A Word From the Elders (COVID-19)
March 13th, 2020Dear Grace Church family,
Your elders would like to offer some guidance in light of the community reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve all seen the news and have updates coming in about the status of things, and it is safe to say that you realize the sense of urgency which authorities are taking in our own community. The situation is tense, people are afraid and self-protective, and they are showing this in a variety of ways.
How should God’s people respond in the midst of this pandemic? To answer that, we turn to… Scripture, just as we always do and have done as we seek to love Jesus and our neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40).
▪ “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord” (Prov. 21:30). Nothing malicious, pernicious, or infectious can thwart God’s love and purpose for you as His child. Rehearse and hold on to this promise that belongs to you.
▪ Matthew 6:25-34. Read this. It’s good. God is in the details of your life. He is attentive and aware and in control, so that nothing is surprising Him and nothing is beyond Him so that He cannot control it. Seek the Lord and surrender to Him—He has this.
▪ Romans 8:28-39. God has a plan for your life, cares for you enough to send Jesus to get you, not once but twice (salvation and rapture), and He has the power to ensure that all He wants for you is accomplished in His time and in His way.
▪ Romans 15:4 combined with 2 Corinthians 5:7. The comfort we receive from the Bible is due to the fact that it points us to God and it tells us to put our hope in God (Ps. 39:7). Scripture teaches us to trust God because He is trustworthy. “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Ps. 62:8).
▪ Ecclesiastes 7:14; Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:38. Just a few passages which speak to God’s control over the good and the bad, the prosperity and calamity which comes into our lives.
And there are many, many more passages which inform and conform our hearts in peace. In the final analysis what do we say? “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccles. 12:13).
COVID-19 hasn’t changed God or God’s plan. So, this is a time for Christians like you and me to speak the truth in love and offer hope for humanity’s calamities by looking to Jesus. We need to respond to God’s sovereign, loving, wise heart, and not react to the world’s panic, fear, and selfishness. Be prudent and Bible-wise.
This is the time of testing that helps us measure our commitment to truth and allows our theology (knowledge of God) to inform and guide our attitudes and actions. As we put our faith and hope squarely in Jesus, we are in the best position for our hearts to respond in wisdom and grace to the issues of life. That means much prayer as we depend on God.
In light of this, Greg and I are prayerfully and humbly suspending our Sunday worship services until further notice. This decision is based on several important items:
1. We want to help honor the concerns we all have about those in our congregation most vulnerable and at risk from exposure. We have some folks who are at greater risk because they suffer from medical diseases; we can do our part to help stem the spread.
2. We desire to honor the Lord and be proactive in loving our neighbor. The virus is spreading in our area. With the Cochran’s being exposed, it hits a bit close to home and (as Greg said), it has help put the exclamation point on our decision.
3. We are seeking the highest good. In light of the current reality, we would rather err on the side of caution and concern which keeps us proactive rather than reactive.
4. Trusting God and following through with some practical and wise precautions which help safeguard you and your family are ways we are expressing our shepherding hearts for you. We look to the Lord and we act in the most biblically informed way we believe to be prudent and necessary.
While we cannot gather as a church family, we are asking you to honor meeting with the Lord in your homes as a family, keeping that time set apart for worship as you would if we were all meeting together. Each week, we will share a video for you to watch, along with some questions/discussion points. We’ll also provide a link (via email) for our church family to participate in a fellowship and discussion time on Sunday evenings.
We love you all. We will be in contact with you and we would ask you to make us aware of any needs you might have. Please keep looking to the Lord, looking out for one another, and please keep praying for each other and for our community.
There are many gospel opportunities open for us at this time as we simply offer to others the hope that is in us.
May the Lord be honored in Grace Church,
Greg and Jeff