together, bringing their unique and irreplaceable gifts, laying them before the Lord, and helping one another discover God’s love.