Author and pastor Paul Tripp says that the gospel is all about “fresh starts and new beginnings.” We just wrapped up two stand alone sermons (Stewardship and Pure Worship). This Sunday we will have our own fresh start as we begin a new series in the gospel of John. Much like the book of Ephesians, John has been a place of great comfort and joy over the years for me. Partly because one of the most powerful things for your spiritual growth is to be regularly reading from the Gospels, encountering the person of Jesus. This helps us remember that the object of our faith and love is not a set of doctrines or a list of commandments, but a person. When Jesus met people He offered hope to the hurting, healing to the wounded, life to the dying; He offered fresh starts and new beginnings.
This Sunday we will look at the beginning of the introduction of John. Verses 1-18 are the ‘prologue’ to the book, a group of verses that introduce a number of major themes of the book. We’ll focus on the first five verses or so (read ahead if you’d like) and also paint the bigger picture of what the book of John is about and how it fits into the rest of the Bible.
This is why our verse for the month is John 1:1. It’s pretty short, which should help with memorizing: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” For extra credit, listen to the Seeds Family Worship song and memorize the next thirteen verses as well!
Fellowship Hall Updates
If you missed this past Wednesday night Fund Raising dinner, you missed out on a great night. About 270 of us gathered for an evening of food and fellowship. My prayer was that great connections would be made, excitement for renovating the Fellowship Hall would grow, and that we would at least break even please Lord on the cost of the food. I was blown away with the results. We ended up with a total in donations, after expense for the meal, of$20,793! That puts us at $351,326 for the total project, about 80% of the way to the finish line. My prayer all along has been that we would be able to move forward before the end of the year. Keep praying for the final $89,000 to come in. I believe God has amazing things for Valley View in 2023, and the revamped Fellowship Hall will be a key place where God works to reach Valley Station, PRP, and all of Southwest Louisville with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!