From The Pastor

Last week, when I was in California with my Princeton Seminary Covenant Group, I got to experience how bad the traffic is around Los Angeles. The GPS time for our destination kept going up and up as we were driving on the highway, and I was starting to get a bit nervous about making it back to the airport on time to fly home. Thankfully, we found a way around all that congestion (Thank you, Waze!). 

 It does remind me of the story Tony Campolo tells of a perverse thrill he had one day when he was driving down the Schuykill Expressway in Philadelphia during rush hour, when he got a flat tire. He had the radio blaring, and as he was changing the tire, he heard a “sigalert” from the traffic helicopter overhead. The pilot said, “Down below me is some character in a green Chevy, changing his tire, and because of him, traffic is backed up for three miles!” When Tony Campolo heard that on the radio, he thought, “Gee, that’s me!” 

 We all long to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, even if it’s only a traffic jam. We have a yearning to take our little lives and place them against the backdrop of eternity. Did you know that we do that very thing each time we pray the last phrase of the Lord’s prayer? – “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory….” There may not be any more wonderful words in all of the Bible then the words, “kingdom,” “power,” and “glory.” Please join us this Sunday at Chestnut Level as I finish up my sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. 

 Pastor John

 Quote of the Week

 “The reality is, my prayers don't change God. But, I am convinced prayer changes me. Praying boldly boots me out of that stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God Himself.” Lysa TerKeurst

 Lysa TerKeurst is president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the New York Times best-selling author of Uninvited, The Best Yes, Unglued, Made to Crave, and 18 other books.As president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa and her team have led thousands to make their walk with God an invigorating journey through their First 5 app, daily online devotionals, radio programs, online Bible studies, speaker/writing training, and more