Thank You!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! 

As followers of Jesus our lives are lived in the landscape of gratitude. Thanksgiving is our fundamental posture in all things. How? Why? Because the defining reality of our lives is the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That grace is the first word, and every word of ours is a response that begins: “Thank you!”

There are times when that gratitude comes more naturally than others.  Times when it is easier or harder.  This is one of those easy times.  As we prepare this year’s contribution statements, we are so aware of how richly blessed we are, that behind each one of these statements there are not just financial gifts but prayers and time and talent used for Christ’s ministry in our community.  These gifts themselves are acts of thanksgiving, and as they cascade out, like the gracious waters of baptism itself, they resound, filling our life together: “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Another thing of which I am conscious this year is that The Wyckoff Reformed Church is not an abstract, impersonal organization that you have chosen to support like you would a community organization or public radio station.  This church is our life together.  It is this network of relationships and experiences.  It is the worship we offer every week.  It is the presence of God and the action of the Holy Spirit in one another on Sunday as well as Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday.  It is our shared grief and longing, as well as joy and celebration.  This is a holy thing, hiding just beneath the surface of the seemingly mundane.  Wyckoff Reformed Church is us, called out and gathered together in the name of Jesus to be His living presence in the world. 

Thank you, Jesus, for such a gift! Thank you for being part of such a holy thing!  Thank you for supporting it!  Thank you for being us! Thank you!

In Christ,

Pastor Andy