Dear Friend,
Over the past few years, we’ve all had to navigate unexpected storms—pandemics, divisions, personal losses, and shifting realities. And while many of us have made it through the worst, we’re left asking: What now? How do we move forward—not just surviving, but thriving?
I believe the answer is found in one word: resilience.
Resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about learning how to get back up. It’s what allows us to stay grounded when discomfort comes, to lean into tough conversations without breaking fellowship, and to rise with grace from life’s hardest disappointments. But here’s the truth: resilience isn’t just for “tough” people. It’s a spiritual muscle that every believer needs to develop—and the church is the gym where we build it.
That’s why I’m inviting you to join me starting the Sunday after Pentecost (June 15th) for a new three-week sermon series called “Built to Last: Lessons in Resilient Discipleship.” We’ll walk with Jesus and His first disciples as they learned to:
- Sit with discomfort rather than escape it.
- Wrestle with disagreement instead of avoiding or attacking each other.
- Rise from disappointment with dignity and renewed purpose.
This series isn’t just a reflection on the past; it’s a roadmap for our future. In the words of John Wesley, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God… and such alone will shake the gates of hell.” But those kinds of disciples aren’t born overnight. They are formed in the fires of challenge and forged by grace.
C.S. Lewis reminds us, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” I believe the destiny of our church, and each member within it, is extraordinary! But we’ll only get there together—by becoming resilient.
So, come. Bring your heart, your questions, your pain, and your hope. God is not finished with you. And this church is not finished either. We are being built to last.
See you Sunday. Hear the latest message by phone anytime at 814-422-6238. 😊
With hands to the plow,
Pastor Theresa