Thanking God for our Reformed heritage can energize us to make a difference in Anacortes
Today I plan to attend Retta Rientjes’ 99th birthday party in Lynden. Aunt Retta is one of those saints from our sister church in Oak Harbor who has prayed for me every day since I left that congregation for Anacortes. And I have the privilege of teacher her great-granddaughter Latin at North Whidbey Christian High School. Generations that serve the Lord are a precious city to our God:
11 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. (Psalm 102)
Living under the influence of the past generations is an incredible blessing. They prayed for us and they formed us (it’s also the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth!) by godly example and teaching. But neither Psalm 102 nor our heritage ends with the past. Both point to serve “a people not yet created” when King David, John Calvin or Aunt Retta began their work:
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord. (Psalm 102)
King David wrote a prayer book to teach all of Anacortes how to worship. John Calvin had a vision for transforming culture that was missing in much of the rest of the Reformation. And Aunt Retta prays that we in the ACRC family will have missions hearts.
My prayer is that our Reformation heritage will lead us to make an even bigger difference for the kingdom here in Anacortes. Here are four November ideas:
(1) Plan now to invite an unchurched family to our November 22 Thanksgiving service and dinner. What a great way to introduce your neighbors to our ACRC family!
(2) Encourage your Growth Group to find a November service project – bless one of our ACRC senior saints, provide Thanksgiving dinner to a needy family or rake leaves for everybody on your block. There are lots of ways to serve our community this time of year!
(3) Give generously to this year’s World Hunger Offering in November. The offering will be divided between CRWRC and the Rehema orphanage in Kenya. Then bring a CRWRC dish to share at our Second Sunday Missions Meal on November 8.
(4) Vote biblically on November 3. I will be hosting a Referendum 71 discussion at our Sunday morning Growth Group on November 1. Come and learn how to speak effectively against this dangerous redefinition of family.
Happy Reformation Day!
Keep the faith, Pastor Doug Fakkema, Anacortes CRC